Teaching Tip #124

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #124

Here is a very interesting read from one of my favorite bloggers (Life of an Educator) - 10 Pieces of Advice for new Teachers.

Here are the ten pieces of advice -

6.  School districts are not employment agencies.

The author argues that your district hired you because you bring a specific set of skills to the table.  Don’t be afraid to speak up and state your opinion.  There is no need to be a spectator for your first year because they hired you so they expect you to speak up.

I’m not sold on this, personally.  I’m not one who thinks, though, that just because you’re new you have to pay your dues and shut up the whole time.  Rather, I’m more for acting like a sponge and soaking up as much as you can before speaking your mind.

Here is a great tip I heard from the Entreleadership podcast - if you hired a new employee, challenge them to notice problems that they see.  Take notes and write everything down that they would do differently or like to see fixed.  After all, the new hire comes in with a fresh perspective.  However, the key is that the new employee can’t show their list or their notes to anyone for at least six months.

This is great because it gives a new employee a sense of empowerment because they are asking for their opinion.  However, it is also great because it is giving them tim to become acclimated to the culture of the company so they don’t come off as a know it all (as many new employees do).