New Year’s resolutions come and go. We make resolutions; we try to keep them, yet we often come up short in finishing them. But sometimes just thinking about resolutions for the New Year creates changes in the way we think and act.
So here is a complication of New Year’s resolutions from across the Web that will make the most sense to teachers.
Get your work/life balance in order.
As best you can, keep schoolwork at school and enjoy your time at home. Making yourself happy will be better for you AND your students.
Give individual time and attention to students.
It doesn’t have to be formal one-on-ones, tutoring, or meetings, but try to integrate a rotating classroom job in which your students help you do something. You can check with them individually and see how everything is going, no matter their personality and learning curve.
Spice up your classroom.
Are you done with the same old routines that you have done in your classroom for the past five years? If you are, then maybe it’s time to spice up your classroom. You can make a resolution to try new lessons that incorporate technology in them, or you can try a new classroom routine like switching the morning work to the end of the school day once a week.
Don’t let admin and school policies get you down.
There is nothing you can do to change certain policies, unnecessary meetings, or mounds of paperwork, so try to have a Zen-like attitude about the situation rather than letting that sour mood infect you and your classroom.
Have that big classroom clear-out you’ve been promising for ages, and change your displays more regularly.
A couple of hours of rigorous de-cluttering after school can be very cathartic and will certainly improve your classroom environment. Get the black bags out and be ruthless.
Slow down in lessons, and check that pupils really do understand what you’re teaching.
Are they actually absorbing the information or are they just regurgitating that information when assessed? Teaching at a fast pace does not always mean that students learn at a fast pace.
Resolve to be positive in your work.
Teaching is a great job; full of variety, hugely rewarding, and a career for optimists. If you didn’t think that you could improve the lives of young people then you wouldn’t have come into the profession in the first place. So stay positive, inspire your pupils with a bright, cheery attitude and enjoy your vocation.
Share ideas, resources, and revelations with parents, students, and other teachers.
This is a wonderful way to involve parents and students and help them get to know you. It can also have a positive effect on your working environment and relationships with other teachers.
Try one new idea, sing one new song, play one new game, or read one new student’s book every week.
This is a great way to shake things up and keep students excited and engaged in learning. New is good!
Smile more in class.
Not saying you don’t smile. Just make a conscious effort to smile often and make more of a personal attempt to connect to your students as individuals.
Cut yourself a little slack as a teacher.
You are a good teacher. You love your profession. You put overtime in because you want your students to succeed. You can’t always be everything to everyone. If you are a teacher, you know what we’re talking about. Believe in yourself. We do.
Happy New Year from your friends at Nasco!