Before You Start....

                Today, I’m going to talk a little about preparing mentally for your first day of school.  As you may know, I am an elementary special education teacher so my opinions and methods here may be quite different than other teachers.  Although I do not believe it changes how a teacher prepares, I am a young male and thus, my brain operates as one.  This also gives me some different opinions here.
                Special Education demands many different professional relationships.  These relationships are extremely important and in my opinion, are more personal as compared to other teaching situations.  The Spec. Ed. Teacher must have a strong working relationship with EVERYONE in their immediate school, the child study team and a working knowledge of their resources in the district.  A key component to the team of people you work with for you student are the student’s parents/ caregivers.  They are your key resources.  No one knows your student better than them.  Plus, IEPs demand you work together so if they don’t like you or respect what you have to say, they can offer some resistance that will provide for a long school year.  A third key relationship you must have is with your student.  This is very important with special education as your student already struggles learning so the slightest distraction can throw off their learning for their day.  The more you know about their personality and interests, the more likely you are to maintain a positive and comfortable learning community for the student.  Although you must know all you can about your students, you are NOT their friend…. You are their teacher and a respected adult in their lives. (more about this in a later post.)
                In your first year, do not bite off more than you can chew.  It is so easy, in my experience, to become overwhelmed in your first year.  Although it is very important to go above and beyond in what’s expected of you, do not promise things you just can’t do.  As a teacher, you must contribute to your school and community.  It is important to join school committees and actively participate in your community but I would not recommend heading up a committee or volunteering for too many.  You will have more than enough on your plate.
                I like to keep fresh on IEP legislation, guidelines, lingo, educational standards and practices over the summer.  Although it is easy to turn to the internet to find an answer, it is faster and easier to retrieve that standard or answer from your mind.  Plus, as silly as it sounds, reviewing and considering varying info from the field keeps my mind free of cobwebs and pumps me up for the upcoming year!  Also, as soon as you have access to them, learn your student’s IEPs.  Know how they learn and what difficulties they have will make preparing your classroom and management so much easier.
                During your summer, get to know your community.  If you don’t already know who you are working with, FIND OUT!  Fellow teachers have a great wealth of knowledge to offer.  Find out who your administrators are and what they expect of you this year.  Do a little research on the community you will be teaching in.  Find out things outside your district like what is the economic status, what do students do for fun in their spare time, where can I stop for a coffee on my way to work….
                Before you start work, develop your resilience and a stress management system.  I’m not going to lie, there are days when I didn’t get out of the school for ten-twelve hours.  Add your commute and day to day chores to that and you’ve got a long day!  Is your body able to withstand that physical stress?  I recommend building an awareness to both mental and physical stress.  Know when enough is enough for you!  Know what to do to relieve this stress.  Countless studies have shown that exercise, sleep and a healthy diet help prevent stress.  For me personally, anything outside helps me relieve stress, be it fishing, hiking or just hanging out outside.  Have a number of options for stress relief in case you cant get outside or to the gym.  A huge way to prevent stress is to develop a supportive network of people and surround yourself with them.  Don’t hang out with “Negative Nancys” who look to place a blame, not a solution to the problem.
                It seems like a lot to think about doing before you even start right?  I live by “if you fail to plan, you should plan to fail.”  This is so true in teaching, especially your first year.  This is a very exciting time!  Don’t let it be ruined by nerve wracking challenges.  Know you resources, access them as soon as you can, learn what you can and you will be set up for a strong year!