Memoirs of a First Year Teacher

     The countdown in my planner tells me that there are 37 days of teaching left until my first year as a teacher has been completed. In some ways, I feel as if this year has flown by. In other ways, it has felt like an eternity. I feel like I've really reached the point in the year where I'm facing the consequences for things I could have done better at the beginning of the year. My recent mantra has been "being a first year teacher is all about learning what to do, and what not to do again next year." Its much easier to recognize things that will go in the latter category, and harder to see the good procedures and habits that have become part of every day routines. Here are some of the major things that fall into both categories for me:

What to do:

• Learn names, and actually be brave enough to call a student by name. There's nothing that will engrain their actual name in your mind than by calling them by the wrong one...
• Write a lesson plan. Every. single. time. I need to see things written on paper. Every time I tried to "wing" a lesson, or go with a plan that I didn't write down, I was faced with one of the following issues: too much time left over, not enough time, poor transitions between activities, forgotten components of lessons.
• Enforce the rules that you put in place. Are kindergarteners cute? yes. Does that mean that the excuse "I don't know... my foot just got there," is an acceptable answer for kicking an instrument? no. 
• Laugh! Enjoy being with your students. Let them know that you are a real person, and not some automated cyborg intended for delivering curriculum.
• Keep your classroom organized. I thought that I had a hard time finding out remote for the Tv... that's NOTHING compared to trying to find the smart board remote. 
• Assess as you go. Document what's going on as you observe an activity. Through the use of the program iDoceo , I have easy access to monitoring a student's progress. Assessments should not always (or often...) be a written test. You will get a better understanding of a student's ability in a candid, and low-stress setting. For me the documentation isn't so much for my record book as it is for me to better understand myself as a teacher. What am I doing well? what do I need to teach more thoroughly? who can I help that may be slipping through the cracks quietly, and unnoticed?
• Be the boss (for lack of a better word) in the classroom... but cultivate positive relationships outside of the students' specials time. One of the things that I feel has been my biggest success this year was developing a relationship with some particularly challenging students. In my classroom, there is no acceptable time to break a rule. Therefore, I enforce my rules as often as I can through the use of strikes. As a new teacher, I understand that I'm being tested. My school has gone through music teachers like some people go through socks. Music hasn't been a priority for these kids, and since the music teachers always leave... why bother paying attention to them? Although students have to face consequences in my classroom... that doesn't mean that I ignore them, or bring any frustration into my casual interactions with them in the hall or before and after school. I was intentional about helping with parent pick-up in the afternoons (even though it's not my assigned duty) so that I could talk to kids while they waited. It was through conversations about the students' interests that we could come to a better understanding and that I could develop a rapport with the students. Showing concern for a student waiting for the nurse, or praising a student for a project displayed in the hallway showed that I noticed the student for who they are outside of my classroom.

What NOT to do:

• Leave behavior undocumented. I have a three-strikes-you're-out policy in my room. First semester, I would casually throw out strikes like I was tossing candy... but I wouldn't do anything about them except enforce my procedure of 1. warning, 2. sit out, 3. call for backup. I found that there were some circumstances that called for more than 1 strike... but didn't really need backup. When I went to put in grades at the end of the semester... I was at a loss! I had no way of justifying why I gave students a lower behavior grade because I had not documented the strikes to watch the trend of when things had become a problem or a habit for a student. Second semester, I kept a strike book where I kept dates and tally marks next to a student's name. I can visually see the trends and make adjustments for a happier classroom.
• Offer frequent class rewards for good behavior. At this point, the students can earn points during class. Every 10 points they have a reward.This was GREAT at first... but now, I'm out of ideas for rewards AND the rewards happen too frequently. I'm not as consistent with giving points (or taking them away) as I should be, because I don't have an idea for their next reward. Newt year, I will spread it out so that there's more to look forward to, and I don't run out of my stash of ideas as quickly.
• Talk so much during choir rehearsal. I tend to ramble and repeat myself. Some weeks, I spend more time on announcements and questions than I do on rehearsing... which is NOT productive. 
• Wear heals on concert day. My feet hurt after a normal day of teaching when I wear heels... why would I think that it would be any different on an even longer day???
• Make assumptions about substitute teacher's ability in music,  or familiarity with my classroom. There was a day when I was expecting one sub, and last minute had a different one. Sub plans need to be thorough, as if it's a new sub who has never been in your room before. 
• Teach standard-by-standard. This is where I'm really facing consequences for this year. At the beginning of the year, I started with a pacing guide, but I struggled to implement my ideas, program repertoire, and personal song/activity choices. I had a hard time substituting things in and out while knowing what standards or focuses I needed to have. Then i started focusing on one standard at a time. Now, I'm stuck with the leftover standards, which all seem to be things that I could have easily tied into a different activity. Next year I will structure different things around themes (genres, composers, time periods, etc.) and pull in specific standards that can be incorporated into a theme. I think that things will flow more smoothly, and allow more opportunity for me to incorporate other songs and games without seeming like such a break from the norm. 

All in all, there are probably more lessons that I will toss to the side than there are lessons that I'm itching to teach again. This has been an incredible year, and I'm not wishing for time to fly by any faster... but I am ready to start a year over. To implement procedures and routines in a more constructive way so that I can maximize on the 30 minutes that I get to see my students. I feel so proud of all of the things that I've accomplished this year, and I'm amazed at how well my first year of teaching has gone.

Common Time: What are some things that you have kept from your very first year of teaching? What are some things that you knew right away you would never use again?