Question:
They say the devil you know is better than the one
you So I don't know if I should think about finding
another I am a new teacher with no mentor and no support.
The She didn't say anything positive and she didn't
know how to The ap observed me and from his comments you would
have They have no positive words of encouragement. I am petrified for either of them to walk in again. I was yelled at in a staff meeting for something I
didn't The whole staff says this is normal for her and
she treats Is this normal? If I would get this treatment
everywhere I Is it this bad everywhere?
Answer: Dear New Teacher: I am so sorry for your experience. I am going to answer your questions as they come. They say the devil you know is
better than the one you Before I left any school, I would contact teachers at the schools I was interested in to find out the culture of the school. I would not go anywhere that I had not visited. I am a new teacher with no
mentor and no support. The She didn't say anything
positive and she didn't know how to The ap observed me and from his
comments you would have They have no positive words of encouragement. I am petrified for either of them to walk in again. One of the main reasons teachers leave is due to the lack of support for new teachers. Principals and AP's have the right to come in anytime unannounced to observe a lesson. Since it's clear the principal did not like your lesson. I would make sure I was able to visit a teacher who your principal feels has exceptional lessons planned and observe the teacher. I would also talk to my team leader to see if I could observe the team leader. What is so shocking that your principal could not give you any ideas on how to improve. When you end a lesson you want your administrations to say you did better than fine. Find out ways to seek out teachers who are master teachers. I am petrified for either of them to walk in again. I was yelled at in a staff
meeting for something I didn't The whole staff says this is
normal for her and she treats Is this normal? If I would get
this treatment everywhere I Is it this bad everywhere? Don't be petrified be proactive about your career. We are all adults and you are not supposed to be "yelled" at anytime especially a faculty meeting. Besides being disrespectful, it could put you in a position where you feel unable to work effectively. If this is normal behavior for your school. There is something seriously wrong. Most principals try to be respectful and mentor and help new teachers. Principals are supposed to be the educational leaders of the school. But there's a difference between being a leader and a manager and your principal has not demonstrated either. IF you really like the kids (because that's what it is all about) try to develop a lesson plan that works for you, try new strategies to help your students, seek out help for teachers or your department chair to observe other teachers, make sure you check out any schools you are interested in before you leave. You don't want a worse situation. I hope this helps and contact me with any questions you may have questions at www.lisachapellphd.com.
Science Teacher with unruly 8th graders December 19, 2006 Hello Lisa. I have been a science teacher for the past 18 years; I have never thought for one moment that I would hate teaching as much as I do this year. To your surprise, the age that is driving me out of this carrier is the 8th grade student age. I teach them integrated science and I face hard time make them listen to what their colleagues want to say, all what they want to do is TALK. Any suggestions. Thanks, L.E. Answer Dear L.E., It’s never too late to start over. Behavior: Does your principal stand behind you on your decisions? If so, I would have my principal come into my room with each of my classes that had discipline problems and explain to the students that they will be sent to his/her office for any disruptive behavior. If you have security officer on campus, I would invite the security officer to come into my room and introduce him/herself to the class and explain to the class s/he will be escorting disruptive students to the office if necessary. This sends the message to students that administration respects our teachers and will enforce the rules. Start the new semester with your students by letting them know the following: 1. Talk to the students about what is expected for the new semester. 2. Place rule and consequences in plain sight to follow and go over each of the class rules with each class. Have the class to repeat them behind you. 3. If a student misbehaves in class, immediately, go over the rule that was broken, state the consequence and then follow through. This lets other students know that they are here to learn and you will deal with any problem immediately. 4. Call a parent in class and hand the phone over to the student that is misbehaving. Parents do not like to be called while at work. If it continues have the parent come and sit next to their child during class. Learning You have to find a way to have the students go from talking to being actively engaged in science. I would ask the students what they wanted to learn and incorporate that into a lesson. What can you do outside the box to have your students become excited about science? (After the first day behavior speech) You may have to do something with science that will make them say, “WOW that was cool!!” Eight graders have a limited attention span and need lessons that are not just book related. I would try to see how I could incorporate the following: 1. Guest speakers 2. Experiments (we learn by doing) Lots of hands-on activities. (If there was a student that I could not trust with the science materials he would be the recorder of what happened during the experiment. 3. Science Field Trips 4. A walking class where you go out and look at rock formations (STANDARD III: Students will understand the processes of rock and fossil formation.) 5. Make fossils with clay and skeletons of plastic dinosaurs or a bone. 6. If approved, a class pet where each class had a responsibility (Hatch a chicken egg in an incubator) Always check with administration before any guest speakers, field trips, or sending papers home to be signed. You have to reach the students where they are, but first you have to get your procedures and rules in order. When you have your procedures down your discipline problems will go away. If you have to go over it every class, until they get it, I would. It would be posted and students would have to sign a copy of the rules and consequences and have their parents sign a copy as well and return it back to school. When a rule was broken, immediately, deal with it. Do not let it get away from you. If you have to make an example of the worst student(s) in your class by sending him/her out do it. If they have to be placed in another class with another teacher do it. Have approval from your administrator. Tell them you will send them out of your class and do it. There’s always one or two students who like to be clowns or very disruptive. Make an example of them by sending them out, so that you can teach the students who want to learn and have a better teaching experience. You can not be an effective teacher if you are in a hostile environment. I truly hope this helps you. Lisa
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