We've Got A Diem to Carpe

I did it.

I remember coming home my first day, uncontrollably sobbing. Someone on here said, “If you can make it through your first day, you can make it through your first week. If you can make it through your first week, you can make it through your first year. If you can make it through your first year, you can make it through anything.”

Here are things I’ve learned in this first month of teaching.

• Know your behavior management plan backwards and forward before the kids walk in. Teach it, reteach it, immediately. Even if it’s the very first day of school, follow through with it… even if it means calling home or sending a kid out on day 1. If you don’t follow through, the kids will see that and walk all over you.
• You can always take away structure. It is a lot harder to add structure.
• Eat. Even if you don’t have time, eat. Buy snacks you can keep in your desk drawer.
• It is okay to ask for your help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. If you wait, wait, wait, and pray things will get better and they don’t and you wait forever to talk to your principal about it, he/she will be more upset that you waited so long to bring it up than he/she would have been if you asked for help right away.
• Ask for help not only from administration… but everyone. Can a teacher who has had your students before offer behavior management techniques? Does the student’s parent know a trick that works really well with keeping their kid focused? Are there fabulous tumblr teachers with a million resources who are willing to share ideas? Yes.
• Over plan. You never know what activity is going to take 20 seconds when you planned for 20 minutes. It will feel awesome when you get to copy-and-paste some of last week’s lessons onto this week’s. 
• Vent, and vent some more.
• Go to happy hour with the staff. 
• Do not get anything more than a slight buzz.
• Teachers gossip.
• A lot.
• No, but for real.
• That being said, find someone outside of the school that you can talk to about school. 
• Always act like the principal and your students’ parents are in the room. If the principal walks in, is he going to be happy with what he is seeing from you? If the parent walks in, are you treating their child the way they should?
• Getting to know your students is one of the most effective behavior management techniques. 
• The printer will jam; the copier will break- always have a back-up plan, and your back-up plan should have a back-up plan.
• Like I said- eat. And then eat some more.