After the excitement of the New Year settles in, it's time to get back into a routine.
For many teachers that means managing precious time planning lessons, assessing, collaborating with other teachers, talking at parent teacher conferences among many other things.
To avoid getting into a teaching rut, it is absolutely vital to make sure your material is fresh and exciting and you're engaging students the best way you possibly can.
But what happens when you do get into a teaching rut? Most teachers do.
The wear and tear of discipline problems is enough for anyone to feel that things aren't moving in a positive directions.
Yet, successful teachers are willing to step away from the familiar and try new and different things to help them GET the results they want.
If you have been dreading going back to school after the holidays, or if you are not satisfied with the way you've been handling a group of students or a particular class up until now, chances are you are probably teaching in a way that most likely, isn't giving you the results you want.
You may need to step out of your comfort zone a bit and experiment with different teaching methods to help engage your students more effectively.
Or maybe you see to reevaluate your classroom management plan and make some adjustments.
If you don't change the way you approach different situations, then why should you (or anyone else for that matter) get more favorable results? And I'm sure that's NOT part of the make-over plan you want for 2011.
Right? The best way to help you deal with that problem is to constantly step outside of yourself, use the power of threereflect on your work and then, take action and reevaluate.
Teaching is largely a process of review, reflect and repeat (the 3 R's).
When you do this constantly, you WILL get positive and favorable results over time.
It's time to create a year FULL of possibilities! You deserve this so you can look forward to teaching and enjoy each and every day in the classroom.
Try it!