At the start of a new school year, many of the tasks teachers have to complete are physical ones such as arranging desks; creating bulletin boards; and tracking down books, resources and supplies. The time spent on these tasks, although important, is not nearly as valuable as time spent reflecting on the choices we can make to ensure our school days run smoothly and productively.
The sheer number of choices we have to make as part of our daily classroom responsibilities is staggering: Hundreds of times a day, we make decisions that will have an effect on the well-being and success of our students. Spending time now thinking about choices that can make the upcoming school year easier and more successful is well worth the effort. Here are 10 choices geared to help you get the new school year off to a great start.
- Ignore the small stuff. Without a doubt, there will be plenty of classroom battles to be waged this year. Spend time reflecting about the behaviors that could disrupt the type of instructional environment you want for your classroom. These are the behaviors you will need to manage with both skill and respect for the dignity of your students. If you can ignore the rest, you will have chosen wisely.
- Keep things in perspective. You will have many good days during the school year, even plenty of fantastic days. But you will have bad days as well, and unless you learn how to manage those days, you will put yourself in danger of professional burnout. One effective way to keep everything at school in its proper perspective is to ask yourself if the problems you have today will be important next year. Keep the big picture in mind on those not-so-great days, and you will find your school year more productive and enjoyable.
- Make it your goal to have every student leave your class with a positive attitude every day. Plan dynamic lessons. Play music. Break out the crayons. Get everyone up and moving. Play games. Race paper airplanes. Do whatever it takes to reach every student. Never doubt that it’s important for students to have a positive outlook about school, their subjects, their classmates, and their teachers if they are to succeed.
- Be proactive! Plan what you are going to do if ... Learning to accurately anticipate outcomes is a skill that takes a while to develop, but is well worth the effort once you see the positive effects a proactive attitude will have on your students. You will be able to prevent many of the problems that can cause students to stray off task, become distracted or even disruptive, and often also be able to pre-empt many of the problems that can slow down students’ academic success.
- Use your strengths. It’s all too easy to focus on what went wrong during a school day instead of paying attention to your successes. Learning to identify and then work with your strengths instead of staying stuck on your mistakes is a much more productive way to reach your students, teach successfully and enjoy your profession. Figure out what works for you, and then use your strengths to remediate the areas in which you are not as strong.
- Cherish your students. Even the most difficult kids have redeeming qualities. Instead of complaining about students who are disrespectful or constantly engaged in futile power struggles, try to look at your students with an understanding heart. All of them need to believe that you care about them, but the students who struggle the most need the best you have to offer. Look for their strong points and capitalize on those to encourage self-discipline.
- You don’t have to know all the answers. Effective classroom teachers in the 21st century no longer regard themselves as the sole disseminators of knowledge. Instead, we fearlessly tell our students, “You know what? I am not sure of that answer, but I bet we can find it together.” What a powerful way to look at instruction. What a powerful role model we provide our students when we admit that sometimes we need to double-check our information just as we expect them to do. Working with students instead of talking at them makes learning easier for everyone, but especially for students who struggle.
- Be moderate in your approach. You do not have to be the world’s best teacher all the time. You just have to be a very good one. One class at a time. One day at a time. The small patterns of success you create every day will soon build to the success that you want for your class and for yourself. Be as patient with yourself as you are with your students.
- Safeguard your energy. Choose to work smarter, not harder. Deal with the problems that will give you the greatest benefit right away. Be selective: Expend your energy on large problems before you deal with the smaller issues. Safeguarding your energy requires conscious effort on your part, but the result is well worth it.
- You don’t teach a class. You teach complex, living, breathing people. It’s so easy to get caught up in classroom responsibilities that sometimes we lose sight of what’s most important: our students. Everything else should be secondary to their needs. The difference between a good teacher and a great one lies in the importance that a great teacher places on building the positive relationships that will make all students feel valued, included and capable.
