Letter to a New Teacher: Our Last Posting

I found the letters discussing various issues to be very practical and insightful for teachers like me. I think the book is a useful resource for all members of the profession. Below are the letters I read and analyzed, along with the parts I found to be valuable.

1) Managing a Class of Thirty Five
I chose to read this section because effective management skills maintain an optimal learning environment for students. As a new teacher, I need to further develop my management techniques.

Points of Interests:
“The virtue is in the effort”- try and let students know that you are trying to understand them. We won’t always understand, but we can certainly try.
Students just want teachers to listen, like anyone else
Kids talk out for different reasons-it is our job to figure out what is going on with students
Establish and enforce clear rules consistently
Reward good behavior; punish the bad
Talk with students to find out about any problems/ issues that can be translating into bad behavior
Re-evaluate assignments because students might not fully understand
Assign students to seats and groups
Make reasonable deals with students
Ask for feedback with exit cards

2) Approaches to Teaching Writing
I wanted to read this article because writing will be a main component of my classroom. I always can use advice regarding ways to teach writing skills. In general, I was just curious to hear what the author had to say.

Points of Interest:
· Consider students’ performance in light of a continuum- writing portfolios is a way I plan on doing this in my own classroom
· “So it goes, I believe with writing: kids must learn it as a craft, one they can hone, perfect through guided instruction, modeling, and individual coaching in form of comments as their desks or in the margins” (p. 38)
· Respond as a reader while grading student writing by using questions, letting students know that you are confused about certain parts of their paper, and addressing students by name within your comments.
· “Writing teachers should be doctors, not judges” (p. 39) - I found this quote to be really profound because I think this attitude could eliminate student apprehension with writing.
· Talk over student paper in peer response groups
· Make assignments that students can care about, otherwise they are meaningless
· Give choices!

3) Engaging Students and Competing for Their Attention
Teachers must keep students’ attention in order for learning to take place. From my experience, students are easily distracted by many internal and external factors. I would like to develop ways of keeping students engaged and ways of dismissing inevitable distractions.

Points of Interest:
Every teacher feels like a failure at one point or another
“There are not performance-enhancing drugs for teachers; there is only the steady work of the master, carefully attaching what might to what does work and then shaving off what does not fit, to eventually produce what is worthy of their name” (p. 49)- Basically, teaching is trial and error.
Teachers are only competing with themselves to improve their instruction hourly, daily, annually, etc.

After reading this section, I wish the author would have addressed how to use distractions, like technology, as a method for engaging students. I was looking for suggestions here, rather than theory-like responses.

4) Managing Your Time
Teaching is a demanding job, in and outside of the classroom. During my internship, I found managing my time to be one the biggest challenges I faced on a daily basis. I want to learn how to make the most of each day.

Points of Interest:
Consider what you want to accomplish, the best way to accomplish it, and how you will know if your goal was achieved.
Organize each lesson and its materials in a binder, which can be re-visited each year. Then, make adjustments to lessons, specifically how you teach each lesson.
Focus on the “how”, instead of the “what” of the curriculum.

5) Doing It All, Especially with a Family
In the near future, I plan on having children. I worry that I will not be able to balance and manage my work with my family. I fear that I will short change my students because I have to take care of my family.

Point of Interest:
The two worlds of home and school should intersect and need to be considered both together and apart- I think this very true, but I anticipate it will be difficult to abide by since it is hard to leave school at school.

I found this section to be disappointing and less informative than others. I was looking for concrete suggestions on how to manage both areas of life. It could have been useful to include advice from teachers who have children and spouses. However, I am aware that everyone finds their own methods for juggling a career and a home life.