Harry Wong

3.2.10 - by Harry & Rosemary Wong - Jessica Fenton walked into her first year in the classroom and like so many new teachers, was caught off guard. The obstacles she encountered left her feeling unprepared and overwhelmed. She ran into problems that were never dealt with in her college education courses.

Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn

What They Don’t Teach in School

by Harry & Rosemary Wong

“When I first started teaching, I honestly had no idea what I got myself into.”

Jessica Fenton walked into her first year in the classroom and like so many new teachers, was caught off guard.  The obstacles she encountered left her feeling unprepared and overwhelmed.  She ran into problems that were never dealt with in her college education courses.  She struggled to find answers for the stressed out parents asking for advice.  She had piles of administrative paperwork.  Juggling teaching with meetings and extra-curricular activities seemed impossible.  Finding time to prep for classes she wasn’t trained to teach meant giving up sleep.

You see, Jessica was trained as an elementary school teacher.  However, upon graduation, she was offered a position teaching ninth grade English.

“Never in my life did I ever think I would teach high school,” says Jessica.  The last time Jessica had been in a high school classroom was as a Senior—during her own high school days.  And now she was beginning her professional career—as a high school teacher at Riverview High School.

In addition to teaching, Jessica was also coaching sports, chaperoning school dances, volunteering on various committees, and helping with graduation.  She was working from seven in the morning until midnight every day.  Yet still, she did not feel prepared.

“I was discouraged,” she says, “because I did not completely understand what was really involved in being a teacher and most importantly, how to manage it all.”  

Jessica knew that she loved being a teacher.  But by the time the Christmas holidays came, Jessica was at a breaking point.  “I could not possibly teach forever,” she says, “by putting in the hours I was putting in and by being involved in all that I was involved in—and stay sane.”  

 She knew it was time for a change.

A Few Simple Changes

Over the break, Jessica committed herself to learning how to become a more successful teacher.  She attended professional development seminars and classroom management workshops.  She read books, including Enhancing Professional Practices, by Charlotte Danielson, and our book, The First Days of School.  And she stole everything she could.

Jessica soon realized that a few simple changes could turn everything around.  The process would have to start with establishing procedures and routines in her classroom.  She developed a list of clear procedures that she knew would make her classroom routines flow smoothly.  

Once she had these procedures outlined in her plan, she taught the procedures to her students.  This is where most teachers fail when they complain procedures don’t work in their classrooms.  These are the teachers that just tell the students what to do and then expect the students to do it.  There is no rehearsal or reinforcement of the procedures.

Using the three-step procedure for teaching a procedure that’s taught in The First Days of School, Jessica

• Explained the procedures to her class. 
• Modeled and rehearsed them with her class
• Implemented a method of follow through to reinforce each procedure

According to Jessica, “It was not so much the curriculum that I needed a handle on but it was more about management and organization.”

Once the students had a clear understanding of how things were going to run in the classroom, Jessica was able to teach with ease.  She distributed two handouts to her students. The first was a department-wide course outline which explained the literature they would be studying, how they would be graded, and the policies for assignments and homework.

Most importantly, at the bottom of the paper in bold letters was this statement:

“The degree of success earned by the student will depend on
commitment and ownership.
If the three participants:  student, parent/guardian, and teacher, work together,
the student will experience success.”

Click here to see the department’s English 10 Course Outline.  This handout also was sent home for parents and guardians to review.

The second handout was a Course Information page.  This laid out each of her major procedures on paper for the students to reference.  It listed the specific breakdown of how each day was going to be run.  It explained Silent Reading (her version of an opening of class bellwork assignment).  It said what each student was to bring to class every day, and how they were to organize their work.

Click here to see Jessica’s Course Information page.

By setting her expectations of her students and herself up front, she set the stage for a successful rest of the year.

“I realized, I can do this!  After returning to school from the holiday break, I was a changed teacher.  I have never looked back since and I have never been happier.”

For information on how to create and implement procedures and routines, read Chapter 19 in The First Days of School or view “Using the First Days of School, a DVD featuring Chelonnda Seroyer, an English teacher like Jessica Fenton, found at the back of the book, The First Days of School.