2 posts tagged “advice”

Wow, shameless and lame.  He doesn't even say that, that I know of.  But if he did, that would make it even funnier.. or maybe funny at all.  I'm sorry, Jeremy.

I've really enjoyed having Jeremy as my TEAM teacher.  He is very approachable and I never felt uncomfortable around him.  I also think he's pretty funny and has a great outlook, which helps me to put his comments and suggestions in context.  He has a very laid back attitude and style, which I think cuts back on being able to easily identify things that he's taught.  However, I have picked up some valuable lessons from him.

First, break it down.  Jeremy gave us some lesson planning tips at the end of June, which all involved simplifying information and hammering into the kids' heads.  Coming from the college lecture background of "look at these powerpoints and listen to me read them or maybe even rehash them in my own words while you furiously write notes, sleep, talk online, or maybe glance at the copies of slides you have in front of you if you were lucky enough to get a copy from me even though you don't really have to pay attention because the notes are all online" teaching, I have struggled somewhat with really simplifying information to the basics to maximize retention.  Jeremy's tips have helped me improve in this area.

The second thing I've learned from Mr. Fiel is to find what works for me.  In the role plays and his general advice about classroom management, he often will point out how what he does in practice differs from what many of the other teachers do.  He is conscientious about warning us of this, but he also talks about how what he does is effective for him.  The lesson I've taken from this is that even though his methods may not be "by the book," he still is able to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.  His recommendation to start out doing the things we're taught and diverge as necessary is probably how I'll try to survive this year.

Related to the above, Mr. Fiel has taught me so adjust to my administration and school temperament.  In pointing out how his style differs from others, he also points out how his administration differs from that of others.  He and Ashley Johnson have very different teaching styles, but both are effective.  Their schools have different temperaments and administrations, and they would probably not be able to swap strategies and survive.  This year I'll need to come in with a plan for management and instruction, but also be prepared to adjust to the policies and temperament of the school.  I may have to take more crap than I'd like just to keep control, or I may be fortunate in being able to discipline more sternly and frequently.  Either way, I'll need to adjust.

See, Jeremy?  You did teach me some stuff.  Thanks.

Since I came to Mississippi and met with other people in the program, particularly second years, I have tried to ascertain just what the next two years would be like.  Specifically, I have tried to figure out just what I may have gotten myself into.  I've asked a lot of questions about the program in general, the classes, the schools in which we'll be teaching, and what it's all like.  Delta Autumn is nice because it is basically a FAQ designed to help me deal with my first year of teaching.  I found it to be a relatively pleasant read with a lot of good tips and information.

The chapter that I found most helpful was probably "Getting Ready for the First Week of School."  Besides general anxiety and concern about things like classroom management and time management, that first week is probably a specific thing that I am nervous about.  I understand how critical that first week is as a way to set the tone in terms of classroom management, structure, and starting to earn respect from my students.  But how to do that is what this chapter talks about.  The subtitles to the chapter outline all the little things that I'm concerned about remembering.  After teaching my first lesson on Friday (on the Solar System), I feel pretty confident that I'll be ok in the lesson planning/teaching information part.  From what I've gathered so far, everybody struggles, at least at first, with classroom management, so I know that will be an area to focus on.  The thing that doesn't seem to be talked about much is the procedural/administrative aspect of teaching.  In this chapter, Delta Autumn addressed these questions and, perhaps more importantly, will provide a nice template of things for me to do while I'm at my school preparing a few days before classes begin.

I'm bad at asking questions sometimes or remembering to ask questions that I have.  The laundry list of questions provided will help me to gather pertinent information for my first year of teaching.  Sam Williams, be ready with answers to those.  Those things that are school specific (ie who to talk to about this and where to go to do that) are especially things that our MTC classes can't really address but has at least reminded us to find out about for ourselves through Delta Autumn.

One complaint, thought, might be that this book is completely focused on the 'work' side of teaching as a first year teacher.  It would have been kind of nice, although certainly not necessary, for there to be a suggestion of things that those before us have done to blow off steam, recover, recharge, and generally maintain sanity while dealing with the transition to the South and teaching here.  Besides this small and, perhaps, nit-picky complaint, I found the book to be informative, helpful, and worth the time I took to read it.