Procedures--Kinda long, sorry!

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Procedures--Kinda long, sorry!
By 5thGrdTeachTN

I have been teaching for 6 years and am working towards a master's in school administration. Last year I led the new teacher training at my school and I created a booklet for the new teacher's to help them get settled and
started (I wanted to send it to you, but I only have a paper copy at home). Anyway, the #1 thing I suggested that new teachers do was to establish the procedures for their classroom.

I suggested this because when I was a first year teacher I spent all of my time decorating and trying to wrap my mind around the curriculum. Then the first day came and I expected students to know

how to do the basic things in a classroom (sit in a desk, walk in a line, etc.) and quickly discovered that even though they were third graders and had been school for 4 years, they did not do these things intuitively. As the year progressed I became more prepared when it came to procedures, but felt that the kids already knew that I didn't totally know what I was doing and in some ways had the upper hand (I taught in a rough urban school my first year and even the principal said I had the class from h***, so maybe that had something to do with it as well!).

I share all this because feeling at home in your classroom is VERY important and IMHO knowing how your classroom will operate is one of the best ways to realize this feeling. The new teacher retention rate for this year was 100% (previous to this year we lost any where from 1-3 new teachers each year). Now it may have had absolutely nothing to do with me, but I do like to think that having procedures in place did save some of these new teachers from the headaches I experienced:). I suggest reading Harry Wong's book "The First Days of School" from cover to cover this summer. While you will not use every strategy he suggests, it gives you an idea of what procedures you will need to implement. In addition, when you contact the other teachers at your school ask them what procedures they use in their classrooms. Also, the wonderful posters on Proteacher can be a valuable resource is well. Enjoy your summer and best of luck!