Distinguished Teacher John McCarthy

1) Seek to form professional relationships with fellow teachers and administrators. Find a mentor to help you learn the ropes. A new teacher can't function in solitude. Having the support of the faculty can improve a new teacher's feeling of belonging and help boost performance and confidence.

2) Establish positive, working relationships with parents. Keep lines of communication open, keep parents in the loop

3) Get to know your students right off the bat. Accurately assess them as soon as you can. Accurate assessments lead to better teaching strategies, solid goals and objectives and classroom management needs. Along with this, establish firm, but positive classroom rules...focus on the DO's and not the DON'TS!!

The intrinsic rewards far outshine the extrinsic benefits. If you are in the field for the weekends off, summer vacation and retirement package, you will burn out and are not going to truly realize the best thing about teaching. A teacher feels the accomplishment within when a student successfully achieves something you taught them. There is no better feeling in the world than to say, "I taught him that".