🍎 10 things no one told me about teaching

🥪 Host a FigJam Lunch and Learn at your school!

Have you been enjoying FigJam as a free Jamboard replacement, and want to get teachers in your school involved? Now is the perfect time to get you and your colleagues up to speed on all things FigJam.

When you host a FigJam training at your school this year, the Figma Team will cover lunch! 🍔🌮🍟 

Learn more about Figma’s new 'Lunch and Learn' program (and schedule your lunch) here: https://bit.ly/3Xe8c3q

FigJam is a free online whiteboard by Figma that allows students to create, collaborate, and engage in interactive learning activities.

Teachers across the country are moving to FigJam as a replacement for Google Jamboard (that goes away on October 1st). Join the countless teachers who've begun using FigJam to make learning more engaging, collaborative, and fun: https://www.figma.com/education/k-12/

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🍎 My education journey — and 10 tips for aspiring teachers

On Friday, almost 300 high school students crowded into the Bayh College of Education at Indiana State University (my alma mater).

They were all students in “education professions,” a vocational pathway to prepare them to study education in college.

I was given a tall task …

You have 60 minutes to tell these students what they need to know about becoming a teacher.

📺 I recorded the whole speech. You can watch it here.

I’d love it if you watched. ❤️

But if you'd prefer to skip to the parts that interest you most, here are the highlights (with time stamps):

1:18 — My winding journey from high schooler to college grad to journalist to educator (16 mins)

10 things I wish someone would have told me about teaching
17:18 — 1) Teachers are influencers
23:13 — 2) Your teaching should reflect YOU
26:36 — 3) Relationships are vital
33:12 — 4) Learn the science of learning
38:05 — 5) You don’t have all the answers
40:30 — 6) Protect yourself
43:47 — 7) “Do the best you can until you know better …”
47:48 — 8) Teaching is hard
49:09 — 9) Find your community
52:12 — Educators in the room give THEIR advice
55:36 — 10) We need you

Quotes from DTT newsletter readers like you:
22:46 — Teaching should be celebrated (Heather Vallot)
26:03 — Be yourself and keep it fun (Jena Smith)
30:50 — Enjoy the students as human beings (Heather Olvey)
32:44 — Importance of admin. assts. & custodians (Sonya Land)
37:37 — You know what your students need (Tracy)
40:01 — It’s OK not to know the answers (Helen)
42:54 — Take care of yourself (Stephen Krawczyk)
47:02 — Don’t be afraid to try something new (Larisa Black)
48:40 — Prepare your heart (Tracey Budworth)
51:46 — Find the happy & efficient teachers (ElizaBeth Warner)
56:35 — Thank you for choosing teaching (Julie Daniel Davis)
58:35 — You’re hope (Raquel)

If you enjoyed any part of the speech, please give it a 👍 thumbs up on YouTube — and subscribe if you haven’t already!

🎯 QUICK TEACHING STRATEGY 🎯

💪🏾 Empower your class with student jobs

Assigning classroom jobs is a fantastic way to engage students and foster a sense of responsibility. By giving students specific roles, you can help them develop essential life skills, create a strong classroom community, and streamline your classroom management.

👍 Here’s why they work:

• Boost Engagement: Assigning classroom jobs keeps students actively involved and responsible.

• Develop Skills: Jobs help students build essential life skills like teamwork, leadership, and time management.

• Create Community: Classroom jobs foster a sense of community and belonging among students.

• Streamline Management: Delegating tasks to students can make classroom management smoother and more efficient.

• Encourage Accountability: Students learn accountability and the importance of contributing to their environment.

Iowa fifth grade teacher Gina Ruffcorn has used classroom jobs for years and years. She wrote about it in her book Our Class, Our Voice (which I edited!).

🧰 Templates and tools to make it easy to get started:

• Job description cards: This Canva template has 20 job cards that you can edit and print to use in your class.

• Job application form: Consider having students apply for the jobs that they want to have. This allows students the opportunity to practice filling out a job application and can help them identify the skills they already have that make them good at certain positions.

💡 Learn more: Getting started with classroom jobs

This post provides a comprehensive overview of incorporating student jobs into your classroom, drawing inspiration from ,author and educator, Gina Ruffcorn's job descriptions and expanding on them with additional job ideas (for larger classes) and practical tips.

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!