Our goals are to connect grads and current students, share ideas and advice, and be inspired. #ElonEd chat brings together experienced teachers and novice teachers to discuss best practices. We see our chat as a way to mentor future teachers who are students at Elon, and anyone who wants to join us in that effort is welcome.
A4: ALL Ss have funds of knowledge. Talk to your Ss (at the start & end of class; during passing time; at school events; etc) and discover their funds of knowledge. Then, use this to build relationships & craft lessons that empower. #Eloned
A4: don’t be afraid to show them you’re human, too! Obviously there should be a professional relationship, but students of all ages will appreciate you sharing your experiences, interests, passions, etc #Eloned
A4: Develop lessons that encourage talking/sharing. Give them space to show their own interests. Let their personality shine as often as possible. And model an accepting mentality so students are more willing to share. #eloned
A4: Get to know the assets your students bring into your classroom and then use that information to create real and relevant contexts for your students. #ElonEd
A4: Ride the bus home with them. See where they live. Talk to them outside of the school environment. It will give you worlds of insight and show them you care. #ElonEd
Most definitely. I started learning this as a student teacher (I had a CT who recommended Lisa Delpit to me before kids even started at school) but continue to realize it's importance every year. #ElonEd
A4: and, building off my previous tweet, students will often times be more willing to share when you make yourself vulnerable first. Very powerful. #ElonEd
A4: My Ss always valued "Good News / Bad News Mondays" and Friday check-ins/reflections for community building and sharing their lived experiences and learning. Great ways to get to know your Ss and reflect on your teaching. #Eloned
Most definitely. I started learning this as a student teacher (I had a CT who recommended Lisa Delpit to me before kids even started at school) but continue to realize it's importance every year. #ElonEd
A4: Attend their extracurricular events outside of school hours! It shows that you're interested in their lives outside of school, not just in the classroom #ElonEd
A4: Don't forget about the quiet students! Get to know each of them on an individual basis. Have them share about personal experiences and go out of your way to converse with them. #eloned
Along those lines, know that EVERY student teacher is nervous when they step into a classroom for the first time. Despite the nerves, you are still responsible for creating a comfortable, trusting, and fun learning environment. Sometimes, fake it till you make it #ElonEd
A4 Talk to Ss like they're real people...because they are. They aren't just names or numbers on your roster. They're real people who have thoughts and feelings and fears. Let them know you care about those things. Listen. #ElonEd
A4: Allow your students to teach you. Seek their feedback. Ask them if your instructional strategies are effective. Give your students a voice. It shows them that you’re learning too. Fosters a learning community. #eloned
A4: 2 things already said here. 1st: Names - immediately. 2nd is to remember they're human before learners. Share about yourself when you ask their interests. And don't lie to be like them. Kids see through BS better than you do...every time. #eloned
A4: My Ss always valued "Good News / Bad News Mondays" and Friday check-ins/reflections for community building and sharing their lived experiences and learning. Great ways to get to know your Ss and reflect on your teaching. #Eloned
A4: Math-ing this question: Take a look into Cognitevely Guided Instruction (CGI) and how it can help you learn about your students’ strategies. Show them their mathematical ideas are valid and valued! #eloned
A4: Allow your students to teach you. Seek their feedback. Ask them if your instructional strategies are effective. Give your students a voice. It shows them that you’re learning too. Fosters a learning community. #eloned
This was absolutely vital for me and my Ss last year. I had Ss in tears for days around the election & inauguration. I had lunch w/ some Ss, let them talk, game planned what we could do as citizen activists. #ElonEd
And show them that you are a real person too, not just a teacher! Sometimes they think we spend every waking minute in our classroom and live at school. Having a simple conversation can really make a difference. #ElonEd
We have an attendance question that Ss answer every day. "What color is happiness?" "Why is pizza the best food?" "Who would win in a fight between a rhino and lion?" It gives the kids a chance to share with the class/ builds community because they listen to each other #eloned
This is crucial. Whenever I notice a student is having a rough day, I make sure I take a few minutes to check in with them. They need to know you are there supporting them. #eloned
I got better feedback from Ss than any adult in my building in five years teaching. When you ask for the feedback, use it. Let Ss know they're directly impacting the classroom decisions. Classroom isn't yours, it's ours. #ElonEd
#ElonEd and sometimes, you're the best thing that will happen to them each day... find a way to connect bc you'll rarely know just exactly how much of a difference you'll make (no pressure) 😉
I got better feedback from Ss than any adult in my building in five years teaching. When you ask for the feedback, use it. Let Ss know they're directly impacting the classroom decisions. Classroom isn't yours, it's ours. #ElonEd
I think this is a great idea, but I would also caution you to take time for yourself. Student teaching is hard -extracurricular support is great, but can also lead to 15 hour days, which are draining for anyone, but especially a new teacher getting their feet under them #ElonEd
A4: Attend their extracurricular events outside of school hours! It shows that you're interested in their lives outside of school, not just in the classroom #ElonEd
Yes, and make sure you do this equitably. Confession: my first few years teaching I was only going to activities for affluent students who could afford them. That's a problem. #ElonEd
A4: Attend their extracurricular events outside of school hours! It shows that you're interested in their lives outside of school, not just in the classroom #ElonEd
A4: Attend their extracurricular events outside of school hours! It shows that you're interested in their lives outside of school, not just in the classroom #ElonEd
A5 Best advice my CT ever gave me was to not come to the school building on the weekends. That boundary was something I have held to for five years & was instrumental in my mental health. #ElonEd
A4: Don't forget about the quiet students! Get to know each of them on an individual basis. Have them share about personal experiences and go out of your way to converse with them. #eloned
A5: make a pact with your other STs to do one thing together, non work related, per week. My cohort did a weekly "stitch and bitch" after I taught many how to knit, which then turned into a "walk and talk" in the nice weather. Make it part of the routine! #ElonEd
A5 - looking forward to hearing the advice on this! I've recently started journaling and going to therapy. Both have been SO great for stress & anxiety #eloned
A5: You can't pour from an empty cup. Learn what fills you and do it so you'll be able to pour into your students. Me? I need music (in headphones) and video games. I don't like large groups so I'm usually spent at the end of every day. #eloned
A5 Full disclosure, I'm not GREAT at balancing, BUT...I didn't step into a school building to do work on a weekend. I'd treat myself to a latte or something & grade papers in a new setting. Was great for my mood, too. #ElonEd
A5: I've been making an effort to pack healthy lunches, make time for exercise, and get plenty of sleep. Student teaching has been busy and stressful so far but making the time to do these little things for myself make a huge difference! #ElonEd
A4: Allow your students to teach you. Seek their feedback. Ask them if your instructional strategies are effective. Give your students a voice. It shows them that you’re learning too. Fosters a learning community. #eloned
A5: it may feel like it's ALL you, but it's not ALL you... you have a COOPERATING teacher and this is the time to learn, try, grow, rinse, repeat... don't overdo and always keep students first (and invest in hand sanitizer)
#ElonEd
A5: Learn early on the to do list will not get done. There’s always more that can be done. It’s important to turn off and do something non-school related. The list will be there tomorrow. #eloned
A5: Do not bring work home, or really try hard not to. Set a time and call it quits at that same time each day. Maintain prior relationships and routines/hobbies you had before you began teaching. Taking “me” time is not selfish, it is needed! #ElonEd
A5: Learn when to leave school at school. Yes, there will be late nights of work, but you cannot meet the needs of students at school if you do not have the energy to have patience and kindness. #eloned
A5 Acknowledge that teaching, especially student-teaching, can be physically demanding. Start prepping your sleep schedule a few weeks before you actually start ST. #ElonEd
A5: Build a network of support. Go out with them away from school. Realize it's not just you dealing with issues - we all have them. Talk to 1st year teachers in the building and see how T'ing is different than ST'ing. Stay connected with Twitter #eloned
A5: be purposeful about quality time - with friends, by yourself, whatever restores your energy.
And don’t forget about those non-education major friends either - they miss you 😉 #Eloned
A5: Take care of yourself. Remember that #eloned chat we had back in the fall about self-care? Take every day in your stride. You’re there to learn and have fun. Enjoy it! It’s the beginning of the best career in the world! #eloned
We have an attendance question that Ss answer every day. "What color is happiness?" "Why is pizza the best food?" "Who would win in a fight between a rhino and lion?" It gives the kids a chance to share with the class/ builds community because they listen to each other #eloned
A4: Don't forget about the quiet students! Get to know each of them on an individual basis. Have them share about personal experiences and go out of your way to converse with them. #eloned
A5: As much as teachers love coffee, I'm making it a goal of mine to sleep enough so that I don't need it. Student success = the new caffeine. #ElonEd#coffee
A5: You can't be physically, mentally & emotionally present for your Ss if you're not taking care of your self. Self-care is important. Take time every week for yourself. Walk away from grading, planning & email. Take time for yourself. It's not selfish. It's necessary. #Eloned
A5: My goal as a high school teacher is to attend at least one sporting event per season and one play/concert. It is always difficult to mange with my own 3 children and their activities, but I'm always glad I made the effort. The students really do notice! #ElonEd
A5: Do your best to separate your school and personal life. As teachers, we are notorious for wanting to give and give. There comes a point where we need to take some time for ourselves and debrief away from school. #eloned
A5: Hey, #ElonEd student teachers: "You may not have as much 'ME-Time' as you once did. Be prepared. It's okay." It's not work if you enjoy it. Stay the course. More tips for student teachers via #FlipgridFever: https://t.co/2o5YHU3w9d
It's really hard to leave work at work; you think about Ss, you think about lessons, you think about grading the 100 labs on your lab counter (no, was that just me?)...just make sure that you have something that makes you you outside of class. #ElonEd
Yes! Work on your mental health BEFORE student teaching so that you enter the experience with a clearer head. Continue to do so after student teaching starts for your own sake! #ElonEd
A5 - looking forward to hearing the advice on this! I've recently started journaling and going to therapy. Both have been SO great for stress & anxiety #eloned
A5: Do your best to separate your school and personal life. As teachers, we are notorious for wanting to give and give. There comes a point where we need to take some time for ourselves and debrief away from school. #eloned
A5: Remove email from your phone. This simple act works miracles. There's no email that can't wait until you intentionally sit at a computer to check it. You need to be able to disconnect from work. #Eloned
Definitely agree with that -- work and life are so intertwined, it's about keeping priorities straight and knowing when to say "no" to some of those school things and "yes" to some of those personal things. #ElonEd
Everyone will say balance, find a hobby, don't work weekends, and those are all true. Another big one...eat healthy and exercise. Teaching is debilitating and tough work. Balance and hobbies won't matter if you don't eat fruits and veggies and move every day. #ElonEd
And know that balance is a myth... if you try to think instead in proportions, it makes more sense than trying to chase an illusion of balance... letting go of "balance" was a game changer for me... demands on your time can feel like a roller coaster - ride on! #ElonEd
Also, yes! You need positive colleagues and people outside of school to build you up. Negativity can change your mindset, and make your life much more difficult #ElonEd
Yup. Teaching will take everything you give it and more. Easy to give so much of yourself that you give your family support and mental health with it. Its a marathon, not a sprint #eloned
And know that balance is a myth... if you try to think instead in proportions, it makes more sense than trying to chase an illusion of balance... letting go of "balance" was a game changer for me... demands on your time can feel like a roller coaster - ride on! #ElonEd
A5 Grace. You have to be able to give yourself the same amount of grace you give those kids every day. It's hard, but you have to learn to do it.
I'm still learning. #ElonEd
A5: I actually play a sport for my school and that keeps me healthy! But when I'm out of season I focus of diet, water intake, & getting enough sleep #ElonEd
Everyone will say balance, find a hobby, don't work weekends, and those are all true. Another big one...eat healthy and exercise. Teaching is debilitating and tough work. Balance and hobbies won't matter if you don't eat fruits and veggies and move every day. #ElonEd
Though this isn’t a response to a particular question, I highly recommend this article: https://t.co/pPLKsLfrt3 I found it in 2013 right after my first year of teaching and have read it every year since then.
Worth the read. #ElonEd
A6: That I didn't have to be like my cooperating teacher or my other teacher friends. I learned halfway through that I need to be ok with myself and not try to be like everyone else. #eloned
A6: That I didn't have to be like my cooperating teacher or my other teacher friends. I learned halfway through that I need to be ok with myself and not try to be like everyone else. #eloned
A6: I wish I had known how to lean on others more (cohort of STs, other teachers in the school, friends who were not in education at all)... and also given myself permission to still be a learner... hindsight is 20/20...
#ElonEd
I don't know. 8 for work, 8 for play, 8 for rest. When one of those three starts encroaching on the others I know I feel it. Of course, this isn't a day-to-day measurement, but, for me, it should be close to true over a long enough period of time. #eloned
A5: Although I did spend incredible hours in the physical school building, even past 10pm on Fri nights and even a few all-nighters, I agree with @allisunrae: We are now living in an age where you can work from anywhere! "Set the mood" that works best for you. #ElonEd
A5 Full disclosure, I'm not GREAT at balancing, BUT...I didn't step into a school building to do work on a weekend. I'd treat myself to a latte or something & grade papers in a new setting. Was great for my mood, too. #ElonEd
YES. Wish I would have known that this isn't a competition. I feel like I was constantly comparing myself to my CT, to the experiences of other STs around me. Not what it's about. #ElonEd
Everyone will say balance, find a hobby, don't work weekends, and those are all true. Another big one...eat healthy and exercise. Teaching is debilitating and tough work. Balance and hobbies won't matter if you don't eat fruits and veggies and move every day. #ElonEd
A6: I don’t think there is 1 thing I wish I had known. Just get ready and enjoy it because it will FLY by. Be ready because the Ss will be ready for you! Some days will be awesome and others you will be frustrated and beat down but you will get through it. #ElonEd
A6. That I was about to embark on a path of the most challenging yet rewarding professional career. And that authentic meaningful relationships are vital for success. #ElonEd
Oh I spent many late nights at school, for SURE. My first year I worked pretty consistent 12-14 hour days AT SCHOOL during the week. Realized moving somewhere else to get a new view helped my productivity :) #ElonEd
Q6:
1. It WILL be difficult
2. It WILL be worth it
and
3. It’s okay to cry because you feel like the kids aren’t learning anything and you’ll never be a good teacher. You’ll make it, just hang in there. (cc: @Mkwinter2) ❤️ #Eloned
A6: Use your planning time. Seriously, it's easy to feel tired and just chat with your colleagues, but resist that temptation from time to time and work. #eloned
A6: You're going to make mistakes. Your lessons may not go as planned. You will need to ask for help. None of these make you any less of a teacher than someone else though. #eloned
A6: The hardest part of teaching is the emotional side. You feel guilty when you don't reach one. You strain yourself by giving everything when you become their mentor/therapist. You can't always win. You have to learn to love students while still taking care of yourself #eloned
Please ask questions. Ask them EVERYDAY. Do not be afraid. I promise it will be worse if you don’t ask questions. We want our students to ask questions so we should be asking questions too. #ElonEd
A6: How much fun student teaching would be. How my performance was DIRECTLY related to my first job in the same school district. That the people I met would be colleagues years down the road. #ElonEd
A6: When you make mistakes (which you will) learn to acknowledge them and accept the feedback around them. “Don’t excuse your mistakes away” - wise words I remember from my ST supervisor in a lesson post conference with her! #ElonEd
I agree with miss_mcdavid asking for help is not a bad trait. It is a good trait. My first mentor teacher liked to say, "no sense re-inventing the wheel". Accept help in the beginning and then you can pay it forward as you gain experience. #ElonEd
Agree! And remember, you're not trying to memorize what your cooperating teacher does. You're trying to make sense of a group of humans (minds, bodies, hearts, hurts) learning & being together. That's really what student teaching is/should be about. #ElonEd#MiddTeachers
A6: That I didn't have to be like my cooperating teacher or my other teacher friends. I learned halfway through that I need to be ok with myself and not try to be like everyone else. #eloned
A6: Remind myself that I was learning and that it was okay to not know. It is an amazing experience. Let yourself learn from every opportunity. #ElonEd
A6: Take it slow and savor teaching. The pressure to teach the curriculum and stay on pace is important, but not at the expense of missing valuable teachable moments. #ElonEd
A6: I wish I'd known imposter syndrome is real.
You aren't alone when you feel like you're not ready or you don't know what you're doing. We've all been there. You've got this! #ElonEd
For anyone interested, I documented my student teaching experience (as well as the last 5 years of my teaching experience) on a blog I started in college! #ElonEd
Oh. Yes. Fri afternoons are only an endurance test. Most have the giddies to get out to begin the wknd, but it'd be helpful for #ElonEd student Ts to know that that's the most productive time of the week for many, AND-Then you have more time on Sat/Sun for other life things.
For anyone interested, I documented my student teaching experience (as well as the last 5 years of my teaching experience) on a blog I started in college! #ElonEd
So I still blog on this sucker (not as frequently, but I'm working on getting better about that!), and if anyone can benefit or learn from my experiences, here it is: https://t.co/HPNf0xOKgF#ElonEd
A6: I also get the most done on Friday afternoons. It can allow you to relax more on Saturday and Sunday knowing you have all or the majority of your work for the week done. #ElonEd
For anyone interested, I documented my student teaching experience (as well as the last 5 years of my teaching experience) on a blog I started in college! #ElonEd
Thanks to our excellent moderators @JFinneyfrock & @m_goldstein4 for leading the conversation tonight! A special shout out to 1st time moderator Morgan! #eloned
I used to be really consistent, mostly because I had all these thought swirling around my brain about what I was doing in my classroom & wanted to get them out somehow. #ElonEd
One thing I realized recently is that several, super-successful, effective, even "big-time" educators go to bed early on Fri nights, so that they can be extra-productive professionally early on Saturday mornings--and extra-present in their person lives Sat noon---Sunday. #ElonEd
I think now that I haven't been nearly as consistent, I need to just dedicate time to do it every week. #FlipClass did some great "flash blogging" that was similar to a quick write but via blog, then everyone shared. #ElonEd
I haven’t reflected on my student teaching this much since it happened (almost 6 years ago 😳)
Thankful for my awesome CT (@jrussell509), my experiences with #TeachingFellows and all the professors in #ElonEd.
I am the teacher I am today because of you.
