New Teacher's Survival Guide - Mariely Sanchez

[Pages:76]New Teacher's Survival Guide

A Resource Guide for New Teachers

Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

Table of Contents

I am the Teacher (Poem)

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Safety Tips for Teachers

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Avoiding Trouble: What to do if trouble comes your way?

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23 Ways to Start the Year off Right

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13 Ways to Beat the "First-Day Jitters"

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Suggested First Day Activities

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Starting the Year: Optimum Room Arrangements

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Classroom Organization: Seating Arrangements

13

Visualizing My Classroom (Planning Sheet)

14

Supplies Checklist

15

Lesson Plan Checklist

16

Lesson Plan Template

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Sample of School Grade Book Record

18

Substitute Survival Kit

19

How to be an Effective Classroom Manager

20

Homework Policy Planner

21

Procedures I Will Teach Early in the Year

22

Health Emergency Procedures

23

Student Interest Inventory

24

Sample Classroom Discipline Plan

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Classroom Discipline Plan Agreement (Form)

26

Classroom Discipline Plan (Planning Sheet)

27

Teacher-Student Problem-Solving Conference Worksheet

28

Behavior Contract

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Behavior Documentation Sheet

30

Think Sheet

31

Positive Reminder (P.R.) Plan

32

50 Opportunities to Say "You're Terrific!"

33

Discipline Checklist

34

Daily Progress Report (Form)

35

Weekly Progress Report 1 (Form)

36

Weekly Progress Report 2 (Form)

37

Discipline Self-Test for Classroom Teachers

38

Problem-Solving Phone Call Planner

39

Parent Conference Planning Sheet

40

Objectives for Parent-Teacher Conferences

41

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Pre-Conference Self-Assessment

42

Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

I Am The Teacher

I have come to a frightening conclusion;

I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess tremendous power

to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides

whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated,

and a child humanized or de-humanized.

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Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

Safety Tips for Teachers

Things to Remember

1. Have a clear set of ground rules agreed upon by the class. The rules should be reasonable and the consequences of breaking the rules should be understood by all. The class should also understand the teacher can make exceptions if there are mitigating and extenuating circumstances.

2. Schedule some class time to allow for the discussion of students' problems. 3. Utilize parent contacts. Parental assistance is important. 4. Let students know their teacher cares about them

DO

? Plan out your classroom's arrangement of furniture, desks and supplies for ease of traffic and visibility. ? Design seating charts that keep all students within eye contact. ? Learn all your students' names as soon as possible, preferably within the first 3 days of school. ? Greet students as they enter your classroom. ? Start class on time with something important. ? Be well prepared and organized. ? Teach and reinforce the classroom rules as if they are part of the curriculum ? Take time to listen. ? Expect good behavior ? Believe in every student's ability to learn and in your ability to teach.

DON'T

? Snatch things away from students. ? Become confrontational. ? Physically block an exit. ? Argue or get on a student's level. ? Shout or put students down.

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Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

Breaking up a Fight Safely

? Most fights can be stopped by a loud, stern voice. Give specific commands. ? Evaluate the situation. How many students are involved? How big are they? Is there anyone around who

can assist you? Are weapons present? ? Identify yourself; call students by name. ? Defer to rules, not personal authority. ? Stay away from the middle. ? Avoid physical force, if possible. ? Before going into a fight, remove your glasses. ? Separate the aggressor and the victim. ? Remove participants to a neutral location; dismiss the audience. ? Send another student for help. ? Obtain identification, if you do not personally know the participants. ? Get medical attention for participants, if necessary. ? Provide protection and support for victims. ? Report the incident to the proper administrators and debrief relevant teachers. ? Create a written account of the incident. ? Follow up with the administration to ensure that the parents of all students involved are notified.

Battery

Many batteries on staff members can be avoided if teachers or staff members maintain objective, nonthreatening attitudes towards students. Most students will respond to authority if they do not perceive a "loss of face" or "put down", particularly when the action is in front of their peers. However any aggressive actions by the students which result in staff members receiving intentional physical abuse should result in requests for expulsion.

Batteries occur most often when a teacher or staff member: ? Physically blocks an exit and one or more students attempt to slip through ? Grabs or pushes a student ? Takes contraband forcibly from a student ? Attempts to break up a fight ? Attempts to keep a student from fleeing

There are batteries that occur without provocation, and although these instances are rare, they do occur. Teachers and staff members should utilize force only when the student or other students are in immediate danger ? or when the teacher or other staff member is in danger of physical abuse. In all other instances, assistance from security or other staff members should be sought.

Brought to you by: The Bureau of Adult/Vocational, Alternative and Dropout Prevention Programs Miami-Dade County Public Schools Some material was adapted from "Tips for Student Discipline", part of the American Federation of Teachers' Lessons for Life Program

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Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

Avoiding Trouble

What to do if trouble comes your way.

Whether you are a new teacher or just new to this school district, here are some things you should know which might save your job or career.

All teachers who lose their jobs are not evil or incompetent. Many good teachers with the best of intentions find themselves in trouble and facing disciplinary action because they fail to use good judgment and common sense. Here are a few hints and suggestions that we at United Teachers of Dade hope will serve as reminders if you have the occasion to face some of these situations.

Union Representation

If you are a union member, you have an absolute right to the presence and counsel of a union representative at a meeting, where your conduct is being questioned and you believe disciplinary action may result. If you are in doubt about whether you are entitled to union representation, ask for it any way.

Below are but a few examples of situations which could confront a teacher any moment of the day and, if teachers don't use common sense in confronting these situations, career-threatening consequences could result. If you find yourself in a situation where your conduct is being questioned and you believe disciplinary action may result, contact your Building Steward.

Sex

Unless you are a guidance counselor or a teacher assigned to teach students about sex and sexual situations, teachers should avoid discussion about sex with their students.

This includes avoiding discussing your personal life or the student's personal life, especially if the discussion relates to a sexual situation. Be aware of how your conduct and your manner of dress can be perceived by students

Notes and Jokes

Personal notes should never be written unless they deal solely with educational matters.

Notes and jokes can get you into trouble and should be used, if at all, within the educational context of your assignment. Jokes and stories can be misinterpreted and may be offensive to certain individuals or groups

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Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

Handling Money

Regardless of the circumstances, do not handle money unless you first understand the procedures required by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The UTD Contract states, "Teachers shall not be assigned or required to perform the following non-teaching duties...Collect or transmit money for any purpose*."

*Article X, Section 1, Paragraph E

No matter what kind of teacher you are, at some point in your teaching experience, you will be asked to handle money. It might be as simple as holding lunch money for your students or as significant as managing a major fundraiser at your school. If the procedures for handling money are not in writing, you should do your part to get them reduced to writing and then follow the procedures exactly. The only way a school board employee can forfeit his or her state retirement is by stealing or misappropriating school funds. Sometimes it is hard to draw a distinction between mishandling and misappropriating. Be careful when you handle money.

Being alone with students

Do not place yourself in situations outside the educational setting of your school where you could be alone with a student. This includes giving a student a ride in your car, taking a student home with you, taking a student to a movie or camping, etc.

Anytime you are alone with a student, you are at a greater risk than when you are with a group of students and/or in the presence of adults. If there is an allegation of misconduct which allegedly occurred between you and the student, there are only two witnesses ? you and the student ? what really happened no longer becomes the issue. The issue becomes credibility ? whose version of the incident is more believable? Yours or the student's?

Touching Students

Any time you touch a student you place yourself at risk. Use common sense when you touch a student and, to the extent possible, avoid physical contact of any kind in a situation involving only you and the student, i.e., where there are no witnesses.

Anytime you touch a student and that touch is unwanted by the student, you risk being charged with excessive force and/or assault and battery and face possible disciplinary action and a civil suit for damages. We are not only talking about inappropriate touching of student's private parts. We are also talking about grabbing a student's arm, tapping them on the head, guiding them with a gentle shove, pushing a student down in their seat, etc.

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Showing Videos

Do not show any videos in your class unless you first understand the procedures required by your school district for the selection and showing of videos. Check your contract, and consult with your Building Steward, principal, or media specialist to determine how videos are handled in your school.

Only approved videos may be shown. It is an excellent idea to preview any videos to be shown in your classroom if you are not familiar with the content. Teachers with the best intentions have been disciplined and have lost their teacher certificates as a result of showing inappropriate videos to students. Be careful with videos.

Internet Use

It you utilize a computer and/or the Internet while at work it should be for work related tasks.

If you send notes or jokes that could be viewed as sexual, "off-color" or offensive you place yourself at risk for disciplinary action. Use of the Internet for anything other than work related tasks also places you at risk. Using a M-DCPS computer to view pornographic materials of any kind is prohibited. This applies to any time of the day whether you're such access occurs during working hours or after working hours. If you have questions regarding appropriate use of the computer/Internet contact your Union Steward or call UTD at (305) 854-0220.

Our hope in providing you with this information is to encourage your understanding of the fact that good teachers get in trouble too. Good judgment and common sense are the best defense, but when you need help, you need to know that you are not alone. United Teachers of Dade, Florida Education Association, along with the AFT & NEA provide competent and experienced professionals to assist you in protecting your job and your career. Good luck as you embark on your career!

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Created by Ms. Mariely Sanchez at

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