I’ve collected a lot of things since August 26, 2013. I’ve been given pieces of advice and tons of paperwork. I’ve learned from my own trial and error. Sometimes things can be extremely useful and other times I’ve had to take suggestions with a grain of salt.
I’ve decided to share some of my experiences and advice in hopes it can help other wonderful teachers, paras, and educators! Let’s get started.
- I’ve collected a lot of things since August 26, 2013. I’ve have kept lots of advice and tons of paperwork. I’ve learned from my own mistakes. Sometimes things can be useful and other times I’ve had to take suggestions with a grain of salt.
- I’ve decided to share some this, in hopes it can help other wonderful teachers, paras, and educators! Let’s get started.
- Keep your desk clean. It helps with your sanity to have things organized and in their own place. I’ve also learned to keep less stuff on my desk. If you have less stuff, you have less to clean up. There is also less to destroy and throw when a student is having a moment and tearing apart the room.
- The principal can be a great resource! I love how easy it is to talk to my principal! He is always willing to try his best to work things out and give you the support that I need.
- Get a massage. I purchased my first massage package in October (2013)! It made the biggest difference in my attitude and made my aches go away! It's worth the money.
- Do a little work at a time. Don’t wait until the last minute and try to cram everything in before a deadline. It is like the ‘clean while you cook’ philosophy. I have yet to master cleaning while you cook or do it a little at a time, but I’m working on it.
- Plan things ahead of time. If you think you’re planning early…plan a week earlier, to be safe. I haven’t mastered this one either.
- Try to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Don’t jump to conclusions immediately and try to see from each other's perspective. It tends to make a big difference in the outcome.
- Wear comfortable shoes. You never know when you will need to run.
- Always wear a watch. Being a special education teacher I’ve stopped caring if my watch matched my outfit. I learned I needed it for many reasons ranging from timing a seizure to using it as a timer during a break.
- Keep laughing. If you aren’t laughing about something by the end of the day, you will have a long year.
- Be thankful and pray. Be thankful to have a job where children look up to you and love you (even on their bad days). I always pray to inspire and teach my students. I ask to have respect, patience, and flexibility with the staff and parents. I pray my mind and body will stay focused. I pray my passion stays strong and my professionalism keeps developing.
Keep your eyes peeled for “teacher survival tips pt2” with some documents that saved my sanity.
Cover Image Credit:
Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash
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