Sunday, May 08, 2005

Liberal or conservative?

(Yeah, my thoughts don't jump around too much or anything.)

Anyway, I found a truly insightful and fascinating link at Fred's World (FYI, he also had a career change to teaching) that I wanted to post over here. It helps you figure whether you're liberal or conservative (if you give a damn). On a scale of 0 to 40, I scored a 19--almost smack dab in the middle, with a slight lean towards the liberal side. According to the post-test comparisons, I'm closest to Colin Powell in my political beliefs. Hmmm.

http://madrabbit.net/webrabbit/quizshow.html

3 comments:

Fred said...

Thanks for the plug. In answer tou your comment on my site about hints, here are a few:

1. I got in because there’s a shortage of teachers in Florida. I had enough subject hours (history) but no courses in education. My district gives you three years to get those course completed; a mix of college and district-provided courses.

2. When interviewing – come prepared with sample lesson plans and ansees on how to control unruly students.

3. Use the internet for lesson plans. You’d be surprised to see what’s out there. Individual teachers post them all the time. In my field, www.socialstudies.com has tons of stuff. Whatever your field is, look for a site like that. Check www.amazon.com for anything available. In my field, there are good review books there.

4. Observe other teachers as often as possible. They’ll be very eager to help. Observe people outside of your subject – they can help with classroom management . Align yourself with the “younger” teachers, by that, I mean those who haven’t been in the system for awhile. They’ll be more helpful and less jaded. (Sorry, long timers!)

5. I would assume you’ll be doing more cooperative learning types of plans. Get a hold of a good workbook on the subject.

6. Be ready for unreasonable parents. Don’t let them intimidate you.

7. Don’t feel you have to have a full semester planned out. New teachers will be lucky to keep their head above water. Stay no more than a week ahead. Then when the year is over, spend your summer break putting together a plan for the next year. You will see a huge difference from year one to year two.

8. The teachers I have the least respect for are those that want to be the student’s friend. They make poor choices. Demand their respect; they’ll be better students for it.

9. Classroom management is the hardest part to master – get that down first, or your academic lesson plans will suffer.

10. Don’t escalate minor disciplinary issues. Sure, you want to show them who’s boss, but if it becomes a major issue, call and have them removed rather then getting into a shouting contest that is unpredictable at best.

Hope this helps. Check out my site every so often and let me know if you need any other tips.

Jen said...

Fred, what further advice can you give regarding classroom mgmt (and the establishment of it)? As a relatively new teacher, what techniques do YOU use? (I'll be certified K - 8; my student teaching will be in a middle school.)

Fred said...

Sorry for the typos above (Where's the spell check on this thing?)

Here's a good site for you to check out the do's and dont's.

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/discipline.html

My rule? Be absolutely rigid in the beginning. You can soften up, if possible. To do it in reverse spells disaster.