How do you prepare yourself to teach?

How do you prepare yourself to teach?

This Chapter discusses the many social problems that plague our schools today. Students face many challenges like depression and suicide, homelessness, violence and abuse in the home, broken family structure, lack of structure and discipline, no boundaries set by parents, lack of parental supervision, and in some homes just overall lack of parenting. Our kids live in a world that is constantly changing where the adult community transmits mixed messages. I must focus on my vocation of teaching and know myself while at the same time be open to pursue professional education and receive suggestions from peers and supervisors.

More than any other job, teaching requires that you have your self-esteem in check, that you are comfortable with your flaws and shortcomings, that you can stand being hated and laughed at, that you can bounce back, and that you are not friends with your students. From this will flow other good habits that you create for yourself in your classroom environment. From the last chapter, we learned that you must understand your preferred style of learning and what Multiple Intelligence(s) are strongest for you. This impacts how you teach and help someone who has problems. From this confidence flow many decisions you make in your day. The first starts the day you introduce yourself to your students. You must create boundaries in your classroom with clear rules and consequences. Show that you believe in fair play, that you base your teaching on a value system and explain that value system. You must also be a role model for them as this may be the only good one they may encounter. Repeat the importance of character building and state that you do not tolerate gossip or others to be put down or criticized. Speak in a low voice even if your classroom is loud and find a way that works for you to quite down a noisy group of students. I will set goals and high expectations for my students and base my curriculum on Christian values. The peace and confidence that you model will be your greatest ally. Arrive early so that you see which students are dropped off very early and which leave late. This might give you clues. Make your classroom a peaceful, beautiful safe haven for all. This implies that you should have nice décor, keep your area clean. It culminates in inspiring the students to take ownership of their area. Finally, if in your classroom violence erupts, you notice students that might be depressed or act unruly immediately ask for help from your school counselor and dean of students. There is nothing wrong with inviting the dean to sit in one of your more rowdy classes. The confidence and classroom control that you demonstrate will avert many potential problems. I drew from Dr. Wong’s books called “The first days of School” and “how to be an effective teacher” to arrive at some of my opinions.

In today’s world, change is the only constant. You should read study and learn. There is a great deal of free literature to help teachers become Master Teachers. Early on, when I was learning to teach at a High School, I always read all the flyers and books the head of school kept in her office. There were so many but could be read quickly during lunch. They gave me ideas on how to be effective in the classroom. The first basic tip I implemented was to get to know my students background as much as possible. The second was to make sure I made myself available to students who needed help and to help them showing concern, compassion and then reaching out in days that followed. While it is hard and draining at times, once you develop the reputation of being fair, firm, and compassionate and a good listener, you can be effective in your vocation. Helping students is about being interested in “their” lives and not needing any reward in return for your dedication. There is no way you can learn to deal with all of the social problems that exist because “you can never really understand” their situation. You aren’t in their lives so don’t pretend that you are. The new school where I currently teach strongly believes in professional education. We have five professional education days set aside each year to help us learn more about social and academic needs of our students. Additionally, in the summer, they invite us to be mentors for 10 days in the Network for community outreach programs. These experiences help us to grow and learn more about our students.