What do you wish you knew before you started teaching?
Me and my first classroom. There’s so much I wish I could have told younger me …
When I got into teaching, I had just graduated college with a degree in journalism. I worked for a daily newspaper covering local politics — and I hated it.
It was time for a change. In a year’s time, I enrolled in the “transition to teaching” program at Indiana State University, took education courses … and was teaching my own high school Spanish classes by the next fall.
There’s SO much I didn’t learn in my teacher prep programs … things I didn’t learn until I actually started teaching.
There’s a social hierarchy not just among students — but among teachers, too.
You won’t get everything done every day — and that’s OK.
It can be SO hard — but extremely rewarding, too.
In our new Ditch That Textbook online community, we’re talking about this right now: What do you wish you knew when you started teaching?
The responses in this discussion? They’re REAL and HONEST.
I’d love to hear your answer. Click here to read the discussion and share your thoughts. (Don’t forget to sign up free for the community first if you haven’t.)
Below, in today’s newsletter, you’ll find a few responses to this discussion post — AND a ton of great end-of-semester projects you can use right away!
Inside:
⭐ “A book that we teachers need right now.”
👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out
👥 Community: What I wish I knew when I started teaching
💡 The Big Idea: 25 ideas for end-of-semester final projects
😄 Smile of the day: Wait … they’re BACK?!?
👋 How we can help
⭐ “A book that we teachers need right now.”
Have you checked out my newest book — AI Literacy in Any Class? Here’s what educator Al Gonzalez said in his ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon review:
“Matt has written a book that we teachers need right now. With AI dominating every industry and technology, it's no longer just about banning or blocking AI, it's too late for that! It's now about how do we learn enough about AI to best help our students navigate their use of AI.
“I don't read much during the school year because I can barely find time to get through a book, but I read through Matt's book in a few days! Matt's writing style makes for an enjoyable read and the information in his book can be used right now. I teach 6th grade Math and Science and his AI Literacy ideas are applicable for my situation or any situation.
“I highly recommend this book for all K-12 teachers because if we can incorporate AI Literacy in our teaching, we can help our students maneuver their way through the land mines of AI.”
👀 DTT Digest
4 teaching resources worth checking out today
🧘 Brain breaks to rebuild student attention spans — Combat shortening focus with high-impact techniques like "stop and jot" reflections and 60-second movement bursts.
🙋🏽 Keep Students Engaged as the Year Winds Down — By weaving play, reflection, and calm into classroom routines, teachers can manage young students’ spring fever—and end the year strong.
ICYMI — 👨🏻🎓NotebookLM Student Guide — Power prompts, active learning techniques & an AI ethics checklist.
ICYMI — 👩🏻🏫 NotebookLM Teacher Cheat Sheet — Studio tools, copy-paste prompts & 5 ready-to-use classroom strategies.
👥 FROM THE COMMUNITY 👥
🍎 What I wish I knew when I started teaching
There’s a LOT they don’t prepare you for in college teacher prep programs about teaching.
The student relationships. The struggles. The dynamics with your colleagues. The eventual heartache.
Our DTT Community discussed this very topic this week. (Thanks, Rania Jabr, for posting it!) Below are some of their responses.
Want to share YOUR thing you wish you had known? Make sure you’ve joined the community. Then, click here to go directly to the discussion (so you can read and post).
I think the biggest thing I wish I had truly grasped from day one is the necessity of setting firm boundaries between my professional and personal life. — Loral Mann
I’m finally grasping “Done is better than perfect” and it has made all the difference. Only took 15+ years. — Kelly White
I wish I had known that internal politics matter so much more than your knowledge of content. — Stacey Stevens
I wish I had known that I am not always going to solve all the problems the day it happens and that is okay. — Mollie Pitrone
I wish I’d known how much, much more teachers were glad for summer break than the students could possibly ever be. — Deborah Raymond
I wish I had known that I would experience the grief of losing students multiple times. — Beth Heller
I started in the mid-80s, so I’ve learned to be even more flexible than I thought I was! I started as a music teacher, and I wish I had known how much performance was involved. […] I wish I would have known how much acting and storytelling is involved in teaching high school (history and social studies is my field). — Susan Cagley
I love the way Jennifer M. Morales summed it up:
When I became a teacher, I wish I had understood just how much this job would ask of me—mentally, emotionally, and physically.
It’s exhausting in ways you can’t fully explain until you’re living it.
But it’s also the joy. The kind of joy that comes from watching a student finally understand something they once thought they couldn’t do.
Teaching is heavy. It’s messy. It’s overwhelming.
But it’s also deeply meaningful.
And even on the hardest days, that meaning is what keeps you showing up.
👏👏👏
What about you? What do you wish you had known before you started teaching?
Join the community first — then jump into the post to share your thoughts.
💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡
🛠️ 25 ideas for end-of-semester final projects
Think outside the box with these end-of-semester projects.
We know that feeling—we’re hitting that end-of-semester stretch where the coffee is stronger, but the to-do list is longer. If you’re looking to swap those dusty old paper tests for something that actually gets kids excited to show what they know, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve just updated our "25 Ideas for Digital End-of-Semester Final Projects" post. We aren’t checking for fact recall from the latest activity. These cumulative activities pull from lessons learned throughout the whole semester — or year.
Here are the brand-new additions you need to see:
🎨 No-tech & paper + tech ideas
Sometimes we need to get away from the screen to see the big picture. These ideas blend the physical with the digital for a total "wow" factor.
3. The "Talking-Point" Quilt: This is the ultimate "low-floor, high-ceiling" project. Each student creates a physical 10x10 paper square representing a topic, but here’s the kicker: they attach a Vocaroo QR code. When you tape them all together, your hallway becomes an interactive museum of student voices.
4. 3D Dioramas & Models: Don't let anyone tell you dioramas are just for elementary school! Building a high-level physical model requires precision and spatial reasoning. When a student has to label a toothpick flag with a technical explanation, they are literally building their knowledge in 3D.
15. Living Wax Museum: Instead of a dry 10-minute presentation, students "become" the figure they’ve researched. They stand frozen until someone "activates" them, then they deliver a high-impact, concise monologue. It’s public speaking without the "stage fright" of a formal podium.
💛 Community contributed ideas
These educator-contributed ideas (thanks to our amazing DTT community!) show how simple tools can do extraordinary things.
21. Stop-Motion Animation (via Kelly Davis): You don't need fancy film equipment! Use the "duplicate slide" hack in Google Slides or Canva. By moving an object just a fraction of an inch on each slide and playing them fast, students can visualize complex sequences—like a scene from The Odyssey or a cell dividing.
22. Silent Debate/Discussion (via Maris Hawkins): This is a game-changer for inclusivity. Students rotate between "stations" (butcher paper with prompts) and "talk" only through writing. It gives your introverts "think time" and creates a permanent, visual record of the class’s collective brainpower.
23. Publish a Gossip Tabloid (via Susan Stokley): Give The Great Gatsby or the French Revolution a "TMZ" makeover! Students analyze character motivations and scandals to create a magazine. It’s high-level analysis disguised as juicy entertainment.
24. Shark Tank Product Pitch (via Ariella Pardo): Students identify a "pain point" for a character or historical figure and design a physical product to solve it. Standing up to "sell" their invention forces them to justify every design choice with evidence.
25. Code a Game (via Christina Zapico): Instead of fighting the "unblocked games" battle, let them build their own! Using Canva Code, students prompt and iterate to create three games, then host them on a Canva Website. It’s tech literacy at its finest.
😄 Smile of the day
🤦🏻♀️ When your last-straw discipline plan backfires.
Source: TheEducatorsRoom.com
👋 How we can help
There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:
Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.
Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.
Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!
