1st Year Teaching: Classroom Requirements

There are many things you are not told in "teacher school". For instance, you are not taught true classroom management. You are not taught how to weave in and out of inter-faculty relations. However, the topic of this particular Hub pertains directly to the fact that you are not taught that much of your curriculum can go in either of two directions--Teacher's Choice or by what I like to call Guided Decision.

You will enter your 1st year of teaching feeling like the world is beneath your feet, and whether you want to hear it or not, within 3-4 months, statistics show that most teachers begin to feel like the world is on their shoulders.

There are many reasons for this. 1.Student Behavior(Discussed on a separate Hub) 2.Personal Life 3.School Events/Faculty Relations 4.Administration

It is your first year teaching, and you are being observed by the principal for the 1st time. You are taught in college to not worry about it, but it is nerve-racking regardless. Truth be told, it is better to continue to teach as you would and not change in order that you personally may grow as a teacher.

At the end of this observation, you are given feedback. The principal will do his/her best to give some positive feedback and motivate you, but then, they will give "CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK FEEDBACK feedback feeback...(Echo)" This part stings a lot as a 1st Year Teacher because you take it personally. This is your life profession, you went to school for however many years for it, you have worked your butt off for the past couple of weeks trying to master it, and yet you still feel like a complete failure at the end receiving your constructive feedback (typically regarding your classroom management).

Here's the fun part. Depending on the school and its status, you may have any number of other people come in and give feedbck on your teaching: Asst. Principal, Mentor, Dept. Public Instruction (DPI), etc.

Every state has its own form of Teacher Evaluation throughout the year, some form of Professional Development Plan. These are the topics you will be given feedback on usually. Sometimes, you will be taught various educational techniques as well and told "Have you ever thought about trying..." You will hear this a good bit even if your class runs perfectly.

Now that I have got that taste in your mouth, here is the meat and potatoes. Depending on where you teach, your school will give you a certain level of teacher freedom, but you will also have requirements and "strongly suggested" material thrown your way as well. This can deal with any number of items Thinking Maps, Professional Learning Communities, Acceleration/Remediation, Differentiation, Inter-curricular Education, Inter-curricular Projects, Departmental Alignment, Various Suggestions on how to do Bellwork, Exit Projects, Research Papers, Content-Specific Papers, On-Demand Papers, Reading Comprehension Strategies, Learning Logs, Reading Enrichment Periods, Standard Course of Study, County-Wide Pacing Guide, Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, Interlaced Matrix, etc.

This is where the choices you make come in. you have one of two options. Either take the Teacher's Choice approach, or take the Guided Decision approach.

If you take the Teacher's Choice approach, you must be ready to wear a thick skin. This approach means you meet the requirements. Then, when suggestions are made and "Constructive Criticism" is given, you let it roll off your shoulders, and continue to teach the way you would because you feel it is the best way to teach. Most teachers take this approach, and I am not criticizing them by any means.

However, the Guided Decision approach may seem more difficult at first, but it will make your life easier in many ways. First, it keeps you covered. Second, you will honor those in authority over you. Third, if you still find yourself knee-deep in what you believe to be failure, it is no longer on you, but on those in authority over you(same as number one). Lastly, it creates a Lesson Plan Template, and it makes Lesson Planning really easy. For the Guided Decision, you take all of the Strategies taught in Professional Development, at Faculty Meetings, through Departmental Meetings, at Grade Level Meetings, and from Feedback given at observations; you sit down with all of the strategies and input. Then, you create a week long or two week long lesson plan template for your teaching.

-If your Asst. Principal recommends doing Bellwork for Reading Comprehension but you want to do it for Grammar, you do it for both. This will not only cover more than one aspect of the Standard Course of Study, but you will be be continually teaching your students Mastery Skills. Furthermore, this is less classtime that you have to plan for. I do Reading Comprehension at the beginning of class, take a 2-3 minute break mid-period and then, I start with a Daily Oral Language bellwork for the second half of class.

-If you are "Highly Advised"/required to use Thinking Maps, schedule it into 1-2 days of your lessons each week. You honor those who have recommended using Thinking Maps (the principal in my case), and you have less classtime that you actually have to prepare for.

-Of course with bigger things like research papers, you will want to sit down and create a Pacing Guide. Fit these into your schedule at your convenience. I choose not to wait until the last minute. I get it all out of the way as fast as I can. I make sure the students understand the concepts, but I make sure that we do not wait until the deadline either. I give my students a deadline that is not actually required of me, giving me wiggle room.

-I have personally created a week long lesson plan template where I have fit all of the "suggestions" into my classes, so if it is recommended that I try something else during my classtime, I can show them in my lesson plans or even just tell them how I do intend to use said teaching method and appease their desire for me to fit their mold. Even with Guided Decision teaching, I still have the freedom to teach in the ways I want to. Do I have less time for teaching the ways I want to; maybe, however, I can choose to use these strategies at my pace leaving myself with as much freedom as I need.

Many teachers say that it is impossible to meet all of the expectations of everybody. Sure. I understand where they come from. They feel that compromise of personal creativity is required. They are right. It is to a degree. I could completely give up my plans and just do as I am told, or I can bring my plans into agreement with the ideas of others.

I hope I have built a strong enough case for you. Below, I have re-listed the benefits once more using Guided Decision teaching.

1.It keeps you covered. You can turn the focus of anyone who criticizes you to your administrative covering

2.You will honor those in authority over you simply by using their ideas. (Take success stories to them about how their methods were effective, they will be thankful and will delight in you as a teacher.)

3.It creates a Lesson Plan Template, making lesson planning a heck of a lot easier.

4.Through the Lesson Plan Template, you will have less actual planning to do yourself if you choose to take this route. The administration will have done it all for you.

5.You still have the freedom to teach what and how you want to teach.

6.Overall, it just "Requires" less work of you than you yourself are willing to do naturally.

You want balance, here it is. It will require taking notes at every meeting you go to--sure, but at least you won't sleep through these meetings. It will also require planning, but you will find that you will have to do this anyway. Why not deal with it at the start and make the rest of the year easier on yourself?

After my 1st Year Teaching, I learned many things, but the thing I learned most was that I should not buck everyone else's advice even if it seems I am up to my neck in it. Many teachers reach a breaking point. They quit, they buck the system, they lose heart, and others get in the habit of just teaching because it is a job and not teaching to impact lives. Why? They exhaust themselves. The key is that regardless of the choices you make whether you agree with Guided Decision teaching or not, do not let go of that unconditional desire to keep moving forward.

UPDATE:

-I have almost finished my 2nd first year of teaching.  It was a great year and went much more smoothly than my first half year.  Sure, it had some seriously rough spots, but overall, it went better.

-On the flipside, I did not stick to the Guided Lesson Plan theory all year.  I held to it consistently for the first couple of months.  However, it came time for required projects and papers.  I still hold to the idea that following the lead given you is key.  However, I am learning that while it is good to have a base lesson plan that without flexibility it will be tough.

-Lastly, there were times where I was pulled in more than one direction by my various leaders.  It is ok though.  You do your best to do what is required; then, you do your best to meet the requests of others. At this point, you are either flexible, or you break.  It is your choice though.

-In light of tough times and seeming impossibilities, it is still better to honor those in authority over you.