As the end of my internship draws closer, I have really started thinking about how I will do things in my classroom. What sort of things will I do the same? What will I do different? Though it pains me, I know that not all of my policies/procedures will work. As a teacher, the best thing we can do is adapt and be willing to change things that aren’t working or helping students learn.
What I’m really focused on right now is the start of the school year. I know that the first days are extremely important in how the classroom functions for the rest of the year. And I knew from just 1 week with middle schoolers, that you have to be extremely clear and upfront with your expectations and procedures. As my internship progressed, I realized just how much there was to think about. New issues would arise that I hadn’t given any thought to and I realized that I definitely needed to have a plan addressing the issue at the beginning of the year. Here are a few of the things I’ve been thinking about:
Late work – will it be accepted? Graded down? What constitutes late work? How will it be turned in?
Make-up work when absent – Whose responsibility is it to get the work? Where will I keep work?
Participation points – Will I do this? If so, how often? How can I make this as objective as possible? How will I keep track of points in the least tedious way?
Bell Ringer assignments – What will these look like? Will they be graded?
Bathroom/Hall passes – How do students get to leave the classroom? How often? Can a pass be revoked? What for?
Being Prepared – What will I do if students don’t have needed supplies? What happens if it turns into a habit?
Again, I know there will be a lot of trial and error work to find procedures that work for me and my students that also work to create a safe, effective learning environment, but I’m ready for the challenge.
I absolutely love your layout. Nice tag cloud, too. I think I’m going to read your internship reflection posts because they look really interesting.