My Advice To You Linky!

Think back to your first year in the classroom.  Remember that year?  My favorite memory is my classroom making butter during Thanksgiving time.  To this day, I can’t look at butter without the image of one of my little sweeties shaking the coffee can so violently that the lid flew off and I watched in slow motion as cream and marbles landed all over the children’s hair, clothes, my curtains, and the back computer.  

Ahh….to be a first year teacher again.  

As many university students begin their interviews for the next school year, Christi Fultz from Ms. Fultz’s Corner, is hosting a linky party: My Advice To You!  I’ve linked up with her to share some advice that I can hopefully pass along to the next butter-making-risk taking-teacher. 

Here goes!

#1. “You will never have it all together.”  The day in your teaching career that you tell yourself “I’ve got this.” is a day I hope you never have.  You will always be changing, learning, altering, and re-assessing yourself as a teacher. Education is different from day to day, year to year.  You will learn a lot during your first year of teaching.  You will learn a lot during your 5th year and 26th year.  I learned a lot this afternoon.  Teachers help children learn.  Children help teachers learn.

#2. “It’s OK to laugh AT your kids” (not in front of them, of course.)  Face it.  Kids are funny.  They will say funny things, do funny things, and make you laugh all day if you let them.  If you can’t lighten up at school, you are in the wrong career.  I love to joke with my students.  I think they deserve to see me as a real person and not someone who simply gives them a textbook education. Over the year, this is how your classroom will grow into a family.  You will have little inside jokes and funny stories and connections to share together.  What those jokes and connections are will vary from year to year – but they will be part of the glue that holds yours classroom together. 

#3. The custodian is your best friend.  One of my college professors told me this during our first education class.  Don’t forget about them.  They are often the backbone of what makes your school run smoothly. Take the time to get to know them and say good morning and good bye.  They are just as much your co-workers as the teacher across the hall.

#4. You can only control what happens at school and in your classroom.  You will learn about some difficult, sad situations in your students’ lives. It will break your heart at times.  You don’t have much control over what happens to your students at home, but you DO have control over how safe and happy they feel during the school day.
       Last week, I had a student with a birthday.  That morning, she walked in and I cheerfully said “Happy Birthday!!”  She had no clue it was her birthday.  No one had told her happy birthday that morning at home.  I turned myself around and pretended to put homework into a pile while I collected myself….I couldn’t change what happened that morning.  So I did what any teacher would have done.  I made a BIG deal about her birthday all day long.  We sang to her (twice), we called her the Birthday Girl all day, we treated her like a little princess in our classroom. She had a great day at school. Those are the moments we do have control over.  Those are the moments when we are touching the lives of children, even if they don’t realize it.

#5.Have a well organized, filled sub binder for emergencies.  During my second year of teaching, I knew I was going to be out the next day.  The kids were going to have a sub.  One of my little firsties raised his hand.  “Is it going to be Mrs. V?”  Me:  “I have no idea…why?”  “Because she’s the only sub around here who actually knows what she’s doing.”    ðŸ™‚  Sometimes you will win with subs and sometimes you won’t.  If you’re prepared, it can only help. 

Thank you SO much for letting me share a little of my teaching advice with you!  If you are a new teacher, remember that what you are doing is worth it and you will be fabulous! 🙂

Link up with Christi by clicking on the button below. 

Happy Learning,

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10 Comments

  1. As a college student going into student teaching in a month I really appreciated this post! The custodian is your best friend is my favorite. You have such great advice I will be sure to have this bookmarked for reference in the future! Thanks! Have a great rest of the week!

    ThePolishedTeacher

  2. I really enjoyed reading your post. As a teacher in my 25th year of teaching, I can attest that I never get tired of learning. I LOVE finding, making, exploring new and better ideas.

    Thanks for being such an inspiration!

    Cynthia
    2nd Grade Pad

  3. Hi! I am new to blogging…I'm trying to build my followers list. Please consider following me. I have you listed as a favorite blog. 🙂 Plus, I follow you! bbeescorner2012.blogspot.com
    ~Thank you~

  4. I love your butter story! 🙂

    I also really like your advice that we'll never have it "all together"- I still sometimes look at other teachers and dream of feeling like I have it "together" but I can't really imagine myself ever teaching the same lessons year to year (and I don't think it would be good for my students if I did!)

    Jenny
    Luckeyfrog's Lilypad

  5. Oh, how I love your butter story. 🙂 We still have stains on the carpet from a similar incident when I had a student teacher many years ago. Live and learn, right? =)

    Great advice, Christina!

  6. I love all of your advice-especially the part of never having it all together. One of my college professors told me that, and I've never forgotten it. I found your blog through the advice linky and I'm your newest follower.

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