My top worst teaching mistakes...and how you can avoid them

My mom was an educator for 42 years.  And the greatest legacy she taught me was that in order to be a good educator you really have to be a lifelong learner.  Because you will never, ever, know it all.  There will always be something someone else can teach you, or something you can get better at.  This is so empowering for me as a educator.  To know that I can always get better, be better, do better.  And to know that my mistakes are just opportunities for growth.

I made a lot of mistakes in my first 5 years of teaching. I tend to jump right into the things that I am trying.  I would much rather cannonball into the cold pool of reality than dip my toe and think about it.  This means that one of the primary ways that I learn is by making mistakes.  And while the cold pool might not hurt you, it will surely take your breath away.  So the less painful way to do this is to learn from the mistakes of others. 

So that you can let the water warm up a bit before you jump, here's a list of my top mistakes (so far) as an educator.  And what I did to fix them.

Trying to do too much too fast

I love trial by fire.  I love what ignites within me when I am thrown into the ring and asked to box my way out.  I thrive on it.

The issue is most of my students aren't ready for trial by fire.  They haven't built up enough grit or coping skills.  And when I throw them in the deep end and then try to help them swim I do them a huge disservice and I lose their trust.  

I often forget this by asking them to do too much too fast.  Or I get a new teaching technique and I try to change everything, all at once, without a transition.  Or I throw out all the things I am doing that are already great in favor of something new.

This is terrible for kids, because all kids crave comfort and routine, and when I change things without explanation or a transition they start to feel less safe with me.  And no one can teach effectively if students don't feel safe with you.

So while a little bit of chaos, or intrigue, or variety is great for students, this must be mixed within the framework of a consistent structure.

How I fixed it: Creating frameworks for routines

I use the workshop method to organize my students weekly and around 1 major project per unit.  This way everyday can be a little different, I can adjust as needed when things inevitably get in the way and derail my plans, and I can address my students' needs in real time without sacrificing their need for some routines and safety.  

We always start with a warm up, we always end the class with turning in something to get feedback on, and things are always due on Fridays. By just having a few very simple and constant routines my students feel good about knowing what to expect with me, without tying me down to not being able to adjust my teaching as needed.

(Want a freebie to help set up your own routines?  Check out all my freebies here!)

Not enough communication

A lot of the problems I've had with students and parents stemmed from the fact that I wasn't communicating with them.  I would change things without explaining to them it was happening or why.  Or I would address issues after the fact without clearly communicating with all parties about what happened and what would change moving forward. Or my syllabus was more of a hey check out our curriculum than an introduction to who I was and how I was going to run my classroom.  

How I fixed it: Over communicating 

I also realized that when I chose to focus on only 1 element of the classroom or communication that was all that parents or students were focused on too.  If I only communicated about the negative then students and families would only reach out to share the negative too.  If I only talked about grades, that was all that mattered to the students and parents also.  

By focusing on having clear communication and open and non-judgmental conversations, the communication now focused on the issue and addressing it not admiring it or trying to lay blame.  When I focused on asking questions first to better understand where students and families were coming from, rather than simply giving directions it became a dialogue.  And when the focus of the conversation was on roots and solutions then no one became defensive. Because if you haven't communicated well enough to correctly identify the problem, everyone is wasting their time.

So I had to learn to communicate often, about a variety of things, and to continue the conversation to go deeper to solve the real issue at hand and help people feel heard and supported.

Great way to do this is to send out positive postcards to all my students with what I value about them.  Or to hand out character awards every quarter to show that I value them as human beings.  Want my templates? Download them for free here!

Straight up bad classroom management.

At one point in my first year of teaching I had a student tell me that I needed to stop using empty threats as classroom management. To say I was taken aback was an understatement.  I was hurt and angry at first.  Until I realized they were right.  I couldn't see it at the time, but there were many times when I would say something like, "No one is in a group till everyone is in a group" and then someone would be left out and I would solve the problem for them.  And I did this constantly with all kinds of things from saying things to try to get them to put their names on their paper to threatening them to be nice to each other.  What I didn't realize was that because I wasn't following through on perhaps 20% of what I said, it actually compromised my credibility with my students 100% of the time.  Kids naturally test and push boundaries, and if those boundaries are not clear and enforced they will never stop pushing them.  Ever.

There is 1 classroom management technique that works 100% of the time.  Follow through.  So now I try really hard not to make promises or threats I couldn't possibly keep and if I say I am going to do something I make sure I follow through no matter what.

So now I use sticky notes, and emails to remind myself to do things so that I have follow through, and I utilize surveys and conversations with my students about situations and ask for their input in solving problems or addressing issues so that they feel heard, and understand that they are stakeholders in how the classroom functions too and this helps them help me stay accountable.

Want more ideas for classroom management techniques, engagement strategies and structures to change the way you plan to give you your work/life balance back? You can get all this and more by taking the Ultimate Classroom Transformation course! You get a special discount just by signing up for the list!