What I Learned in My First Year of Teaching

 I have been a substitute teacher for over 10 years, and have taught 3rd grade for one year. There are many lessons I learned in my first, and so far, only year of teaching. Here I wish to share those lessons and my experiences. Many of these lessons may mirror other people's experiences in the classroom.

1. Don't buy too many workbooks for extra work. 
• I spent a lot of money in the school supply store on books full of activities, word searches, puzzles, and other activities to use in the classroom. On Sundays, I spent countless hours sitting at a copy machine, to the point of sometimes being mistaken for an employee at Staples. I also bought my own black and white laser printer to use at home, which saved me a lot on my printing costs. Now as an after-school tutor I do not have as much money to spend, and so I have found that there are many great resources available online. Some websites are free, while others may require a monthly subscription fee. With a good laser printer, I can make as many copies as I need cheaper than it would cost to buy a workbook and use the copy machine. 
• There are many other great resources online. Some resources I currently use for tutoring include:
• Free Math Worksheets
• Free Printable Worksheets for Preschool through Sixth Grade
• Reading A-Z - Samples
• Super Teacher Worksheets - Printable Worksheets
• Note: I did say don't buy "too many workbooks" because you will not always be able to find what you need online, so you may have to pick up a workbook or two. One great resource I found was pre-made "Folder Centers" which I used in my regular classroom, and continue to use in my tutoring. 
2. Have a "school-free" day or night off.
• As a first year teacher, I often spent Saturday and Sunday working on lesson plans for the week. So, I never had a full day off during the week. I made it a point to at least spend my Friday nights doing something that is not school or teaching-related. Often this meant just relaxing at home and playing video games; my favorite being "Endless Ocean" for the Nintendo Wii, which is a relaxation-type game that allowed me to dive down in the ocean, see different sea creatures or sometimes just sit on the deck on watch the sun. The point is to make some time completely away from anything school or education-related. 
3. Speak to everyone and be willing to share ideas.
• I taught in a very small school which only had 1-2 teachers per grade and housed grades K-8. I had an assigned mentor teacher for my BTSA training, however I made it a point to talk to every teacher on campus. I got some great teaching and management tips from several teachers, and if anyone asked for anything I gladly shared what I could.
4. Prioritize your time.
• It can be very daunting as a first-year teacher to figure out what is most important. I often worked in my classroom for an extra two to three hours a day every day during the first semester. Often it was just me and the janitors still at the school at 5:00 p.m. By the second semester, I had certain routines figured out and was able to use my preparation and planning time more efficiently.
5. Take and borrow ideas from ANYWHERE.
• I know the old maxim of teaching is "beg, borrow, steal" ideas, and this proved true for me in my first year of teaching. In my first year of teaching, I let the after-school program use my classroom. Once, a student from the after-school program left one of their worksheets in my room. I wasn't sure if it was classwork or work assigned by the after-school teachers, but I liked it so much that I used MS Word to copy the worksheet. I try as much as possible to find resources to use. If what I find doesn't fit exactly what I need, I will use MS Word to modify the resource to suit my teaching purposes. I have also used MS Word to create original worksheets. 
6. Create resources as you need them.
• During a workshop, I received a great tip on creating resource binders by unit for all the support materials in my English-Language Arts curriculum. By combing the support materials from several different books into one binder I was able to find all of the extra worksheets and activities for a particular unit in one place. I created several binders for units I had already taught, and which I was hoping to use the following year. That did not happen. I spent money on binders I did not end up using. While the resource binder is a good tip that I plan to use in the future, I will only create the binders when I need them. I wasted valuable time and money created materials I did not use. 

Teaching as Theatre

   I received my Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Arts, and it is from this perspective that I approach teaching. I first learned about the theory of Multiple Intelligences in Directing class. The professor emphasized that in a production, we create layers of meaning through the use of Multiple Intelligences and the five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and feel. In this post, I will discuss different aspects of a theatre production and how they can relate to the classroom.

   From a theater perspective, the teacher serves multiple roles. They are the director, set designer, playwright, and also serve as a supporting actor.

Actors: The main actors in a classroom are the students. They move throughout the space of the classroom and interact with each other and the learning content. The teacher will serve as a supporting actor, guiding the students during the learning activities throughout the year.

Audience: The students can also serve as the audience, watching as the teacher models and demonstrates content and ideas.

The Stage: The stage is the classroom itself. The design is determined by the teacher. The desks and classroom furniture serve as the set, while the posters and walls serve as the backdrop. The placement of desks, tables and other learning areas are designed to maximize learning and may be changed during the course of the school year.


Director: In the classroom, the teacher serves as director. They direct the classroom activities and provide guidance and feedback to students on a daily basis. They coach students to improve their knowledge and performance in classroom activities.


Set Designer and Decorator: Another role of the teacher is that of set designer and decorator. The teacher must design the space of the classroom to maximize the use of all areas for classroom activities. In deciding the placement of desks, tables, bookcases, and other furniture, the teacher needs to take into consideration how the students will move through the space and interact with materials and each other.


Producer: The producer of the show is the administration. They determine what the script is that will be followed in the classroom, as well as provide the furniture, textbooks and support materials, computers and equipment, and most other items used by the teacher and students. The teacher can also serve as a producer, often spending money out of their own pocket for supplies and materials.

Script:  The script in a classroom is the curriculum materials, including textbooks and all support materials; as well as the pacing schedules set by the administration which must be followed by the classroom teacher. Daily lessons and activities are also part of the script, which are written by the teacher.

Playwright: The teacher writes the daily lesson plans, and so also serves as playwright. Often times, the teacher will have to find or create new materials to use in lesson activities in addition to district-approved curriculum materials.

I believe the work of a theater artist and a teacher ultimately are the same; to bring together many different elements in order to create a magical experience for the audience and the students. They both work tirelessly long hours to plan, rehearse, and produce a dazzling performance for all involved. Hopefully in the end the experiences leave the audience and the students more enlightened and compassionate, expanding their knowledge and improving their character.

Amazing!

 It is amazing what you find on the internet, sometimes by accident. While starting this blog, I clicked the "Next Blog" button and came across "The Clever Sheep" blog with the entry on "Paper Blogging." This entry is at http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2011/03/paper-blogging.html I immediately started following this blog.

 This is an incredible activity with lessons in it that are very relevant to today's students. Students, and people in general, need to know just what it means to put something online. Through this activity, students' writing is displayed on a bulletin board, and other students, teachers, and any visitors can add comments with Post-it Notes. Since everyone can read the comments, this helps the students deal with e-writing concepts. I personally love this activity, and if I get my own classroom again, this will definitely be one of my writing activities.

Technology as Only Tools

"A good carpenter never blames his tools."

This is a quote that actually comes from a comic book character, but I believe it has relevance when discussing technology in education. A local school district recently reported giving its 6th grade students iPads, and then seeing gains in benchmark test scores and a reduction in the number of suspensions. However, as usual, the news story failed to go into more detail what the students and teachers are doing with the iPads, and how it is influencing their behavior. We need to remember that whatever we use in the classroom is just a tool. We as educators need to learn how to use those tools for the best educational benefits of our students. It is not simply a matter of handing technology to teachers and students, but showing them how can they effectively use that technology for educational purposes. I do not currently own an iPad, but am curious to see how it can effectively be used in the classroom.

On a related note, there is a local Japanese Art Museum in Hanford that has exhibited some incredible works from artists in Japan. Some pieces have been recent works, while others were at least 500 years old. The ones that have fascinated me the most include bamboo baskets and sculptures and extravagantly embroidered silk kimonos. Nowadays, there are computerized sewing machines that can automatically embroider anything for you. It is incredible to think how people could have created these elaborate kimonos by hand, the skill level and mastery it took and the time the artisan dedicated to the piece. For the bamboo baskets, I had the honor of watching a bamboo artist from Japan demonstrate his technique. He did not have many elaborate tools. He literally sat on the floor with a sharp knife and started working with and shaving the bamboo, sometimes until it was as thin as thread. Very simple, yet his work was very intricate. Technology was not a limitation to these artists; they were only limited by their knowledge, skills and imagination. Getting back to the original quote, if schools implement the use of a new technology in their classroom, and then do not see adequate progress on their academic goals, then the last place they should look is the limitations of the technology. My own version of the quote is a series of questions I pose to people, "How good is a saw? How good is a hammer? It depends entirely on the carpenter using it."