Tips for Survival! :D

How to Survive - and Thrive as a Student Teacher

Here's How:

1. Thoroughly read all of the preparatory materials you are given. Devour the student teaching handbook with an attention for detail and an eye for places where you can excel. Know what's expected of you and look for opportunities where you can not just meet the basic requirements, but soar above and beyond the essentials. Each school has its own set of policies and your best bet for fitting in and succeeding is to know how the school works and how best you can contribute. Also make sure to stay on top of all requirements from your teacher training institution.
2. Approach student teaching as a 4-month long job interview. Dress professionally, show up on time, be courteous, and showcase your best qualities. Watch the staff, especially your master teacher, and do what they do. Basically, go the extra mile and put your best foot forward. That's the surest way to maximize the positive career potential of your time as a student teacher.
3. Know when to talk and when to listen. In other words, don't be afraid to offer your opinion; but steer clear of campus politics, sensitive issues, and teachers' lounge gossip. Listen to advice from your master teacher and follow it to the letter. And no matter how comfortable you feel on campus, always remember that you're a temporary guest on site and your top priority is to learn valuable teaching skills while serving the students and enhancing your resume.
4. Attitude is everything. Be a good sport. That means being flexible, upbeat, cooperative, thorough, and hard-working. Expect to arrive early and stay late. Always say "yes" when asked to help out. Seek out ways to add value to the organization and differentiate yourself from the other student teachers out there in a positive way. Your efforts will pay dividends when the principal is looking for names to interview for upcoming job openings.
5. Invite the school's administrator to come see you teach in the classroom. When you know you have prepared a high-quality lesson to present, make sure important people are there to observe it! This is a key strategy to employ because it's the only way you will secure a letter of recommendation from the principal. Letters from power-players look fantastic in your portfolio.
6. Participate in all school activities during your time as a student teacher. Attend all staff meetings, grade level planning sessions, and after-school functions - even if it's not explicitly expected of you. The more familiar your face around campus, the more of an impact you make as a team player willing to work hard and sacrifice for the benefit of students.
7. Be very well prepared. Know the master teacher's expectations and exceed them. Anticipate his or her needs and try to meet them. Maintain a detailed To Do List and check things off as they are accomplished. There are many things to remember when you're student teaching; it will take extra organization and foresight to keep track of everything you need to do. Make copies ahead of time, invest time (or money) in a robust organizational system, and triple check your work before showing it to anyone.
8. If there are any problems, follow the appropriate chain of command. Don't go over your master teacher's head and talk to his or her boss first. Start by talking to the master teacher directly, and if the problem still isn't resolved, talk to your supervisor at the teacher training program. Don't be petty and don't look for problems. But if something doesn't feel right to you, just make sure to communicate your concerns in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

What You Need

• Calendar System
• To Do List
• Briefcase or Bookbag
• Professional Attire
• Student Teaching Handbook
• A Positive "Can-Do" Attitude

Shared Tips!

Top 10 Tips for Student Teachers

          Student teachers are often placed into an awkward and stressful situation, not really sure of their authority and sometimes not even placed with veteran teachers who are much help. These tips can aid student teachers as they begin their first teaching assignments. Please note: these are not suggestions for how to approach the students but instead for how to most effectively succeed in your new teaching environment.

1. Be On Time

Punctuality is very important in the 'real world'. If you are late, you will definitely NOT start out on the right foot with your cooperating teacher. Even worse, if you arrive after a class has begun which you are supposed to be teaching, you are placing that teacher and yourself in an awkward situation.

2. Dress Appropriately

As a teacher, you are a professional and you are supposed to dress accordingly. There is nothing wrong with over dressing during your student teaching assignments. The clothes do help lend you an air of authority, especially if you look awfully young. Further, your dress lets the coordinating teacher know of your professionalism and dedication to your assignment.

3. Be Flexible

Remember that the coordinating teacher has pressures placed upon them just as you have your own pressures to deal with. If you normally teach only 3 classes and the coordinating teacher asks that you take on extra classes one day because he has an important meeting to attend, look at this as your chance to get even further experience while impressing your dedication to your coordinating teacher.

Flexibility is the one the top six keys to being a successful teacher.

4. Follow the School Rules

This might seem obvious to some but it is important that you do not break school rules. For example, if it is against the rules to chew gum in class, then do not chew it yourself. If the campus is 'smoke-free', do not light up during your lunch period. This is definitely not professional and would be a mark against you when it comes time for your coordinating teacher and school to report on your abilities and actions.

In addition, follow your own classroom rules.

5. Plan Ahead

If you know you will need copies for a lesson, do not wait until the morning of the lesson to get them completed. Many schools have procedures that MUST be followed for copying to occur. If you fail to follow these procedures you will be stuck without copies and will probably look unprofessional at the same time.

6. Befriend the Office Staff

This is especially important if you believe that you will be staying in the area and possibly trying for a job at the school where you are teaching. These people's opinions of you will have an impact on whether or not you are hired. They can also make your time during student teaching much easier to handle. Don't underestimate their worth.

• Coworkers and Teaching

7. Maintain Confidentiality

Remember that if you are taking notes about students or classroom experiences to turn in for grades, you should either not use their names or change them to protect their identities. You never know who you are teaching or what their relationship might be to your instructors and coordinators.

8. Don't Gossip

It might be tempting to hang out in the teacher lounge and indulge in gossip about fellow teachers. However, as a student teacher this would be a very risky choice. You might say something you could regret later. You might find out information that is untrue and clouds your judgement. You might even offend someone without realizing it. Remember, these are teachers you could be working with again some day in the future.

9. Be Professional With Fellow Teachers

Do not interrupt other teachers' classes without an absolutely good reason. When you are speaking with your coordinating teacher or other teachers on campus, treat them with respect. You can learn a lot from these teachers, and they will be much more likely to share with you if they feel that you are genuinely interested in them and their experiences.

10. Don't Wait to the Last Minute to Call in Sick

You will probably get sick at some point during your student teaching and will need stay home for the day. You must remember that the regular teacher will have to take over the class during your absence. If you wait until the last minute to call in, this could leave them in an awkward bind making them look bad to the students. Call as soon as you believe you will not be able to make it to class.

Top 10 Reasons to Become a Teacher

 

Teaching is a special calling. It is not a job well-suited to everyone. In fact, many new teachers leave within the first 3-5 years of teaching. However, there are many rewards that come with this oft maligned career. Here are my top ten reasons why teaching can be a great profession.

1. Student Potential

Unfortunately, not every student will succeed in your class. However, this fact should not keep you from believing that every student has the potential for success. This potential is so exciting - each new year presents new challenges and new potential successes.

• Every Student Can Succeed

 

2. Student Successes

Closely related to the previous pick, student success is what drives teachers to continue. Each student who didn't understand a concept and then learned it through your help can be exhilarating. And when you actually reach that student that others have written off as being unteachable, this can truly be worth all the headaches that do come with the job.

• Fostering Student Success

3. Teaching a Subject Helps You Learn a Subject

You will never learn a topic better than when you start teaching it. I remember my first year teaching AP Government. I had taken Political Science courses in college and thought I knew what I was doing. However, the student questions just made me dig deeper and learn more. There is an old adage that it takes three years of teaching to truly master a subject and in my experience this is the truth.

• Curriculum and Lesson Plan Menu

4. Daily Humor

If you have a positive attitude and a sense of humor, you will find things to laugh about each day. Sometimes it will be silly jokes you will make up as you teach that might get a laugh from your students. Sometimes it will be jokes that kids share with you. And sometimes students will come out with the funniest statements without realizing what they've said. Find the fun and enjoy it!

• Humor in the Classroom

5. Affecting the Future

Yes it might be trite, but it is true. Teachers mold the future each day in class. In fact, it is a sad fact that you will see some of these students more consistently day-to-day than their parents will.

• What Is Your Teacher Personality?

6. Staying Younger

Being around young people everyday will help you remain knowledgeable about current trends and ideas. It also helps break down barriers.

• Top Ten Ways to Manage Teacher Burnout

7. Autonomy in the Classroom

Once a teacher closes that door each day and begins teaching, they really are the ones who decide what's going to happen. Not many jobs provide an individual with so much room to be creative and autonomous each day.

• How to Write Effective Lesson Plans

8. Conducive to Family Life

If you have children, the school calendar will typically allow you to have the same days off as your kids. Further, while you might bring work home with you to grade, you will probably be getting home close to the same time as your children.

• Year Round Education

9. Job Security

In many communities, teachers are a scarce commodity. It is fairly certain that you will be able to find a job as a teacher, though you might have to wait until the start of a new school year and be willing to travel within your county/school district. While requirements might be different from state to state, once you have proven yourself a successful teacher, it is relatively easy to move around and find a new job.

10. Summers Off

Unless you work in a district that has a year-round-education system, you will have a couple of months off in the summer where you can choose to get another job, teach summer school, or just relax and vacation. Further, you typically get two weeks off during Christmas/Winter Holidays and one week for Spring Break which can really be a huge benefit and provide much needed rest time.

 

In becoming a Teacher

Top 5 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Teacher

 

 Teaching is truly a noble profession. It is also a very time consuming one, requiring a commitment on your part. Teaching can be very demanding but can also be extremely rewarding. Here are five things you should consider before taking up teaching as your chosen career. 

 

1. Time Commitment

In order to be an effective teacher, you need to realize that the time you are at work - those 7 1/2 to 8 hours - really must be spent with the kids. This means that creating lesson plans and grading assignments will probably take place on "your own time." Further, to truly relate to your students you will probably be involved in their activities - attending sporting activities and school plays, sponsoring a club or a class, or going on trips with your students for various reasons.

2. Pay

People often make a big deal about teacher pay. It is true that teachers do not make as much money as many other professionals, especially over time. However, each state and district can vary widely on teacher pay. Further, when you look at how much you are being paid, make sure to think of it in terms of the number of months worked. For example, if you are starting out with a $25,000 salary but you are off for 8 weeks in the summer, then you should take this into account. Many teachers will teach summer school or get summer jobs to help increase their yearly salary.

3. Respect or Lack Thereof

Teaching is an odd profession, both revered and pitied at the same time. You will probably find that when you tell others you are a teacher they will in fact offer you their condolences. They might even say they couldn't do your job. However, don't be surprised if they then go on to tell you a horror story about their own teachers or their child's education. It is an odd situation and you should face it with your eyes wide open.

4. Community Expectations

Everyone has an opinion of what a teacher should be doing. As a teacher you will have a lot of people pulling you in different directions. The modern teacher wears many hats. They act as educator, coach, activity sponsor, nurse, career advisor, parent, friend, and innovator. Realize that in any one class, you will have students of varying levels and abilities and you will be judged on how well you can reach each student by individualizing their education. This is the challenge of education but at the same time can make it a truly rewarding experience.

5. Emotional Commitment

Teaching is not a desk job. It requires you to "put yourself out there" and be on each day. Great teachers emotionally commit to their subject matter and their students. Realize that students seem to feel a sense of "ownership" over their teachers. They assume that you are their for them. They assume that your life revolves around them. It is not uncommon for a student to be surprised to see you behaving normally in everyday society. Further, depending on the size of the town where you will be teaching, you need to understand that you will be running into your students pretty much everywhere you go. Thus, expect somewhat of a lack of anonymity in the community.

 

Teaching as a Vocation

            Teaching is more than a noble profession. It is a vocation, a calling.. The teacher is the most important person in any civilization, as on him depends the molding of the nation. There are not many born teachers, but there are those who love teaching, and there are those who enter it as an occupation. The chief qualification for a teacher is his or her love for children; from there can follow the training by good teachers and professors of techniques and principles. Good teacher-pupil relationship is very important.

A teacher must know that he or she is teaching, not only a subject, but a child. A teacher must know each child in his or her charge – especially in his early years – his temperament, his academic capability, his health, his bent, his home background and anything that may be hindering him from doing his best. This will equip teachers and help them to educate. Each child must taste success at the beginning by beginning with the simple to the complex, the concrete to the abstract, the known to the unknown and to develop at its own rate. This will give him confidence. A good teacher, by his/her methods will be able to motivate the pupil, awaken his interest, and arouse his curiosity. Teachers can make learning pleasant. They must exhibit energy, enthusiasm and cheerfulness, and never cease to learn themselves. A teacher who ceases to learn becomes irrelevant.

Here I wish to make a comment on the role of the Head teacher or Principal. He must at all times give valuable support to his teachers. He, himself, must be a good teacher and his relationship with his teachers and parents must be good at all times. He must be able to command respect and, with his influence, get his staff to work as a team and, together, rally the support of parents. A vibrant Parent-Teacher Association is a necessity as it will help in the child’s interest, and also in the education of the parent.

If an individual is well educated; if he is given the right information; if he is trained according to his bent; if he has a right sense of values, if he has learnt to think positively, to make good judgments, and if he is able to realize his uniqueness in the mosaic which is indivisible humanity – he will be well on his way to make this world a better place for himself and others.

Teaching as a Profession

The Teaching Profession - A Challenging Yet Rewarding Job

Teaching Profession demands a huge investment not just in time and energy, given the amount of responsibility that is placed on the shoulder of the teacher than most profession. Measuring success would entail a lot of things, but the easiest way to measure it is to look at the success rate versus the attrition rate of the students. But how does the teacher raise the success rate of the students,? It should be a combination of good motivation, right teaching strategies, adequate teaching tools among others. But again, how does the teacher acquire that right strategy among other things? So many how’s and why’s but the bottom line is in the word Training.

Whatever the teacher does or fails to do in the classroom is the product of what that teacher is trained in school. Thus, teacher education is a very important recipe in producing a good teacher. The teaching profession has evolved over the years, from being a simple appointee of local mayors to becoming degree holders and later on became professional teachers by virtue of the board examination provided by the Philippine Regulatory Commission. However, as the society changes from one of an agricultural based society to industrial based, the teaching profession had to be able to cope in order to meet the demands of the society. With the present shift of society from industrial to knowledge based economy, the teaching profession is once again called upon to take the lead in charging the nation to meet the needs of the 21^st century.

Different teachers may have different ways of defining success in their career, but for me success is defined in two things, one is the teachers performance on the job and two is the teachers personal development. When I say, teachers performance this entails the way the teacher does in the classroom, the success rate of the students, the development of the learners into becoming intellectually capable, morally upright and sensitive to the societal needs.

The student’s success is not just measured by the number of correct answers they give in exams but how they react and critically think in order to solve a societal problem that is embedded in the learning tasks. Thus orienting the students that the world outside is the real classroom, and the school is the place where they can learn and make mistakes and learn again until they become better members of the community. Producing people that are flexible critical thinkers, active members of the society, collaborative communicators, visionary leaders, information managers, and lifelong learners. These are the qualities which I personally believe is shared by many educators, that we need to produce in order to put our nation on track to development.

The country had been divided for so long, politically, religiously, geographically among many others. We have so many intellectuals, but haven’t done anything except to criticize and point finger but none are willing to venture into the mud and get their hands dirty. Institutional corruptions and breakdowns of systems, palakasan, padrino’s among others. These are the so called cancers in our society, which in my view all started back in the education. The problem is with our educational system, and only a paradigm shift can correct the status quo. And that paradigm shift never happens unless the messengers, the teachers are not properly trained and informed on this great noble effort. Therefore, as always had been in the past, the teachers, the silent professionals will charge the nation not just into the 21^st century and beyond but also into a society that is fair and just to every Filipino people.

The professional growth of the teacher is one aspect that is my basis for the success of the teaching profession. A teacher cannot teach a learner to become a lifelong learner if the teacher himself does not practice such. Learning does not just entail reading books or resources but also continuing education higher than what he has now. This is in fact mandated in the RA 7836 which states that in order for the teacher to be able to renew his license, he must have acquired 60 units of continuing professional education. While it is mandated in the law, as preachers of lifelong learning, teachers must continue to learn, because the world never ceases to bring new things to our tables every single day. Despite the temporary suspension of that provision in the law, teacher must do the initiative to further seek knowledge in order to be able to further share knowledge to the learners.

For some, continuing education is a matter of qualification. This kind of perspective is not just twisted but deeply unfounded. As teachers we must not see continuing education as a matter of qualification, though it is a part of the package but an opportunity to further gain new knowledge. Acquiring further education continues through researches, book writing, and attending local and international symposiums among many others. These are among the different conduits of knowledge that is rich with up-to-date information’s that cannot be found on books or even in the internet.

The success of the teacher cannot be measured quantitatively but qualitatively and even so the elements for the basis of success would be so vague that different schools of thoughts would fail to agree with. But for me, this two areas are my basis for a successful teacher, and I personally believe that we as volunteers in this noble profession have to be responsible not just for our professional growth but also for the countless lives of men and women that will pass through our classroom doors for the rest of our lives as teachers, mentors, facilitators, guru, sifu, sensei, enseigneur and maestros.

Teaching is indeed a very challenging job. It is because the welfare of your students are in your hands and it is your responsibility to instil knowledge in them. Yet, no matter how demanding the responsibilities of a teacher are, this is one of the most rewarding jobs found in the world today. The efforts of teachers do not only lie in educating children but these also contribute in huge circumstances such as training future leaders.There are various teaching jobs out there to date. If you are interested, there are jobs which entail you to teach in primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Of course, with this related to schools and universities, you have to fulfil certain credentials. In the past, this is the career path of those interested in teaching jobs. However, at present it is now different.As you can see, teaching is no longer limited to schools but also in the home as well. Apart from educating students in different levels, there are some who need extra education in the field of sports, languages and even etiquette. These teaching jobs are usually outside of a regular school and are engaged in tutorials at home and other venues.With these new requirements for potential teachers, anyone can become a one if they wish. If they have the passion or the confidence to do so, then you one can definitely get a teaching job. Just like any kind of employment, these give out salaries which can be used as a source of income.Nonetheless, teaching jobs should be taken seriously because the future of students is on the line. If they are not given the proper education and breeding in their early years, they might grow up in the wrong way. Although it may seem that this is difficult, people should take into consideration that this job is rewarding in so many ways. Seeing your student grow up to be someone important is definitely a part of your doing.

English as a Global Means of Communication

 This is for my co-English Major! ;)

          In today's generation, English is no longer viewed as a foreign language - it is the global means of communication: the language of communication wherever a deal is being done internationally. Officially, English now has a special status in more than 75 countries, with a total population of over 2 billion speakers. 

English is a must if we want to survive in a competitive environment and progress in a globalized world. English is important to conduct business with the outside world. English is the language for knowledge seeking as we move towards knowledge-based economy.  That is the reason why we continue to emphasize the importance of the language particularly at the tertiary level. 

To be proficient in English, students have no choice but to learn it the hard way, meaning we need to do it constantly and consistently. We need to read extensively. We need to improve our writing. Above all we must have the commitment and the desire to improve. I find there are a lot of opportunities now for us students to improve our English skill unlike before. We should use opportunities available like the internet and library facilities where all kinds of information, publications and books are available. We must also take pains to think and write proper English. We should learn to express ourselves in proper English and practice good writing. Practice makes perfect, so goes the saying! But sad to say some do not even read newspapers, beyond lecture notes and text books. How could they improve then? 

I always find time to correct simple mistakes I used to make, sometimes repeatedly. I find out that it helped me in my grammatical errors.

Simplifying it, useful communication requires shared knowledge. While this includes knowledge of language, words and syntactic structures, meaningful communication is even more focused on knowledge about a problem to be solved. However to deal with any language would be very difficult. So to solve this problem,  a common language is used and that is English Language which is communicating people across the world and bringing people closer to each other.