TEACHER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE: 
5 TIPS TO MAKE THINKS WORK MORE SMOOTHLY
 
by
Jennifer L. Cartwright, BA, M. Ed., Doctoral Candidate

You have survived the first day of school and all the rest there after.  Hopefully, it has gotten easier as you have gotten to know your students and their parents.  You have a daily routine and developed some systems to make things work more smoothly in your classroom.  As the school year wears on, you will find that you will need to fine tune your systems.  Here are five ideas that should help you this year and for the rest of your teaching career.

1. Make Friends.  You probably have friends in your personal life that you have been able to count on to support you and help you out.  You will need the same at school.  You  will need to make friends with the following people:

·        Mentor

·        Cafeteria Workers

·        School Secretary

·        Custodians

If your school has not assigned you a mentor, find one for yourself.  It is really helpful to have one person that you can count on to help you out when you need to know how to fill out the Field Trip Form or to explain all the things that the administration forgot to mention and expects you to do anyway.

Most school secretaries have a lot of power and knowledge of the school, the people who work there, and how it runs.  It is important to have them as your allies so that things run smoothly for you.  Making friends with custodians can possibly lead to you receiving preferential treatment.  I always made sure to learn the names of the custodians in my school and to talk to them when they came into my room to do work.  Tony often stopped to chat as he came by my room.  I had a cabinet that had broken doors, which couldn’t be repaired, and it was taking up valuable space.  I filled out a request to have the cabinet either fixed or removed.  I was told by the head custodian that the cabinet could not be fixed and that it couldn’t be removed because it was bolted to the wall.  I looked at the back and saw that it was not bolted into the wall.  The next time Tony came by, I asked him if it could be removed.  When I came in the next morning, it was gone.  Custodians can be very good school friends!

2. Organization.  You have probably come up with organizational systems for your classroom which are key to a well run classroom. 
   • Furniture Layout
   • Files
   • Work Systems

The position of your desk, your work area, and student desks is important in order to monitor student work and behavior, as well as, utilizing your allotted space for maximum usage.  Try to avoid “dead areas”, such as places where students are not within your sight or areas that are not used for anything.

You will probably need to maintain some sort of working files in your

classroom.  I have a file draw with hanging folders with each student’s name on it in alphabetical order by last name.  In each hanging folder, I keep three file folders.  One file folder is marked Attendance and I keep attendance information such as excuse notes from parents or other records that might relate to excessive absences.  Another folder is labeled Work Samples and is used to collect examples of the student’s work during the school year.  The other folder in my hanging files is labeled Discipline and contains information related to detentions, behavior contracts, communications from parents and administrators concerning behavioral issues, and discipline referrals made to the administration.  When there is a meeting called for a specific student to discuss any of these topics, a file of information is readily at hand to take to the meeting.

            Students need to know where to pick up any daily work that you may assign and where to turn in their work.  I have used a variety of systems which include folders labeled with each student’s name that is filled each day with daily work, a box with daily work placed in it left at the same location for students to retrieve their work, or placing daily work on their desks before class.  Work can be turned in for correcting in any number of ways.  In baskets that are labeled for each class or section, file folders that are placed into a hanging folder container, or a student assigned to collect papers at the end of class, are some suggestions.  The important thing is to set up a workable system and use it consistently.  Once a system is established and becomes a habit for you and your students, your classroom will move along more smoothly.

3. Schedules and Procedures.  It is important to establish a daily schedule with starting and ending times for classes, lunch, recess, etc., and post it in the room where students can see it.  Also, if there is going to be a schedule change, be sure to alert students as soon as possible and post the new schedule on the board. 

Determine class room jobs and assign students on a rotating basis to the

jobs.  Develop a routine for lining up, such as alphabetical order, by rows, or any other criteria that you may establish.  Routines, order, and structure will make your student’s and your life much easier.

4. Plan Book/Grading Book.  If your school uses a school wide computerized grading program, I highly recommend using that and forget the old fashioned grade book.  You will save yourself a lot of time.  If your school does not have a computerized grading program, buy one.  You’ll be glad you did.

I like to use a plan book that with a soft cover and a multiple ring binder.

It allows you to organize your plan book like a notebook and to keep lots of information at hand.  I like to use notebook dividers to section off my plan book.  I have one section where I keep student information, a section for grades which I print off my computer weekly, a section for other vital information such as school regulations  or the school discipline policy, and, of course, planning pages.

5. Parent Contact.  You will need to maintain records of parent contact for your information, for your school, and to protect yourself. 
   • Phone Log
   • Email
   • Postcards
   • Informal Get Together
   • Progress Reports

I buy a composition book and label every fifth page with the name of one of my students, parent’s names, and all the phone numbers that are listed on his/her emergency information.  When I call a parent, I take my phone log book with me, date the margin area, and then write down all pertinent information from the phone call, including that a message was left on the answering machine.

I keep parents’ email addresses on my computer, so that I can quickly and

easily contact a parent when needed.   I find that emailing is often easier than phoning.  I don’t have a phone in my room, but I do have a computer with email.  I can immediately email a parent, if there is a problem, and often receive an immediate response.   One parent I have dealt with emails me every day for updates about behavioral issues with her son.  If there is a problem, I can let her know, she responds to me immediately, and I can print out the parent’s response to show to her son.  It works like a charm!

            Sometimes it’s nice for a parent to get good news about their child.  I like to keep postcards on my desk.  When a student has a good day or does something really special, I will jot it down on a postcard and mail it to the parent.  There is nothing like getting a personal note in the mail, especially one that contains something nice about your child.

            Something you might want to consider is having a meeting before school starts with all the parents of your students.  You can usually get into your room at school during the summer break, as long as that area has been cleaned and all of the class moving has been done.  Some teachers have a social of some sort, like a tea or lemonade and cookies, to break the ice and meet parents in a more relaxed setting than a formal school sanctioned meeting.

            Your school probably has designated times when progress reports are sent home.  Along with sending progress reports home with students, I email them.  Some computerized grading programs allow for progress reports to be emailed.  If you have this option at your school, it can be very useful.  A child who is having academic difficulty or who doesn’t do their homework can be monitored more closely by the parent through emailed progress reports which are sent home weekly.

            Hopefully, these five tips will help you to be able to feel less frenzied and more in control of the situation.  Once you have systems intact and running smoothly you can relax and enjoy great lessons with your students.  In the next article, I hope to present a sequel with five more tips in the areas of school meetings, substitute notebooks, planning for the end of the year, obtaining ideas, and discipline strategies.