Experience is very valuable when you are a teacher. The college experience can never prepare you for the real classroom setting. No matter how much you have read or researched, there is nothing like trail and error to see which methods and techniques are best for you.
During your first year of teaching you will find out that some things work and some do not. You will revisit and revise ideas. Some you will throw out completely and vow never to repeat. Others you will write down and carry out for years to come.
Each year of teaching, you will discover that it gets easier and easier to plan lessons and carry out activities in the classroom. You will discover that at the beginning of each year you know exactly what supplies you will order. You will know the name brands, the quantity, and price without even looking at a magazine. You will know which companies are best to buy from and which ones to stay away from.
You will understand which seating arrangements are out of the question. You will walk down the hallway and glance in the room at a new teacher and laugh to yourself at the feat she is attempting with her class.
There is no better teacher for a teacher than an experienced teacher.
Because successful teaching depends so much on experience, learning from the past, and learning from others, I have decided to add a section to the Education department at Families.com.
In this section, Tips for Teachers, I will periodically add ideas and tips from veteran teachers. Some of these tips I have learned from personal experience and some I have gained through fellow co-workers.
Merit Pay and Special Education