To write this advice-for-a-teacher blog post, I asked my amazing teacher friends for suggestions via Facebook, and they did not disappoint! Advice for teachers came from educators from AVID to social studies, from elementary to high school (although mostly middle), and from educators who have been teaching a few years to over thirty. These teachers made suggestions that I wouldn’t have thought of, and I am grateful for their valuable input and expertise.
Scroll through the headings to read these suggestions for the areas you need help with, or read the entire post. It’s worth your time!
Setting Boundaries Advice for a Teacher
Classes are over, and you still have lessons to plan, papers to grade, parents to call, meetings to attend, extracurricular activities to sponsor, duties to cover, etc., and there is no way you can take care of all of this in a forty-five minute conference period (if you’re fortunate enough to have one). Still, you must set boundaries, and setting boundaries for students and parents will help you set them for yourself.
With Students
There’s a reason teachers review rules the first week of school: students perform better when they know what you expect. I’m not saying that every one of them will be a perfect angel, but you will have better results with behavior and academics, meaning less work for you, when you let them know your expectations from the start.
–Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
With Parents
Wait 24 hours to respond to rude emails. This gives everyone time to cool off and gives you time to think about how to respond. It also sends the message that you’re not available via email 24/7.
—Melissa Nobles, Middle School Social Studies
With Self
Find a good work-to-life balance. Don’t bring work home with you.
—Kayla Huges, High School Ag
They will replace you within a very short period of time if something happens to you, so don’t miss out on personal life to overwork yourself.
—Sheena Jordan, Middle School Science and Social Studies
Don’t be the teacher who eats alone in your classroom. Everyone needs a chance to relax and “get away from it all,” if only for 20 minutes. Most importantly, remember to laugh; it will get you through so much both personally and professionally.
—Laura Odom, Middle School Math and English
When asked to take on an extra task, say, “Let me think about it.” This way you have time to decide if it’s something you’re truly interested in spending extra time on.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Lesson Planning Advice for a Teacher
The best part of the job is working with teens and teachers. The second best part is lesson planning (in my opinion). However, this isn’t always the case, especially when you have four different classes to prepare for. Fortunately, there are more resources available to teachers now than ever. Here are some of them.
Use the scope and sequence you’re provided as a guide, not the end all, be all. Ultimately, your job is to educate the students that are in front of you. Do what’s best for them. You’re the expert.
—Adrianna Price, Grades 7-8 AVID
Find a mentor you can talk to and bounce ideas off of!
—Carol Villarreal, Middle School Reading, High School Reading Specialist, and Reading Intervention Teacher
During your second (or tenth or twentieth) year of teaching, refer to the previous year’s lessons when planning for the upcoming school year. Reflect on what worked and didn’t, and tweak as needed.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Create emergency lesson plans for three days. Include copies, links, etc. OVER PLAN rather than UNDER PLAN.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Google the concept you want to teach. You’ll find tons of blog posts that will give you instructions for free. Also, do the same at Teachers Pay Teachers. You’ll find ready-to-go resources there, many for free, and I’m not just saying that because I’m one of the sellers! If it saves you time, it’s worth the search.
–Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Teaching Advice for a Teacher
Here’s a hodgepodge of advice with tips on friendships, classroom management, grouping, strategies, and routines.
Allow kids a chance to cultivate friendships. All of their social time has been practically wiped out of existence. We have too many loners who need friends in order to adjust to the world around them. Let them work on assignments with a partner or in small groups occasionally. Also, I almost always let students check their own homework. Each kid needs to see what he, not his neighbor, has done incorrectly. It also saves embarrassment and helps to build confidence.
—Laura Odom, Middle School Math and English
We were all worried about classroom management. Your district and/or region offers training. Take it for your comfort. You won’t use everything, and you’ll adapt everything else, but it’ll make you feel better. Also, WHEN you hit the “what the hell was I thinking” phase of “why did I think I could do this?” remember the REAL goal of every first-year teacher: survival. That’s it. You made it to June? Success!
—Deborah Guidry, Middle School ELA
In middle school, groups of 2-3 seem to work best for productivity. For team building, 4 is ok. Socratic Seminars work in any subject where kids take in content through text, and they LOVE them–also, don’t be afraid to adjust them to meet your needs. The key is to stay out of the conversation as much as possible. Let them discover and learn and bounce ideas naturally off each other. If you start your first year with Socratic Seminars, you will build a dynamic learning environment naturally.
—Deborah Guidry, Middle School ELA
Interested kids are good students.
—Gerard ven den Dries, Middle School Social Studies
Begin every class period with a five-minute warm-up. This will establish a routine for students and give them needed practice for difficult concepts (e.g., punctuation). Also, after completing warm-ups, review responses with students and allow them to make corrections. This will help with retention and understanding.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Whether your students are gazing at stars in a portable planetarium or presenting presentations on a slideshow, keep a light on.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Building Relationship Advice for a Teacher
You’ve probably heard the saying, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” As you will see, this holds true for both students and parents, even the most challenging ones.
With Students
At the beginning of the school year, it’s always a best practice to cultivate positive relationships with the students! Only listen to students’ concerns as you cannot promise them solutions to their home life, but listen, listen, and listen. Once you care for your students, you can always get them to do great things.
—Gilma Orozco, Middle and High School Spanish
CARE. Kids know which teachers do and which teachers are burnt out. Care, and care enough to care for yourself too. Show them healthy boundaries. They may not have them at home. Tell them the why of things initially–even the ones that are butts about it. Because the kids are listening. If they know why you are doing things, they are more likely to respect what you do.
—Deborah Guidry, Middle School ELA
Empathy and relationship-building are important, especially for your most challenging students. Always remind yourself that children are products of their environment and your words will impact them, so be mindful of how you use them.
—Jeanette Garza, Middle School Special Education
Build relationships with your students–students won’t learn from somebody they don’t like.
—Tara Herfurth, Elementary
Challenge yourself to learn every student’s name, all 180 of them, the first week of school.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
With Parents
Listen to parents, even when you disagree. It doesn’t mean you have to do everything they suggest, but while you may be the expert on teaching, they are the expert on their kid. You both care about the kids. Once they see that, they will support you in every way possible. I even had a parent volunteer to help me. I had a parent whose oldest daughter I had 30 years ago, and her help was invaluable.
—Debbie Hernandez, Middle School Math
Setting Up Your Classroom Advice for a Teacher
It’s not surprising that students think teachers live at school because there is someone in the building from six in the morning until eleven at night Monday through Friday, and that’s not including weekends. Since school is like your second home, here is a list of items that will come in handy (compiled by my friend Aceneth).
- Extra jackets for kids (who are cold only while in your room). Wash weekly.
- A jacket for you (Keep in your room, and wash once a week.)
- Pick a pocket. Use a plastic hanging shoe organizer and fill it with a dozen academic activities students can do after they finish their work (e.g., puzzles, puzzle books, stationary, critical thinking gadgets, jigsaw puzzles, etc.). Buy these at Dollar Tree.
- An umbrella. It’s not unheard of to have a fire drill in the rain.
- Textbooks. Get a set even though most teachers don’t use them. They are great references and useful when making emergency lesson plans.
- A doorstop (just in case).
- Dedicate a bulletin board to pertinent school info to serve as a quick reference for students. Include the following: bell schedule, school calendar, school map, lunch menu, counselor info, sports schedule, and folders for copies of assignments absent students can easily access.
- Manual pencil sharpeners
- A mirror (to cut back on restroom visits)
- A comfortable chair
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Spare change or money (when someone offers to pick up lunch)
- Hat
- AA batteries (remote controls)
- Flashlight (power outages)
- Paper plates, paper towels, paper cups, eating utensils
- A small trash can for your personal space
- A power cord and surge protector
- A small desk lamp
- An extra pair of comfortable shoes
- Over-the-counter aspirin, cough drops, antacids
- Floss, band aids, lip balm, hard candy, feminine hygiene products
- A case of water or other beverage
- A padlock (to secure your personal belongings)
- Snacks (You don’t always have time for lunch.)
- Chargers (for phone and watch)
- Flash drive (The computer in your room is district property.)
- An old-fashioned photo album or binder filled with sheet protectors to collect happy notes and greeting cards from students.
- A green shirt (for Earth Day)
- A purple shirt (for Military Child Day)
- Red Ribbon Week attire (e.g., crazy socks, sports team shirt, superhero shirt, camouflage tee)
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Staying Organized Advice for a Teacher
A student once told me that I was the most organized unorganized person she ever met. The truth is that I was an organized person until I started teaching. Then, thanks to tips like these, I managed to stay on top of things (even though my desk said otherwise).
Keep a calendar. At the beginning of the school year note important school dates (e.g., early release days, end of grading period dates, holidays). As more due events and dates come up, add them to your calendar (personal and professional). You have too many deadlines to remember, but a calendar will help you meet them and not overbook yourself.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Set up a small file box with one folder for each week of the school year labeled week one, week two, week three, etc. As you finish teaching each week, place handouts in the designated folder. This will allow you to quickly find handouts for anyone who needs them. You can also color code them by grading periods (e.g., blue for the first nine weeks, yellow for the second, etc.).
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Set up your own interactive notebook. You don’t need one for each class, but do keep one for each subject and grade level you teach (e.g., grade 6 ELA, grade 7 ELA, etc.). This will help with grading, students who are absent or need more time, lesson planning for next year, and more. Plus, you can use it as a visual when demonstrating to students.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Keep a notebook for notes during all meetings: PLCs, faculty meetings, administration, parent conferences, etc. Also keep a notebook to write on-the-spot notes and reminders whether they are personal, professional, or student-related.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Self-Care Advice for a Teacher
I’d say this one is easier said than done because so many teachers are givers, the types that think of themselves before others, but here are the suggestions I received when I asked for advice for teachers in general.
Drink lots of water, use lozenges, and take care of your vocal cords!
—Gerard van den Dries, Middle School Social Studies
Also, remember the earlier advice from Laura (eat lunch with friends), Ace (keep a binder of mementos), and Kayla (don’t take work home). As for the last one, it will help to set a specific, reasonable time to end each workday (a time that allows you to finish what you need to do without carrying it home, and not 9:00). I also found Edutopia’s “7 Self-Care Strategies for Teachers” for those of you who would like to read more on this topic.
—Michelle Smith, Middle School ELA
Documentation Advice for a Teacher
Documentation, a part of teaching that wasn’t mentioned when I attended college, is now a necessity. So, here’s some advice for teachers on that topic.
Follow up meetings with an email as documentation of the meeting.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Create an electronic folder/portfolio for teacher-evaluation documentation (like T-TESS).
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Prominently display a behavior binder. Write student offense or praise, and have the student sign it. For an offense, explain this is a warning. Next time, there will be a phone call home. If you say you’re going to call, do it!
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Join a teachers’ union, like the American Federation of Teachers, for benefits and job protection.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Money Advice for a Teacher
When financial advisors visit your school and tell you that a teacher’s retirement is not enough to live off of, they’re telling the truth. Texas retirees can expect to bring home about $2500.00 a month after health insurance deductions. (The average is $2174.00.) If you don’t have many bills and you do have an extra income coming in, then you can survive, as long as emergencies don’t arise. But they do, so take my friends’ financial advice TODAY.
Start your 403B financial plan and put at least $300 a month away. If you do that with a sound financial advisor, your money will double by the time you retire.
—Jaime Liendo, Middle School Science
Specifically, a Roth IRA, which is under the umbrella of a 403B. A variable annuity will not grow like a ROTH. I started a 403 variable annuity 15 years ago with $800. After 15 years, it has only grown to $1400.
I started a ROTH about 19 years ago, forgot about it, but left 3k in it. I revisited it 7 years ago, and it had grown to 7k. I began to contribute to it again 5 years ago. The balance two years ago was over 32k. Increase your contributions each year until you reach the maximum allowed, then forget about it until you retire. See a licensed financial planner for details.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Fundraisers. Establish a personal policy about buying from students. Either don’t buy at all or buy from only the FIRST student who asks.
—Aceneth Medina, Middle School ELA
Advice for a Teacher in a Nutshell
There is a lot more involved in educating young minds than people realize, but don’t let these tips scare you away from the profession! Because of teaching, I met some of the best people in the world, staff and students included, and I had time to spend with my family during the summer and holidays. Plus, it showed me the value of education because it kept me learning, even when I thought I knew everything.
I would love to hear from you! If you have any advice for a teacher, please leave a note in the comments.
