Friday, August 29, 2014

To Give and to Receive

If you have new teachers in your building, you are likely busy giving them the information they’ll need to be successful in your school.  Among the things you might be giving are:

*The details of the building schedule: Who goes where when.

*Information about supplies: What is available through the school and district, what funds are available for them to purchase additional materials

*Guidance with technology:  What technology do they need to access (for attendance, testing, instruction, e-mail) and how do they access it (navigating, setting up accounts, passwords)

*Reminders about duties:  When are they expected to be on the playground?  In the lunchroom?  In the hallways?  Do they need to pick students up from special classes and programs, or will someone else bring them back?

*Share building rituals: Do teachers wear jeans on Friday?  School t-shirts?  Is there a monthly birthday celebration? Designated pot-luck or snack days? How are holidays celebrated – in the classroom and by the staff?

There’s a plethora of details that keep a school functioning, and for veteran teachers these details have become an invisible part of the routine.  As a coach or mentor, you can uncover those specifics and help the new teacher learn the ropes in her new home.  She’ll be grateful for these gifts.

But while you’re busy giving, open yourself up to what you can receive from these new teachers – the gifts they have to give:

Energy:  New teachers bring vitality, unfettered by burnout that sometimes occurs after multiple repetitions of the school-year routine.  Be careful not to squelch their energy with, “just you wait!”  Instead, allow yourself to be buoyed up and refueled by their momentum. 

Determination:  Similarly, new teachers are often tenacious.  They haven’t been worn down by change after change, innovation and innovation, and piles of administrative red tape.  New teachers often have a vision for things as the could be and a will to make that happen.  Take a lesson from their firm resolve, and be the change you want to see.

Innovative Ideas:  Whether it is a different pedagogical approach, a new use of technology, or different ideas about classroom management, the new teachers in your school can bring freshness to routines that have become commonplace.  Encourage new teachers to share their ideas during staff meetings, and make a space for their ideas to be heard, rather than shut down, by building bridges between their ideas and those of veteran teachers. 

Having new teachers in a school definitely requires time, effort, and sharing on the part of the coach.  By letting yourself be on the receiving end as well, you’ll build relationships and likely feel renewed by the process.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A video sharing strategies for teaching the whole child:


This article is about teaching in kindergarten, but the thoughts about supporting students in developing social and life skills are equally relevant to teachers of other grades:



This video with ideas about helping kids develop a growth mindset:



Suggestions for using advertising to teach critical thinking:



11 tips to turn every reader into a close reader:

No comments:

Post a Comment