Student Teacher? Learn How to Survive in Education and Be a Great Asset to Your School

Join all Teacher Forums on the internet. You will learn many things from the thousands of teachers who are members. Start with the Times Education Supplement Forum. Listen to senior teachers with many years service. They are survivors. Get yourself a role model Be assertive, firm and always, always respectful. Important. Stress causes negative emotions, short tempers and loss of control. You MUST follow a daily De-Stressing Fitness Regime. Yoga. Dance. Running. Personal Trainer. Learn how to be a great communicator. Study (NLP) Neuro Linguistic Programming, non-verbal body language as it accounts for 93% of your communication. Learn VAK - visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning and teaching styles. This will allow you to teach more effectively. Inspire and motivate your students with role models, stories of achievement and success. Make your subject come alive. Teach it with conviction, creativity and passion. Manage your emotions by dissociating or stepping outside yourself and observing how you speak and act. Be philosophical. You will have bad days. It is how you will deal with them that makes you a survivor. Use appropriate punishment for challenging behaviour, but also empathise to get to the root cause of the behaviour. Show you are in control of yourself and your class by using relaxed, non-emotional body language and gestures. Be consistent in your discipline. Don't have favourites and treat everyone equal. Focus on the behaviour not the student. Tell them how their behaviour makes you feel. Create a list of Do's and Don'ts. Do not show dislike for any student. See Pygmalion Effect for teachers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect.html Be big enough to apologise if you have made a mistake with a student. Build a positive attitude in yourself and your students. Introduce yourself to all teachers. Even those who might seem a bit distant. They can be a real help in the first weeks. Plan and prepare. Get it right and don't have students laughing at your mistakes. Learn as many different teaching techniques as you can. These and your personality are what makes your subject interesting. Create a comfortable, friendly environment. Use posters quotations, students' work, colours, shapes, music, textures. Be aware of and limit distractions such as windows with no blinds, noises, students walking by, etc. Seat students who either need extra help or have challenging attitudes close to you. If possible seat them and yourself in a circle. Use your students names often and in a positive way. Be different. Be unique. Let students help in setting rules and expectations. If they own them they are more likely to adhere to them. Emphasise individual student effort, behaviour and reward with praise, positive calls to parents, awards/certificates, lollipops! Begin class with a daily "warm-up" activity. Try our Lateral Thinking Problems. Check for understanding and review during every lesson. Always remember the best discipline is preventative discipline. Learn classroom management techniques from the 'veterans'. Watch inspirational films especially those about Teachers. Pay it Forward. Dead Poets Society. To Sir With Love. Dangerous Minds. Create your own student teacher survival guide. Grow it over the years. Floss and smile.