Top 9 Common Teaching Mistakes For Teachers To Avoid

People enter the teaching profession because they want to make a positive difference in society. Even teachers with the purest intentions can inadvertently complicate their mission. New teachers have to work hard to conscientiously avoid common pitfalls that can make their job even harder than it inherently is.

Do yourself a favor and avoid these common teaching traps.

1) You are their teacher not their buddy.
Focus on earning your students' respect, admiration, and appreciation by being consistent and fair. You are not the students friend, they have lots of friends, what they really need is a caring teacher.

2) Organize your classroom.
This mistake is a corollary to the first one. New teachers often start out the year with a lax classroom management (structure procedures for doing things in class) and discipline plan or, even worse, no plan at all! Students want and need boundaries and they deserve a safe and orderly environment.

3) Organize your paperwork.
Paperwork in schools can be overwhelming and all these papers must be dealt with... by YOU!
Organize your paperwork from day one toss or sort all papers immediately.

4) Encourage Parental Communication and Involvement.
At first, it can feel intimidating to deal with your students' parents. You might be tempted to "fly under the radar" with them. However, it is best to communicate clearly with parents from the start and you'll have a band of allies to make your entire school year flow more smoothly.

5) Get involved with your team, school, and community.
Attend social events, eat lunch in the staff room, say hello in the halls, help colleagues when you can, and reach out to the teachers around you. You never know when you will need their support.

6) Work smart.
It's understandable why teaching has the highest turnover rate of any profession. Most people can't hack it for long. Work smart, be effective, take care of your responsibilities, but go home at a decent hour. Enjoy time with your family and set aside time to relax and rejuvenate.

7) Ask for help.
Teachers can be a proud bunch. Our job requires superhuman skills, so we often strive to appear as superheroes, but that simply isn’t the case. Don't be afraid to ask your colleagues for assistance. The best veteran teachers on the staff always seek better ways to do things from their colleagues.

8) Be persistent.
New teachers often join the profession because they are idealistic, optimistic, and ready to change the world! This is great because your students (and veteran teachers) need your fresh energy and innovative ideas. Recognize that there will be tough days where you want to throw in the towel. There will be times when your best efforts aren't enough. Know that the tough times will pass, and they are a small price to pay for growing professionally and being more effective with your students.

9) Give yourself a break.
Teaching is hard enough without the additional challenge of mental anguish over slip-ups, mistakes, and imperfections. Don't be your own worst enemy. Practice the same compassion that you show your students by turning that understanding on yourself.

Source: Beth Lewis, Elementary Educator