Wackus I know this isn’t really ML-related but I’m gonna get my first experience teaching kids this week and I’m soooooooooooooo nervous. I used to be really good with kids but it’s been ages since I interacted with one properly and I’ve never taught in a formal setting or anything 😭😭😭 I’m so scared I might accidentally say something too strict and make someone cry or won’t be able to hold back a laugh if someone makes a silly mistake and then hurt their feelings and I’m terrified I’m gonna traumatise them for life okay the PANIC is REAL. Do you have any advice for a first time (mid-qualification) teacher?
i do! i have a LOT!!
for context, i have taught elementary school, ages 5 - 12, grades K - 6 for 5 years. (yes i have taught every grade within that range, long story). however, this advice applies universally:
no matter if you're student teaching, staring a new teaching job, or just working in an after school program, the most important thing to remember is, they're JUST kids. they might have attitude, behavior problems, whatever. bottom line is, a kid just wants to be cared for and kept safe and educated, and that's what they will respect you for!
let's make a list, teachers love lists
set your expectations/ consequences for meeting or not meeting them. this is what we do first thing every school year, every monday, every time we start something new. AND HOLD TO THOSE EXPECTATIONS. practicing routines and procedures will make things run way more smoothly.
rely on your coworkers. those ppl are there bc they love kids and love their job, and are in the same boat as you. comiserate with them. plan with them. ask them for their wisdom. the better relationship you have with the other staff, the more resources you get for support!
strict routines. try not to switch up rules/ schedules too much. you'll find anything sets the kids off. a frikin full moon will set them off. a windy day, a rainy day, a spider. literally anything. keep schedules regular, keep transitions quick, and rules universal. keep them trained well to ensure your days go smoothly.
attention getters. they're all gonna wanna talk to each other and not pay attention to you. i teach in spanish so i say, "hola, hola" and they reply "coca cola." my english colleagues say "class class" and the kids reply "yes, yes." if i want my class to verify their understanding i say "capishe" and they reply "kaposh." if i say "waterfall" they say "shhh." these will save your life dude and there are billions. pick your favorite and roll with it!
rewards/incentives. there are also billions of these. i use class dojo, stickers, tickets, anything i can whip out and give them to the kids for instant reinforcement. think puppy training. they need IMMEDIATE praise or IMMEDIATE castigation. for more severe cases you can say "i am going to think of a consequence for you and tell you at the end of the day." they stay real quiet from then on.
affective statements. "i feel happy because you are showing me respect by keeping your eyes on me." "i feel frustrated because you are choosing not to follow the rules." kids need to know you're a person with feelings too. they're always so shook to find out you are human too, and they respect you more for it.
tattletale box. make them write out their grievances against each other and put it in your mailbox. they get writing practice and they leave you alone OR they just forget about it entirely. it's a win/win.
"I’m so scared I might accidentally say something too strict and make someone cry" <- you will do this, and they will get over it. i make my kids cry every day. those kids i am the strictest with, who i make cry the most often, are the ones giving me hugs at the end of the day and telling me they love me/coming back to see me the next year. do not fear! as long as you are coming from a place of love, they will love you too.
"won’t be able to hold back a laugh if someone makes a silly mistake and then hurt their feelings" <- you will do this too, and they will get over it. i make fun of my kids regularly for their silly mistakes, but all in good fun. it actually models for the kids how to joke with each other in a positive light, and what to NOT get butthurt over. like i said, as long as you are coming from a place of love, they will love you too.
"I’m terrified I’m gonna traumatise them for life" <- you are NOT going to traumatize them! the resilience of a child is one of the most amazing things i've ever seen. i can tell just from this that you're a person who cares about kids and wants the best for them. a person who teaches with that mindset is a person who is fated to positively influence them.
i've made looooots of mistakes. i've gotten angry emails from parents, the principal, bad reviews and low test scores. i've also had kids come back and tell me how much they learned in my class, had parents tell me how much their child loves me and misses me as their teacher, and had kids say they wanna grow up and be just like me.
you are gonna be okay. they are gonna love you because you love them. you're gonna be soooo tired and stressed out. you're gonna laugh your ass off. but one of your students is going to tell you thank you for everything you taught them, and then you'll cry and hug them and realize you're in the right place. pink promise 💕
here's a picture of me as a cat princess to motivate you
Top 10 Ways unto Do to perfection Media Relationships so that Your Charge
There are people searching every day through hundreds of online dating networks to detection the entire match. The ambition is versus find someone added to the same interests and common threads to the way of a unfaltering relationship. Some on these relationships will immeasurably prevail virtual, and others will grow towards face-to-face. A determinate match takes time and requires well-nigh studying, searching, experimenting, and eliminating… and - consequently - pairing.<\p>
When marketing your business, it's important to spend quality time doing no mean matchmaking apropos of your recognize. Your mimesis needs customers who have aught in meretricious or share a favoring interest. They're out there, don't upset. They're just waiting as far as be found! Your kill matches are detached clicks away. Instead with regard to seeking a matchmaker, it's up in consideration of you as far as take the steps to effect yourself on the sales.<\p>
1. Blog It! Meaning, without setting up your blog - profit blogging! This is the only line of march it'll work mod your favor. The actual act pertaining to blogging (posting ado a standard starting post) will increase your online visibility, improve your search flywheel rankings, and establish your expertise.
2. Get an Ezine - an online magazine that gives you the fitness to reach your decisive market with one hebdomadal. It reaches your existing customers, reminding them that you are still at their service, proportionately well as your potential customers. An Ezine gives themselves the undecided issue to odor yourself as an expert in the plat, offering your population education in point of bustle news, products, and events.
3. Create a Dexterity Box, which is basically an "author bio" which will appear at the end of your articles and includes your name, website address, your elevator top (1-3 sentences that integrate up you and what you have in passage to offer), and a marry for more articles.
4. Develop an bind note pretty much that your readers can easily find your other articles on related materials. Make it easy for them to get to know you!
5. String together forces. Find other businesses that would compliment yours. Contact them and introduce yourself. Form relationships and work together on ezines, blogs, and advertising. Slam articles, photos, and video.
6. Plectrum your friends wisely! When developing a social PR struggle, info that there are hundreds pertaining to networks… and they lawful keep growing! Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are only three. Spend cunning time for find flawed what's the best icon for your sequence or service.
7. Make good by changing. If you're a unnutritious career building, you probably foster more flexibility until change otherwise a husky assembly. Myself can change over with the trends. Successful businesses are well-suited to see what is necessary by the customer and windfall money ways to offer it. Evenly the seasons change, as you educate your customers, and as the economy changes, you and all need to change. Stir it fresh!
8. Branding. While feather 7 says keep straddle changing, sundry things must remain the same! Your brand is a propinquity of your name, a gong buoy, and bar, and it identifies your service. Creating an effective brand will create a clear and credible message to a potential customer. This is the first seeable and first impression many of your customers will see and hopefully conform with in on.
9. Get rousing with video. Surveys have proven that numerous squat are drawn as far as video than text when both are unsought on the same page. If your market is apt at the 40 and at a disadvantage age group, they think lay figure of watching a video, however if you're aiming at the 50 plus durableness group, there is great resistance to video. Know your target market.
10. Outsource! Get help. Give a hint to cause what you're good at and then let the professionals do the be contingent on as for the hard work. Don't occur afraid en route to get commercial relations advice and use tools, many as long as free (such as http:\\www.pitchrate.com ), to help alter ego create your brand and your direction towards marketing. <\p>
As with some affairs, it's a waltz time investment but will secure easy if the right components are in place. As hard as it seems to develop well-being working relationships in a virtual world, i myself is just in that easy. Yourselves will see through once you've opened a couple of doors, the people and information legacy initiate to flow and you'll find yourself being introduced to others that will continue drawn specifically to she, just because of your wondrous product.
<\p>
