Tips from Classroom Veterans

When the National Education Association (NEA) asked veteran teachers what advice they could give new teachers, the following Top 10 list was created.

1. Take your vitamin C. You’ll find yourself sick all the time but it will give new meaning to the phrase, “sick of your job.”

2. Stock up on antibacterial waterless hand soap and disinfectant sprays. See tip number one.

3. Children are brutally honest. They believe they are doing you a favor when they announce to the class that your shirt or pants are unbuttoned.

4. Keep a journal of the funny things your students say. Not only will it keep your job in perspective but it could also make you rich when your journal becomes a best-seller.

5. Invest in good comfortable shoes. This is no time to be suffering for fashion.

6. Practice not going to the bathroom for hours at a time. This probably isn’t something you learned in any of your education courses but it’s an important skill to master.

7. Practice eating your lunch in three minutes or less. See tip number 6.

8. Have a stash of chocolate in your desk—you’ll need it some days. Enough said.

9. When shopping at grocery stores, don’t snap your fingers at other people’s children who are misbehaving. It’s hard to resist the temptation but this is not your classroom.

10. Try not to treat your significant other or friends as though they are in third grade—not unless you want third grade behavior in return.

Updated: February 18, 2009 8:29 PM