Teacher Survey

Question of the Week-"What advice would you give a new teacher?"

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	My peer teacher taught me that sometimes it was better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission!    Chris Minch- Port St. Lucie, FL
	I guess I would tell new teachers to remember to keep communication open with the parents at all times. I had to learn how important it was to set up  procedures and routines in the beginning of the school year. I had to learn to take my time to set routines and teach my expectations. I also learned that the first few minutes of class set the tone for the rest of the day.  I read two books that are very helpful to beginning teachers. They are Educating Esme and My First Year as a Teacher.  Laura Marasco- Port St. Lucie, FL
	"Be organized and consistent"  Trent Minch- Port St. Lucie, FL
	"Don't be afraid to ask questions!"  These days, I think it's especially important to work as a team and a grade level group.  I think back to the times I was a new teacher on staff--I must have driven co-workers crazy, but I also felt that I was providing a similar classroom experience compared to my team teachers.  Dori Valencic- Stuart, FL
	Be nice to the secretary and custodians- they will be good to you back!"
	Don't be afraid to ask questions and ask for help when you need it!  Other teachers can give you much more information than college textbooks and professors. Strive to establish and maintain positive lines of communication with your students and their parents. Be a team player and pull your weight! Have fun with your students.  Laugh, smile, and joke with your students.   Play a game of kickball with them at recess!- Marti Sheckells- Stuart, FL
	Be consistent! Be consistent! Be consistent! It is so very important to realize the difference between a mediocre teacher and a great teacher. Mediocre teachers tell and  great teachers demonstrate and allow the children to discover. ~Terri Luchini Hobe Sound, FL
	Keep a sense of humor! It will get you through the long days when you may be frustrated with your students, colleagues or even your principal! Try to find the humorous side to each situation and don't take things too personal when they go wrong.  Susan Minch- Port St. Lucie, FL
	Make friends with the secretary, lunch ladies, and custodians.....also, stay away from the gossip in the teacher's lounge. On a more serious note...talk to your mentor...ask questions...come early and stay late! Another new teacher tip would be to hold true to "confidentiality" with kids. -Lynn Cable- Lebanon, TN
	Don' be afraid to ask for help. Also, attend any workshops that are available (even if it is for a topic you think you know.) Vicki Wells- Stuart, FL
	I graduated from the university proud to finally be a teacher and I had many fresh ideas that I wanted to share with my colleagues. I joined a team of teachers, which I viewed as old fashion and out-of-touch with the latest instructional techniques. I came on with a forceful, opinionated attitude that I thought was warranted for the good of the group.  I felt that I had so much to offer, but I soon found out that I also still had much to learn. I finally slowed down and started to listen and spend time understanding why things were done the way they were. I also started to realize how I could gain from the insights and experience that my peers could offer me. By being patient, I found out that I could make suggestions that were better received and in the long run benefited our team and most important, our students. I also experimented with techniques and documented their success before I offered them as suggestions to the team. Within four years, I became grade team leader and served for seven years until I left the school. So at first, take the advice that you, as a teacher, will eventually tell your students, “you have twice as many ears and eyes as mouths – so listen and observe twice as much as you talk.” Teresa Logan- Tallahassee, FL
	1. Learn who the power people are in the building that get the job done such as the custodian and school secretary who can get you the supplies and furniture you need. 2. Remember long - term goals, not short- term frustrations are what it is all about. 3. Keep a sense of humor. It will go a long way. 4. Be organized. It is the key to success. Dr. Michael H. Suckley- Sterling Heights, MI ScienceScene.com
	Remember that they are only kids- especially in the middle school environment. It is easy to forget because they want to act older and be treated like they are adults, and in many cases, they are as big as you and seem like they are adults. But, regardless of what they do or say, they are only children, and they have not developed the skill of thinking before they speak, or realizing how they effect others. If you remember that they are only kids, it will help you maintain your confidence in the classroom, and keep your wits and sense of humor about you. Carey Gilcher ~ Naples, FL
	The most important characteristic of a teacher is to be a caring teacher. You can't fake it with children, they have this special radar that can see right through you! You have to be sincere and show them that you are human and have feelings too. I teach 8th graders and they know I respect them and in turn they respect me. Joni Kerr ~ Doha ,Qatar
	Remember that some things may be out of your reach the first year, so don't beat yourself up about it. You'll learn to do it.  The same is true for your students.  And, if you can't help them learn a concept, it may not be the child.  It may be because it is out of your reach to help them this year. Ardell Thompson ~ Washington, D.C.
	Be prepared--and more!  Always have extra time-filling activities ready. It will help you keep control of  your class.  Be friendly to the support staff people--teacher's aides, custodians, lunch ladies, and secretaries. You might have the degree, but you will soon learn they are the backbone of the school.  Everyone needs to work together to keep the school functioning.  They will always remember your kindnesses.  Lastly, care about your students.  Each one is a person with a family and a life outside of school.  Some are great and others need a little extra TLC. Keep smiling!  You'll love teaching! Trudee K. ~ St. Paul, MN
	Really understand the word “procedure” and instead of making up emotional, difficult to enforce, and time consuming “rules”…create only classroom “procedures.”  Because humans follow procedures to get what they want, desire, or need, and because procedural consequences are immediate and do not depend upon the teacher to implement, “procedures” are the perfect classroom rules. If a procedure is not followed simply ask the child to, “Please follow the procedure.”  They “can” speak, but they must follow the procedure to do so (raise your hand, get teacher permission, and speak). Students find procedures both “fair” and “desirable” because you are not telling them (as rules do) that they CANNOT do something: you are telling them that they CAN do anything and everything as long as they follow the procedure(s).  Hurting other students is inappropriate and the way it is stopped is that if a student hurts another student then to stay in the class (which is what they want) they must verbally recognize what they have done, that it hurt someone, that they will not do that again, and they must apologize to the injured student and then if the injured student accepts the apology the inappropriately behaving student may stay in class.  Believe me after one time of this, no student wants to hurt another simply because it is time consuming, humbling, and in the hands of the hurt party. Major behaviors that are unlawful simply must be addressed by consequences set up by the law.  –Michael Campiglia copyright 2004
	Always have a "What's next?"!  When that one kid finishes reading silently first, what do you do with her?  When you planned a wonderfully, intriguing lesson, and you still have 20 minutes to go, what will you do?  When no one will respond to your questioning, how will you cope?  When you have that one kid who completes his test in 7 minutes, how do you keep him busy while the others finish?  Always have something so that "When you finish this, you may start on that . . ." Karleen Arth Sheppard ~ Cheyenne, Wyoming
	Remember to be flexible. Ask to visit other schools and classrooms during professional days. Its amazing what you can learn! Sometimes you find out things you didn't know and sometimes the visit will reaffirm that you are right on track with your own students and classroom. Matthew Beck
	Tell them that no matter how much they want a good impression if the kids get out of hand make sure they have some consequences for it. If kids get to out of hand and nothing is done by it they will think that they can do that every day.

Previous Questions-
             "Tell us your favorite children's software (include the age group, please)."                          

	Any of the Jumpstart Series - Laura Marasco, Port St. Lucie, FL
	Consonant Blends and Digraphs by Tenth Planet- Chris Minch

"What was the best gift you ever received from a student?"                

	The best gift I ever got from a student was a hug. :) ~ Laura Marasco
	I worked in a wealthy private school for many years. Every holiday my children would give me beautiful and expensive gifts. This was always very exciting!! However, nothing could ever compare with the very first gift I received upon moving on to a public school with very poor children! It was the day before the winter break when one of my students handed me a card and told me not to open it until the end of the day because she did not want to feel embarrassed. Well, I waited until all my students were gone, and proceeded to open the card when all of a sudden something fell out. I bent down to fetch what had fallen and smiled when I saw that it was a paper flower. What made me smile even more and filled my eyes with tears was what was written inside my card. It said, " Dear Mrs. Ortega, I asked my father to buy you some flowers for Christmas, but he told me that he was broke. So I made you a flower with paper and crayons. This flower doesn't cost anything but it will last longer than a real one." Well, she was right; the flower has lasted longer. As long as I live I'll save that gift in my heart (and in the album I keep it!) Martha Ortega Miami, Florida
	One time a family took me out to dinner at the end of the year to a really nice place .  We ordered everything from appetizers to dessert.  It was such a treat! Chris Gulotta ~Tallahassee, FL
	The best gift I ever received from a student was not meant to be a gift at all. I happened to acquire a group of students who were in what my school called the "Drop Out Prevention" class. On a particularly grueling day I found myself actually screaming at boy in the class for his misbehavior. He looked me in the eye and yelled, " Mrs. Yates, my mama don't talk to me like that and neither should you." I stopped dead in my tracks and thought to myself how right he was. I learned a very valuable lesson that day and vowed to never raise my voice to another child again. It has been ten years and I have not broken my vow. I have often thought back to that particular day and am thankful I had a student who taught me how to be a good a teacher. It was the best gift I ever could have received. NYatesfl
	I had returned to teaching after taking a semester off to be with my child. I was a music teacher before I had my child and now I found myself teaching a second grade classroom. I always thought that teachers who taught "special" subjects were overlooked and unappreciated and I was looking forward to all of the great gifts a classroom teacher receives. Well, at the end of the school year, the gifts were sparse and frankly not what I thought they would be. I went through a very serious period of self-evaluation and then realized that the fun we had shared for one semester was plenty for anyone. As the children headed out the door Matthew, a precious child who never said a word, approached me with a rather rough looking art project and held it out to me. I stacked in the small pile of the other "presents," told Matthew "Thank you" and I heard Matthew's word that still ring in my ears. "Mrs. Harper, I started making that right when you came to teach us. I worked real hard on it. My mom wanted to but you something for the last day of school but I told her that I knew you best and that you would like this better." I picked the art piece up again and read his poor handwriting. He wrote little things that no one else would understand like; "I liked it when you asked me if I felt like I did good on that test. You told me you love me. I love you too. You make school better."     Matthew is a third grader now and my heart leaps when I see him in the hall. Michelle Harper ~ Willis, TX
	The best gift I ever received came when I was teaching in my hometown of Dublin, GA. I was teaching fourth grade and that year had been especially challenging for me after changing from teaching middle grades students. I was given a very special child to teach named Will. He was ADD and on medication. There were days when Will taught me what patience really was by forgetting to take his medicine before he arrived at school. I learned to give Will his time and soon he would be able to give me my time. At Christmas that year, Will went with his Mom to pick out my gift, he had noticed my love for silver jewelry and chose a beautiful necklace with a charm that read," Cherished Teacher" on the front. I have cherished that gift and the gift of teaching every since. Ms. A. Dawson
	I would have to say the best gifts I got came on my last day of teaching students I had for 6 months while a 9th grade English Honors and Gifted teacher was on extended maternity leave.  Parties happened in all 5 classes I taught.  All total, there were 3 cakes, $40 gift certificate to Olive Garden, $15 gift certificate to Books A Million, "Shakespeare: A Life" by Park Honan, a "5th Period Memories" book, and lots of balloons and cards along with the "Teacher of the Month for February: Mr. Guarraia" banner the students ripped down to give to me on my last day. Chris Guarraia ~ Tallahassee, Florida
	My best present came from a young man just after graduation this year. He had been in my history classes for 10th and 11th grade. Each time struggling to pass, and each time, I took extra steps to keep him motivated, and he made it through. I worried about him this year as he was taking gov't and economics, but not with me, and he was extremely nervous about it as well. I didn't see him much this year; our paths didn't cross often, but each time I saw him he'd say he missed my class. After the ceremony, as I was walking back to my classroom to get something I had left behind, I noticed him up ahead. He was at my door with a card in his hand, but he turned toward me when he heard the familiar jingle of my keys. I told him how proud I was of him, that "see - you could make it without me". He told me, "It is me who is proud of you. You never gave up on me and you became the best teacher I ever had, ever. The students who have you are the luckiest students around." Needless to say, I was speechless. He said he had to go, his mom was waiting for him in the car. He handed me the card, and gave me a hug. I opened the card and inside were two items. The first I recognized right away. It was a two columned "promissory note" we drafted together when he was in tenth grade. It stated. (A) I promise to ask questions if need help understanding. (B) I promise to help you understand. (A) I promise to always give you my best effort. (B) I promise to always give you my best effort. (A) I promise to a positive person. (B) I promise to be a positive person. (A) I promise not to get angry and give up when I get less than want. (B) I promise to give you plenty of opportunities to find success. Beneath each column were our signatures. And he added, "PAID IN FULL" And the second item in the card was his 3rd quarter report card, which included the 1st and 2nd quarter as well... Straight Cs... every class.  He had his gov't and eco teacher write in his 4th quarter grade of an 80/B - his first in history ever! The card simply read. Thank-you, love always Miah.  Name witheld
	One special birthday, my room mom called every home of every student in my class. She arranged for each child to bring in one flower for a very special bouquet. I received 25 flowers; some home grown, some picked along the way to school, and some store bought. It was the most beautiful, diverse bouquet of flowers; just like my class full of students. Jenny Nichols ~ Stuart, FL

 

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