Just for first year teachers from abroad (Part 2)

The next school year is around the corner, and some of you might already been taking different kinds of training. What I'll share with you through this post, you won't hear in any of those training. It might sound silly for experienced teachers, but for me it the struggle was real.

1. The sharpener, your worst enemy. Yes, that's right, the sharpener. That simple, small tool can be a big distraction for students, and extra work for you. During the Meet the Parents Night, where you meet your students for the first time, they usually bring all the materials they'll need for most of the school year. They'll bring thousands of pencils, but they will only last for two weeks. I'm not kidding! I'ts a mystery what students do with pencils, and their erasers. Students are undeniably attracted to the sharpener, and will want to sharpen every 5 minutes. During my first year I took all the pencils home, every day and sharpened them. This went on for a few months until my mentor showed me the pencils she used in her classroom. They're beginner pencils and the lead lasts forever. I bought them for 45 cents, and labeled every pencil with their names. No more issues with pencils. Here's a picture of them, in case you're interested. Oh, and I bought the ones without the erasers, they're cheaper and save me time wondering if they went to eraser heaven too soon.

1. "Schedules are the bomb!", said no teacher ever. It's possible that your school will have a schedules for specials rotation (elective classes), recess, lunch, morning duty, afternoon duty, and your own class schedule. There is no way you will memorize all of those schedules, so my advice is to have them easily accesible so you can refer them constantly. If it's possible to create a visual reference where students can see them, even better. The students will help you keep track of them. The school will probably give you a master list with the schedule/rotation for the whole school. Take the information that pertains to you and your partners, and create your own chart. Here's an example. Remember I worked in a three way split.

1. Organization is the key. It's very difficult for learning to take place in an unorganized classroom. Take your time to research on classroom layouts, but also on where do you want to store materials. Do you want your students to have their material on their desks, or do you want to have them away? Do you wish for every student to have their own pencil box with materials, or will the use community materials? Where will they turn in completed work, or unfinished work? Will you have a bin for portfolios? What bout a bin for the week's copies, and journals? Try to organize as much as possible from the beginning of the year. As the days go by, you may adjust and modify as needed.

2. It's their job, not yours. Think of all the possible jobs you could assign your students, that will make your job easier, and at the same them give your students a sense of community, and purpose. These are the ones that work for me: electrician, line leader, caboose (last in line), technology helper, supplies administrator, calendar helper, table cleaner, sweeper, door holder, girls bathroom monitor, boys bathroom monitor, sharpener, paper passer, teacher helper, messenger, librarian. Just make sure you have a job for each student, and that you give them a precise job description, and modeling. You may rotate them weekly, or every other week.

I promise to post pictures of my own classroom as soon as we return to school. If you have any questions, or want to share your own experience, please contact me through mrs.ramosvelez@gmail.com. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

#foreignteachers #firstyearteacher #organization #schedules