The Most important lessons I’ve learned in education
by levdavidovic
On Monday nights I’m usually to be found on twitter using #edchatie to learn and share education stuff. Last Monday the topic was ‘Important lessons you’ve learned and want to pass on to other teachers’. The summary is here
Here’s my list, some of these are tongue in cheek, don’t come after me!
Make friends with the office staff.
Make tea in the staffroom at regular intervals.
No matter what, don’t kick the photocopier. No matter what!
Play the DVD BEFORE class at least once.
Go where the kids are; they like soaps? Bring the soaps into class.
The kids are not the enemy, Powerpoint is the enemy.
Get involved out of class. Tragic that Croke Pk will kill extracurriculars.
Be prepared to defend teaching at social gatherings. School WILL come up.
Kids notice everything. If you rotate your wardrobe, they know.
Eat lunch in school but go out with your friends on Friday lunchtime.
You can fool some of the people some of the time. You can never fool a teenager.
No need to shout, develop a dark-eyed stare!
If you think you know everything, you don’t. (But don’t tell the kids!)
Students continue to call you sir, even when you’re teaching their kids.
Never say sorry, never show weakness, and never, ever cry (except when reading the Book Thief)!
Remember what your best teachers did. Do that.
Use twitter. It changed my teaching. Blogged it http://wp.me/s1N9yC-42
If you hang around with NQTs, you never stop learning.
Love your job, you’re changing people’s lives on your good days.
Don’t listen to the radio or the tv when education comes up: you are A TEACHER and society needs you!!
I agree, but do think that you need to make friends with the caretakers too!!They get you out of several hobbles!!:-)
Reblogged this on Things I grab, motley collection .
It’s ok to say you’re sorry, when you need to. Powerful stuff, apologizing to a student . . .
All advice welcome to persuade language teachers to (1)twitter (2) share ideas on #edchatie (3) use pedagogical resources provided by TV5MONDE with the ultimate objective of encouraging viewership of the channel in childhood and eventually in adulthood…..
This can be applied to other languages …TG4, TVE, Deutche Welle etc. even if these channels do not provide direct resource material….so more work for the Gaeilge, Spanish, German teacher required