Kristy Acevedo's Blog

Posted by Kristy Acevedo

The days before the first days of school are vital to starting off right. You must destress and organize. But most of all, you must visualize how you want your classroom to function and how you'd like your students to perceive you. I find myself cleaning out everything in my apartment and at school. Forget spring cleaning--teachers summer/fall clean. There's so much nervous excitement building that it has to go somewhere. If you are still baffled on how to successfully start of the year, read from our Suite 101 experts, including Sallie Schaaf Borrink's New Teacher Tips for Great First Day of School. Or for more in-depth information, read from my latest New Teacher Book List. These books will prepare you for anything! And you must be prepared for anything, which is probably one of the biggest stressors in teaching. You have to trust yourself to handle anything, and relax, and students will sense an immediate security around you. That old wise tale about not smiling 'till Christmas is crap; students want to know that you are friendly and can laugh when something is funny. The key is to not appear as a pushover. Try not to smile when you are nervous or intimidated. It's nervousness that students see as a weakpoint. Tomorrow is my first day, and I'm worried about many things, including teaching, students, what to wear, where to eat lunch....It's like I'm a student all over again. But I do have a sense of calm along with my excitement that comes from teaching experience. I think all teachers each year have a fear of the unknown: Who are my students and how will the year go? So for the new teachers out there know this: you are not alone. Even veteran teachers feel anxiety on the first day.

Posted by Kristy Acevedo

I haven't even received a key to the room my desk will be located in, so I haven't been able to set up anything. It's stressing me out. I prepped the typical first day expectations and rules handouts. I plan on going over these on the first day, then jumping right into a lesson and handing out books and homework. I find it lets students know I mean business. I'm currently mapping the curriculum month by month so I can see how long to spend on each unit. I am lucky I get a lot of choice in which novels I teach; many schools have such strict curriculum guidelines they've taken all the fun and autonomy out of the classroom. That's what happens when education turns to high stakes testing. It zaps all creativity from teaching and learning. I'm getting off topic. I'm actually not going to make all curriculum decisions yet. I'm going to wait to meet my classes and see the needs of my students. That way I can adjust the curriculum to reflect their needs. Don't you like it when you feel respected as a teacher to make these decisions? Embrace these moments; they come and go. Most of all, I'm trying to relax. I find myself pacing throughout my apartment, organizing random things. Tomorrow I'm going to clean and vacuum my car so I can drive to work on the first day without sand on the floor from all those lazy days at the beach. I wanted to read one more novel before school starts, wanted to repaint the living room, wanted to write the rest of my memoir, wanted to visit my best friend, wanted to spend more time with my children, but all I keep doing is staring at the calendar. It's pathetic.

Posted by Kristy Acevedo

After teaching high school English for seven years, going into my eighth year should be a breeze. It's not. I've switched districts,which makes me a new teacher again. I'm back on the low end of the totem pole, back to floating classroom to classroom, back to staring at colleagues I don't know, back to learning a new curriculum. Many of you are walking into the great unknown, armed with optimism. I'm a realist by now. It's refreshing to start with a clean slate, but it's also petrifiying. There's so much to do, and so little time. Throughout this year, I will share my insight on this blog on how I deal with new teacher situations. If you are a new teacher, feel free to email me with problems you are having, and I will do my best to cover them in an upcoming blog and/or article. In two weeks, I am meeting my mentor. Yes, even I get a new teacher mentor, a requirement when switching districts. I was a mentor in my old district, and I believe that it is important to all new teachers, regardless of experience, to have a mentor. I'm making a list of concerns for my mentor. Most involve how the school functions, specific rules, and those little details that make every school unique. I'm also busy making all those August decisions, like class organization and management issues. I'm a floater again, so I have to remember all my floating secrets. Good luck to all new teachers as this exciting new year approaches. Remember how important you are to the lives of children, and when the chalk/expo marker hits the fan, come visit us at New Teacher Support and keep reading my blog!