<p>Hi Posters,</p>
<p>In a week and a half, I start my first job as a high school history teacher. I am teaching 9, 10, and 11 grade honors classes in a great district in the Boston area. Although I have a ton of student teaching experience and a master's degree in history, I want to know a students' opinions on how they would like a teacher to act and be on the first week of school.</p>
<p>well, the thing that really annoys me about new teachers is that they sometimes are very tense/jumpy/nervous or that they are so relaxed, i would gain more knowledge by stapling a textbook to my head</p>
<p>most students (in my school especially in honors/AP) really want a teacher who will actually teach them something. a lot of teachers can’t pull of telling small jokes so i really wouldn’t unless you’re comfortable cuz then nervous laughter/awkward silence commences</p>
<p>also most students loathe outlines for history at my school. </p>
<p>i’d probably brief and outline the course of the class on the first day and slowly work your way into hw and readings because i wouldn’t want to hear major groans on the first day of class</p>
<p>Thanks Peachsnapple-
When you say outlines do you mean a syllabus</p>
<p>no i mean when teachers ask students to outline the textbook for homework. a lot of students don’t really get anything from it and it is very time consuming work.</p>
<p>most kids don’t like some teachers because the teachers are either unfair with grades or overload us with homework. both of these things cannot be determined during the first week of school</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Don’t try to use slang you’re not sure about :)</p>
<p>Zoaxanthellae-- thankfully I have younger (hs age) sibs who I can ask about slang. I am pretty young too.</p>
<p>Oh and I have never heard of making students outline…I did all the outlines for my students</p>
<p>For history, don’t force students to take notes, etc. and grade them. that is just annoying.</p>
<p>I think essays are the best homework for a history class. Give them a sheet with 2-3 essays on relevant topics, and then tell them they have to write a 1-2 page essay on it for their homework. Give them 2 days to do it, so if you assign it on Monday, make it due on Wednesday. This will allow the students to become more of critical thinkers, and they will learn better. </p>
<p>Also, don’t force too many research projects. 2 projects a semester seems good. Maybe do one research paper a year, 2nd semester, and 1st semester, make the project something like, “Interview a WW2 veteran”, or write a biography on a important political figure that you’re studying and why they are important in history.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>Freshman History - Multiple Choice quizzes/tests were pretty much all we had. Learned nothing.</p>
<p>Sophomore History - Lots of readings, fill in the blanks, multiple choice tests, research papers where it you weren’t allowed to analyze, and seldomly, some essays that weren’t well thought out questions. Learned nothing.</p>
<p>Junior/Senior History - Lots of readings, and then had to write essays like I described above. Then tests were matching people/vocab, along with an essay on a key topic (as well as I.D.'s on Unit tests).</p>
<p>Also, occasional map work is a good idea (don’t go overkill, because map work is annoying!). This will help students brace the geopolitical side of things.</p>
<p>Prove your competence in a generally amiable manner. Be the student’s respected friend.</p>
<p>It’s the FIRST week of school he/she was asking about…but honestly your best bet would be not to be stressed and just stay relaxed, trying to get to know the students and etc…the general stuff.</p>
<p>Just remember this: you are a teacher. You are there to educate the students. If you have the students take notes, make sure they’re getting something out of them. Also remember that you need to keep it fresh. My history teacher always shows movies, at least two per week. It really isn’t effective at all, since most students seize the time with the lights off to take a snooze.</p>
<p>I agree that essays and papers need to be in the curriculum. The students need to analyze and draw conclusions about events, rather than regurgitate facts. I kid you not, all my high school history tests to date have been 100% matching. That doesn’t teach students anything. While I have a good memory, most students are not going to remember anything about the subject if it’s taught that way.</p>
<p>As far as map work, it should be done in such a way that students are actively involved. For instance, have students take turns pointing to certain places on the map and have each explain why that place is important. I would suggest doing this randomly and spread out over a long period of time. All the map work I’ve done in history class has been things like “color the NATO nations yellow” and “name this ocean.” That also doesn’t teach students anything. The last thing your high school students want is an art project, so avoid those.</p>
<p>This last one applies to any teacher. Know your students. Just knowing their names really helps in the classroom. Have the students say their names to you, so you know how to pronounce them. I always have a good impression of a teacher who can pronounce my name. As trifle as it sounds, it’s a connection between the teacher and the student.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>JBVirtuoso, thanks for the advise. During my student teaching I had the repeated problem of being asked out (specifically to the prom and to other high school events) by my students. I like to form a good relationship with my students but I think that in combination of the fact that I am young and little (both height and weight) makes classroom management difficult.</p>
<p>How do your teachers handle misbehavior, inappropriate comments, etc?</p>
<p>The most effective approach to misbehavior is to make it very clear that it’s not allowed. You should also keep the students plenty busy during class so this won’t happen. My math teacher, for instance, patiently waits for the class to quiet, perhaps saying “Quiet please” in a medium tone of voice. Once the students get quiet, he says “Thank you” and proceeds with class. When students say something offensive, he asks them “Excuse me?” and they back off. The last thing students want is a lecture. Don’t reprimand the students or put them down in any way.</p>
<p>Well, we had three new teachers last year.
One was a new science teacher. He started a one of my least favorite out of the new teachers… Ended up as my favorite “newbie”, and on my last day of finals and such I spent so much time chatting and hanging out with him. It was the biggest turn around for a teacher I’ve ever had… He started out nervous, jumpy, and his grades/quizzes/notes were ridiculous. So if you have a bad start, learn from what you did and improve on it.
The new English teacher started bad, and got marginally better. She’ll never be a favorite and I have good and bad memories of that class. She didn’t learn so much from the first quarter and that was a mistake.</p>
<p>Now here’s what you don’t do. My spanish teacher was new, and horrible. Her tests and quizzes were either ridiculously hard or easy, meaning half of the people failed and then they got an easy 100 that was worth twice as much the week later. Remain consistent after the initial corrections. I hate that teacher… And if she’s my teacher this year again, I might quit, even though that’s impossible with my graduation requirements…</p>
<p>Thanks again JBV and others… I am totally confident in the material and syllabus that I have created, my main concern is classroom management so please keep your suggestions coming.</p>
<p>Odds are, for an honors class you won’t have TOO much behavior trouble to deal with. For classroom management, the other thing I can think of are the “pushover teachers” who always give in to their student’s begging (i.e. Can this paper be due on Monday instead of Friday, pleaaaaaaaaase!). Especially during the beginning, make it clear that you mean what you say and that your students must be accountable for their work. It should not even occur to your students to ask for an extension, an open book test, a “review mini-lesson” right before a test, or something like that. This is good for them and good for you.</p>
<p>^I agree. No pre-exam cram sessions, no simplified tests, no extensions. Students will learn more when they conform to your standards, not the other way around.</p>
<p>Though you need to be in charge and some kids will ask questions just to test you or will challenge something you say without really knowing what they are talking about, is is vital that you still LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY! My new physics teacher last year made a lot of mistakes on the board, and she refused to believe that she was incorrect. Every time someone corrected her, she would insist that she was correct without even checking her work. Then 5-10 minutes later when she finished the problem with an incorrect answer, she would freak out and mumble about things while she looked over her notes - then go back to the very mistake her class had pointed out and start over, without acknowledging the student who got it right. Needless to say, this was a complete waste of time, and I still don’t know a single person who enjoyed that class.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is, everyone makes mistakes, including my very best teachers. As long as you freely admit to it and fix it ASAP, your students will not hold it against you (thanking the student who corrected you is a nice touch too). Covering it up, making excuses and generally trying to make it look as if you are perfect will only make your students resent you.</p>
<p>Because you’re a history teacher, when a student raises their hand and says something along the lines of “I don’t get it”, you should respond “How do you not get it? It happened.”</p>
<p>I Know this may not relate to the first week and what not but this is important to us (students): </p>
<p>Explain, Explain, Explain. Don’t stop explaining. Don’t get off topic like my AP history teacher and speak of your hate for communism. Quite frankly we can careless how you feel… mainly on issues such as those. Teach. Explain.Make us think, don’t just give it to us. MAKE IT EXCITING. I mean you’re discussing this far away time that many just cant suddenly relate to so dont just say what happend create what happend…help us get a mental image of it.</p>
<p>Well good luck. I mean, I know you’ll do fine. You already want to help your students…its hard enough to find a teacher who even wants to be in school, let alone one who wants to help.</p>