Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning About Your Students, Start of the year

Advice for Starting Partway Through the Year

This particular post comes to you as I try to wrap my head around going back to work on Monday after fifteen months off. I left mid-October of 2014 after being placed on medical leave for the last few months of my pregnancy, handing off a lovely group of students to a great teacher for the rest of the year. That was difficult, but I knew they were in good hands. This time, I’m taking over a class someone else has been teaching for the first half of the year – something I find much more difficult.

This isn’t the first time I’ve taken over for another teacher. Having done this a few times now at different grade levels, I’ve learned a few things to help make the process a little smoother.

Introduce yourself! This might seem like a no-brainer to some of you out there, but communication with families is really important. No matter what time of year you’re starting, you should either send a letter home or invite families into the school to meet you. I actually like to do both. Your letter doesn’t have to be huge and really shouldn’t be your life story, but a little bit of background is nice to include – where you’re from, how long you’ve been teaching, that sort of thing.

Get to know your students. I start the first day by playing a few get-to-know-you games, then transition into a variety of activities meant to provide insight into where my students are with language. I’m a French Immersion teacher, and at my level I don’t teach math, but if I did I would include some activities to learn their problem solving/reasoning skills in that subject as well.

Find out your students’ goals for learning. This is the perfect time of year to talk about goal setting and have your students do a learning skills self-assessment (in fact, I do that every year already). Goal setting can tell you a lot about a student and where their strengths are. I find students are typically very honest when discussing their learning skills, too. Those two activities can give you a lot of insight into your students’ strengths and areas for improvement.

Don’t try to change the routine all at once. You don’t have to be stuck with the routine the previous teacher put into place before you arrived, but you really shouldn’t overhaul everything at once. Transitioning from one teacher to another is already stressful for students, so try to keep most of the routine familiar to them while you gradually implement your own ideas. It’s hard to rein in your excitement, I know, and sometimes you just have so many ideas you want to try them all right away before you forget them. Resist that urge – you don’t want to overwhelm your students.

Resist gossiping about the previous teacher, either with colleagues or students and their families. I’ve been there, I know all about it: people will try to engage you in discussing the previous teacher’s style, personality, and methods. Just don’t do it. I probably don’t have to tell anyone this.

Don’t take on too much outside the classroom. I love running extracurricular activities, but when I’m starting an assignment partway through the year, I try to limit how much I’m doing other than teaching my class. I need the extra time to plan and, I’ll be honest, unwind. You have lots and lots and lots of years ahead of you to do the drama club or sports team you love doing. Sometimes, it’s incredibly liberating to just have to worry about teaching your class every day.

Remember that students need time to adjust. Don’t take anything they say or do the first few weeks personally – I’ve had students decide on the first day that they hate me, only to have them declare me their favourite teacher by the end of the year. I’ve had students do a complete 180 in behaviour when I started. Students will react differently from one teacher to the next, and they need time to adapt to having a new teacher.

Finally, don’t be discouraged. I find starting partway through the year much harder than starting at the beginning. I feel lost for a few weeks every time, and I think that’s a normal part of the process. Just like at the beginning of the year, it will take time for you to find your footing and get into a groove with your new class. All you can do is show up and do your best every day.

Will Gourley General, Professional Learning and Growth, Resilience, Start of the year

The Re-Org

Well, it’s bound to happen in any school once, but again? That’s new.

I teach in an amazing school in York Region that opened in Sept. 2014; right in the middle of a growing subdivision. Our original numbers for K to 8 seemed modest  at 300+ last year, and have since grown to over 5oo+ and rising in 2015.

Yup! Despite the statistical wizardry school boards use to construct population models, even the most seasoned actuaries struggle to solve an illusive problem in education, that of population growth or decline. As such, many schools like ours needed to be “re-organized”, and with that come a few highs and lows.

Re-Org

After months of prepping, planning and perspiring to start the year, our school has been re-organized to accommodate the incredible growth in our area. This week many students were introduced to new classes, new routines, new schedules, and new teachers. At the same time, teachers were introduced to new students,  had to choose which students to transition to new classes, rewrite plans/paperwork, and prepare for the possibility of different teaching assignments. None of which is ultimately a bad thing on its own, but to a new teacher it can be pretty daunting.

To outsiders, reorganization is something related to the business world that is usually a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings. In education it is merely a reality due to unpredictable student population growth and decline. Here’s a brief explanation as explained to parents;

“In order to comply with the Ministry class size reduction strategy, we have had to move small groups of students from many different classes. This process was done with emphasis put on academic needs, boy/girl ratios and social needs of students.”

In education it is an important measure to preserve government mandated class sizes in all elementary panels. As any teacher who has experience Re-Org knows, classes can be overcrowded to start the year. Frequently, JK/SK teachers can have 30 +/- , as can junior and intermediate teachers.

As students fill the classrooms to capacity and beyond, the need for more manageable class sizes becomes necessary and mandatory. This could mean more or less split/combined classes, new hires, surplusing, a complete reworking of teaching assignments, and or no change at all. Actual class sizes will then vary depending on the school, administrative creative class structuring, and or willingness to reorganize classrooms to accommodate what has been  “mandated” by lawmakers.

As a teacher it helps to be able to adapt/adjust and advocate for yourself when Re-Org happens. You are not alone. If you are new to teaching, ask for some support from your admin or a teacher who has gone through it before. Take time to communicate with students, clarify changes to schedules (yours and theirs), and collaborate with colleagues for resources, plans and curriculum content.

With school’s officially starting in September, it may not be until Re-Org in October when the routines, roll call, and real teaching can begin. You can do it.

Tisha Nelson Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, First Week Reflections, General, Learning About Your Students, Start of the year, Student Ownership, Wellness

The First 20 Days of School – Connecting with Students is a Great Place to Start

Teaching is always new! With a new group of students, fresh reflections on practice and the opportunity to start from scratch, as it were, the start of the school year provides teachers and students alike the opportunity to create new beginnings every year. Knowing this, what might some important considerations be to make it a great start? Chapter One of The Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning: Practical Ideas and Resources for Beginning Teachers highlights four important themes for success: connecting with students, passion for teaching, attributes-based approach and importance of school culture. I would like to focus this reflection on the importance of connecting with students within the first 20 days of school as a means to establish an authentic relationship with students that fosters trust and inspires a willingness to take risks within a safe learning environment.

Renowned poet and author Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This profound sentiment holds true for teachers and their relationship with students in that when students feel respected, safe and cared for, the experience of learning is enriched. The following are five practical ways for teachers to build authentic connections with their students at the start of the school year:

1. Be authentic. When teachers model what it means to be an authentic learner – mistakes and all, students are then encouraged to take risks without fear of reprisal. Let your model of authentic learning influence students to do the same. This form of transparency sets the tone for fostering meaningful connections between teachers and students.

2. Ask students about their needs and listen. Validate student voice by positioning them as the experts on themselves. Invite students to share their learning needs and the things that you could do as their teachers that would support their success and commit to doing them. Conducting multiple intelligence and attitudes and dispositions surveys are great ways to begin the dialogue for students to articulate how you can support their learning and their level of self-efficacy.

3. Explore student interests. As teachers we all need to cover the curriculum but viewing the curriculum as a launching pad as opposed to a landing pad can invite student’s interests to take centre stage in the teaching and learning process. Ask students about their interests and find creative ways to invite further inquiry into them while exploring the curriculum at the same time.

4. Learn the students. In addition to the information that can be found in student records (i.e. OSRs), commit to learning more about your students in meaningful ways. Pronouncing student names correctly is important way to let students know that they are valued. Challenge yourself to learn at least five non-school related facts about each of your students. This can help to build a positive relationship and validate their experiences outside of the domain of the classroom. Finally, being aware of students personalities (i.e. introverts, extroverts, etc.) will inform how to relate to them as well as setting the conditions of the classroom experience.

5. Invite to student voice by fostering a reciprocal relationship with your students. Nurturing a collaborative learning environment for students does not merely mean giving students the opportunity to collaborate with each other, but it also means positioning students as collaborators with you. Partner with your students to design the learning space and learning opportunities. This fosters student ownership in the teaching and learning experience and empowers students to be meaningful contributors to the class. When you invite their voice in classroom decisions, ensure that it is validated by action on your part. Leveraging positional power in the classroom creates space for a more meaningful connection between students and teacher.

As teachers we are in the business of supporting students success. Fostering meaningful connections with students goes along way in promoting both student achievement and well-being. When students know that their teachers authentically care about them, their willingness to learn will support their ability to do well. Starting the school year with students in mind will set you on a solid foundation for building upward. Make it a great start.

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, First Week Reflections, Planning, Start of the year

Sharing Your Passions Early and Often

When you are passionate about something, whether it is spending time in the natural world, cooking, art or music your excitement is palpable. It is also contagious. I have used this belief for the last three decades in my teaching practice. Every September my initial plan for developing a learning community and establishing relationships with the new collection of young learners is designed around those areas that I am passionate about.

My personal passions that I bring into my classroom centre on movement, life outdoors and literacy. Through these three vehicles I engage my students from the moment they enter into my classroom. I teach them that you don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy moving, to have fun through games and play. I spend as much time in the outdoors using the natural world as a springboard to the curricula we will journey through over the next 10 months. Finally, my love for reading is shared through a treasure of wonderful, engaging books that bring learning to life for my students. My favourite book to start off my year is ‘YO! YES!’ (written and illustrated by Chris Raschka) as it helps set the stage for the type of community our classroom will strive to become.

Will Gourley First Week Reflections, General, Professional Learning and Growth, Start of the year

This is not a drill. We are live.

Dawn of new year.
Dawn of new year.

It’s the first day.
I’m alone in my classroom.
Wow! It’s so calm in here.
And why not? It is nearly 2 hours before the first bell of the new year.

Why do I feel so excited? Yet, at the same time like butterflies are barfing in my stomach? 

We’ve all thought about it, dreamt about it, and for many, myself included, stayed awake the night before thinking about it. Our first day. Albeit,  only for a moment, or as part of lifelong “professional reflection”, the first day of school evokes feelings of anticipation, excitement, fear, or fearcitement (my word).

Did I set my alarm? Am I dreaming? What will my students be like? What about the parents? Will admin be stopping by our class? Is everything organized? Did I pack a lunch? Where’s my coffee? What if they don’t like me?

If you’re experiencing anything from self-doubt to euphoria to start the year, take heart; you’re not alone. Whether this thought life is old hat or brand new for you; congratulations you’re a teacher. For many entering the classroom for the very first time, it is the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication to our profession.

In this new era, just landing a job is worthy of celebration in Ontario. So when you get a moment, set aside some time to take it all in.

It seems like only yesterday. I recall being there 2 hours before the first bell. I recall the faces of students and parents meeting the “new” teacher outside. I recall the first big breath taken before entering the classroom. I recall the sense of accomplishment knowing I survived. Moreover, I recall this where I began to thrive.

Thinking back on the excitement from my 6 first days of school; I  appreciate how they have led to personal growth, professional friendships and constant learning.

So take some time and enjoy the moments that can only happen on a first day of school. Take time to watch the parents who are seeing their child off for the first time. Take time to notice the student who is standing off to the side trying not to make eye contact. Take time to be still and appreciate the world of difference you are about to make in the lives of your learners. Take time to get caught up in the excitement, and let it carry you through that first day.

Enjoy every moment. I know I will too.

Will