Brittany Morris - Everything a New Elementary School Teacher REALLY Needs to Know (But Didn't Learn in College)

Summary 

The book I chose to focus on was called “Everything a New Elementary School Teacher Really Needs to Know.” The book was written by Otis Kriegel who is an elementary school teacher with 12 years of experience under his belt. He got his M.S.Ed in bilingual education from the Bank Street College of Education in New York. Otis has had experience in teaching in a dual language (English-Spanish), monolingual, and integrated co-teaching classrooms (p. 233). I found his book very interesting and useful as it went into great detail about many of the aspects involved in teaching elementary students. The book examined the teaching profession with a critical eye and broke everything down in 10 headings: Making your classroom work for you, Learning your school’s culture, Setting up a terrific year, Working with students, Working with your principal The parent-teacher relationship, Communicating with families, When families come into the classroom, managing the workload, and Balancing your responsibilities. The book provides many tips to new teachers, many of which I found to be very straight-forward and obvious, however there were many things the book brought to my attention that I never knew before. 

Strategies and Resources 

Some of the things that really caught my attention in the book were the helpful points about homework, IEP’s (individualized education plan) and educational assistants, the introduction of new students into the classroom, and parent reactions. The book went into great detail as it discussed the notion of homework and whether teachers are giving students too much or too little. The book emphasized and explained four logical reasons behind the philosophy of homework which were to: 

• to improve students ability to memorize facts, like multiplication and states/provinces
• for students to review things taught earlier in class that day 
• for students to begin and or continue to work on projects 
• and to teach students a sense of responsibility (p. 72-73)

Some ideas for homework the book discussed were the: homework folder, the homework notebook, the homework folder bin, the homework record book, and lastly homework checking (p. 76-77). The homework folder is a way to keep important papers for parents and homework for students more organized. Therefore it increases the likelihood that these documents make their way home safely. The idea behind using a folder is, to have one with two pockets one on each side and to label one side “Communication” for school events, announcements, and permission slips. And label the other side as “Homework.” The homework notebook has to do with students keeping a daily agenda and recording homework. This way students can keep track of a number of assignments and their due dates, as well as tests. The homework folder bin has to do with the idea of students handing in their homework after they have completed it the previous day. The book advises new teachers to have a bin where students can place their assignments when they are handing them in. This way they can’t get lost and the teacher can quickly and easily get everyones stuff (p. 76-77).

With regards to the homework record book, this is just basically the teachers method of recording completed assignments. The records can be kept in a notebook or on a computer file. By using this strategy teachers show, identify, and communicate with students and parents about what assignments are missing and which assignments have yet to be hand in (p. 76-77). And lastly the checking homework stage is a way of teachers finding out who understands concepts, who is on the fence, and who requires a little more help and support (p. 76-77). Another strong argument the book made with regards to homework was the importance of teachers and their ability to explain, support, and defend not only the homework they assign but heir teaching methods too (p. 72-73). 

The book also talked about future situations where as a teacher you could get a new student and so you want to make them feel as comfortable as possible. The book stressed to prepare all of the supplies, notebooks, and materials that the new student will need. The book also suggested to pick both a boy and girl to act as “buddies” for the new student and help get them settled at there desk, show them around the classroom, explain some of the rules, as well as showing them wear the washrooms are located (p. 83-84). 

I really liked the section on IEP’s and working with specialists. I found this very useful because I will likely have students with disabilities that come into my classroom from time to time and therefore I will be working with specialists too. I really liked how the section covered and explained the differences between push-in and pull-out activities, because I had never heard of them before (p. 87-88). Another section I found interesting was the one about parents and what their expectations are, and how to handle unhappy parents. The book talked about how parents often get upset because of inaccurate information that is being transferred from the classroom to their home (p. 148). The book advises teachers to be apologetic, sensitive, and understanding when it comes to these types of situations. The book suggested using four main ways to improve and prevent communicate problems with parents by: email, class websites, phone calls, and notes sent home (p. 149). 

Critique 

I enjoyed this book a lot and I found it very beneficial, at first while reading this book I felt very overwhelmed by all of the little tidbits behind the teaching profession. But throughout the book and the more I read, I started to feel a little less stressed and more comfortable. The book presents a variety of helpful ideas for new teachers entering the field, and I think it is the type of book is not only good for new teachers but, it could also be very beneficial to older teachers too. Some of these teachers may require some new and fresh ideas as well as helpful reminders. The layout of the book is very friendly and well organized which makes makes it such a nice and easy read. This is definitely a resource that I can see myself frequently turning to for ideas, advice, and support in my beginning years of teaching and it is one I will continue to keep throughout my promising teaching career.