what you didn't learn

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what you didn't learn
By Deb

Amber,
I think that the first year is particularly hard for two reasons. First, I think that classroom management skills need to be learned in the classroom. When I student taught, my supervising teacher had one method--write
"I will not do (whatever)" 25 times. This wasn't what I wanted to do so I spent the first year trying to figure out management by myself. Classroom managment my first year also meant figuring out how to manage several special needs children in my classroom (deaf, tourettes, nervous breakdown, parent from #$##, and more), and I felt alone. There was no supervising teacher to

help me work these issues out. My teaching college gave me very little training in classroom management and everything that came up affected the rest of the kids in the class.

Second, you're learning the curriculum. During my first year I had to teach the human body but I didn't know I think about it. I'd work all night long to have a lesson that would make sense. You'll do this as you student teach this year and it will continue (but get better) for the first few years you're teaching.

Best wishes.