First Time Teachers

You will be sent by helicopter to the center of Beijing. You know a little Mandarin and try to eat with chopsticks twice. You know that silk and fireworks were born in China, and you are clearly a rookie trying to find your way in an unfamiliar environment. What are you doing? (Esch, 2010, page 307) For many first-time teachers they seem to have been thrown into a foreign land. Ferguson (2010) believes that 25% of first-year teachers will resign after three years.

In my career, I observed the two extreme first time teachers. I will see a tyrant, or I will see Twitter. The tyrants ruled their classroom with Tekken. They are very strict and complete the course plan completely. They are not interested in building relationships, they only want to teach information. The students did not learn much from the tyrant. The other teacher I met was Twitter. These teachers have established good relationships with the students but abuse these relationships by escaping from what students should not do during class. Students manage the classroom. They use friendship to gain their advantage

Who can forget the first day of school? The students came into the classroom and I wondered who this year's teacher is. The teacher is facing a freshman sitting at the desk. It is an important part of the first day to introduce yourself to those students. The first impression of the teacher and students is very important in deciding the keynote of this year. Many students are full of energy at the first day of school and I want to know the state of this year's teacher. Part of the work of the teacher is to support the students, to reassure them, and to bring out their possibilities. Taking time for self-introduction is the key to building relationships with trustworthy students.

The first pin is easy to explain. The more you practice the more time, the better your guidance will be. For most courses, student teachers need to teach for 10 weeks. In the Alternative Resident Program, student teachers learn the entire grade on the school website 4 days a week. This time, student teachers understand the needs and assets of the school community. Teachers focusing on community assets, not resources, are prosperous because they are responsible for learning of all students.