List Of Things For New Math Teachers

September 24, 2005 11:58 PM

Aside from books about teaching, what did you really need or appreciate in your first year being a (math) teacher (of high school kids)?
posted by mutantdisco! to Education (6 answers total)

It's been my experience that every school building has teachers who are full of energy and teachers that are burned out and ready to take somebody with them. One of the most important things I did during my first year was to try and avoid the second group. I spent as much time as possible around the people who were good at what they did and really enjoyed it. That made a HUGE difference in how I dealt with everything that got thrown my way...
posted by richmondparker at 6:47 AM on September 25, 2005

I second finding a support group for beers on Friday or whatever you come up with. Invaluable.

Also, please do reflect daily on your practice. Maybe in grad school you thought this was stupid, but even a sentence or two a day, habitually, will help you make sense of things which seemed completely scary and disjointed when you were in the thick of it.

Know that 99.9% of the issues you face are normal, everyone goes through them, etc. etc.

Try your best to identify, at least for yourself, a few kids in a class who are "getting it" (this is if you have a classroom of kids whom you feel aren't getting it- although they probably are in some sense but won't let you in on that...too uncool).
posted by oflinkey at 10:09 AM on September 25, 2005

Don't make any major life changes this year. Don't get married or engaged, don't buy or renovate a house, and don't (if you can help it) break up a relationship. Save your energy for learning your job. The first year is incredibly exhausting. Plan time for yourself every single week, and plan a true vacation sometime during a spring break. Spring can be a very long haul.
posted by Miko at 11:35 AM on September 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

The phrasing of this question makes me think mutantdisco wants to do something for a teacher-to-be friend. Am I right? If so, then just be willing to listen endlessly to stories about school.

First year teachers need to talk.
posted by etc. at 7:17 PM on September 25, 2005

My first not-quite-yearlong contract (very extended sick leave replacement) teaching highschool math put me off teaching kids again, ever. It's not easy, and richmondparker is so right about that second group of oldtimers.

Not to scare you, of course.

If you can find an oldtimer who still likes teaching, and who is willing to help you out and mentor you a bit, you're golden. And avoiding the burnout teachers isn't necessarily the best thing to do, all the time -- you can learn a lot about who you don't want to be 20 years hence from them.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:31 PM on September 25, 2005

what did you really need...in your first year being a (math) teacher (of high school kids)?

1. Patience.
2. A willingness to experiment.
3. The ability to accept that different kids learn in different ways and may need different kinds of testing situations to demonstrate that knowledge.

One kid in particular couldn't write out geometry proofs in the standard format to save his life, but he could explain the proof to me as well as anyone else. If I hadn't allowed him to take tests verbally, he would have "failed" the class. He's a mechanical engineer now.

Patience and a willingness to experiment will take your (or your teacher friend) far in the classroom.
posted by mediareport at 10:29 PM on September 25, 2005