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In this episode, we talk about squelching ring leaders, kids that encourage bad behavior by modeling it day in and day out. Our listener mail comes from a college student about to start student teaching. She wants to know what it means "not to smile before December." Can she avoid the frowniest Thanksgiving ever? What does that even mean?

All new teachers face similar challenges, the first of which is to actually find a teaching job. You’ve spent years of your life preparing for your professional career, so how are you supposed to cram all of that into a 15-minute job interview? Glen is a recruiter for his school district, and he discusses interviewing strategies that will make you stand out above the throngs of other candidates and land a job. One listener’s private school is about to be audited by the state, and she needs to know how she can prove her instruction aligns with state standards. We’ll show that the terms “audit” and “panic attack” need not be synonymous.

If you don’t know how to conduct a successful phone conference with parents, you’ll end up dreading the time you spend on the phone almost as much as the lunches the cafeteria serves on “Not Quite Fish Patty” Fridays. In this episode, we start with the easy stuff: making positive phone calls home when students exceed your expectations. Then we move on to the less pleasant phone calls you’ll need to make. You know the ones I’m talking about, the “Your kid is driving me to an early grave” calls? Good times. Speaking of good times, our listener email is from someone who’s not having them. (Talk about an awkward segue.) He wants to know what to do if you slip up and accidentally curse in front of your students. Not just any curse word, mind you, but the Big One, the word that shares the same first letter as the word “fired.”

If you thought last week's discussion on parent phone calls ended abruptly, you weren't imagining things. We got a bit long-winded and decided to split the conversation into two parts. This episode features the conclusion of our discussion. What sorts of things should you consider before you make a call home? How is a parent phone conference like a warranty claim on a faulty T.V.? These and other questions are asked and answered. Listener email comes from a new teacher whose employment started midway through the school year. How does she connect with a community that doesn't even know she's there?

Everyone's wondered what their classes will be like before the school year begins. Will discipline be an issue? Will the class have a chemistry what speeds things along, or will every day feel like a struggle? Is there any way to answer any of those nagging questions about your students-to-be before they step foot in your classroom? Our listener email comes from a rookie teacher who is, we'll say, less than thrilled about her new coaching assignment. Isn't your first year of teaching hard enough without having to coach the cheerleaders against your will? Short answer: Yes. Listen to this week's episode for the longer answer.

This week’s theme is preparing for the unexpected. What if something happens to you, the teacher? Have you prepared emergency lesson plans in case you suddenly have to call in sick or miss work for personal reasons? Even if you know you’ll be out of school ahead of time, what constitutes a good substitute lesson plan? We talk about the important elements you should include to make the sub’s day as hassle-free as possible. This week’s listener email asks what teachers are expected to do during a fire drill. We give you some advice that’ll help you keep a cool head and ensure your kids are safe.

This week features the premiere of a new segment called The Fatal Five! (Arooooooo!) We talk about five fatal mistakes a new teacher can make that can make the school year very unpleasant. Our listener email this week comes from Jamie, who wants an overview of lesson planning. She’s used to tutoring, where the lesson plan is “Do these questions and I’ll explain them to you,” but she figures there’s more to it than that with formal classroom instruction. BIG NEWS: The New Teacher Hotline has something new and exciting up its electronic sleeves! It all starts with our next show, the glorious 10th episode extravaganza. We’re taking an extra week to get it ready, and it will soar like an eagle right into your ear canal (ouch) on July 4, 2007.

Glen's on vacation this week, but the show must go on! Big things are happening at the New Teacher Hotline even though it's only our tenth episode. We unveil a new segment this week called the American Top Fifty, with a goal of interviewing the Teachers of the Year from all 50 states. After all, what could be better than teaching tips and advice from the best of the best? This week Mike talks to Dana Boyd, the Teacher of the Year from Texas. The honoree from deep in the heart of Texas has a big heart herself and lots of good advice about truly valuing your students.

We're back from summer vacation! In this episode, we talk to Candy Shively of www.teachersfirst.com. Every few weeks, she's going to stop by to present free web resources you can use to integrate technology into your classroom, no matter how much you know or don't know about computers. We're back on our regular production schedule, so look for another episode in two weeks!

The new season of the New Teacher Hotline kicks off in grand style as Glen rejoins the podcast, fresh from summer vacation. While we were away, we received a ton of listener email, so in this episode we do our best to answer as many of your emails as we can. All that plus a blooper at the end of the podcast? What more could you ask for?

In this episode, we finally dig our way out of the email that accumulated during our summer hiatus. What would you do if a principal asked you to stay beyond your contractually defined hours? How much time have you spent crafting your grading system? Would it stand up to parental or administrative challenges? Does the way you grade truly reflect your teaching philosophy?

The title of this week's episode is not only dramatic, it's an actual quote from a frazzled listener. What happens when a student is misbehaving, you've tried everything you can think of, and nothing works? Is there anything you can do (other than hope and pray that the student is absent)? Next on the agenda is the Return of the Fatal Five (just in time for Halloween). The topic: What are the five worst ways to respond to sudden and unexpected bad behavior in class?

If you're wondering what happened to the stressed-out teacher from our last episode, wonder no more. She's written to us again to let us know how the situation in her classroom is developing. It turns out that she needs help with parent phone calls. Like most rookie teachers, she's intimidated by the thought of contacting parents, especially parents who might not be up for, shall we say, any parent of the year awards.

When you're a teacher, you're always on stage. Though you may not be paid like a movie star, you sure do have your share of critics around to dissect your latest lesson. The number of observations you'll endure during your first two or three years of teaching is probably equal to the number you'll face in the ten years after that combined! This week we talk about preparing for those dreaded performances, the results of which are forever stored in your permanent personnel record!

We interview Rick Ellenburg, the 2008 Florida State Teacher of the Year. He delivers great advice for new teachers, including three invaluable guidelines all rookies should keep in mind. As you listen, I think you'll find it impossible NOT to be uplifted and encouraged by Rick's dedication and love for his kids. Finally, he addresses the biggest fear all new teachers have: hamster babies. Confused? Listen to learn more!

Our last few shows have been dedicated to interviews, so we decided to knock out some of the listener email that's been piling up in the interim. Today we hit some of the basics of Teaching 101, like how to write lesson plans. Join us as we broadcast from Glen's sprawling estate (specifically his living room). Here, I'll even pull up an extra chair for you.

You've got questions. We've got answers, and sometimes we answer twice (listen to this episode to see what I mean). In this email roundup, we help you calm your nerves as you prepare for the first day of school. We also discuss some grittier subjects, including one emailer's frustrations in his student teaching experience and another teacher's trouble dealing with a student that loves to play the victim in class.

After an extended spring break, the New Teacher Hotline returns with all new episodes that will carry you through the entire hot and hazy summer. This week, it is our honor to host the 2008 Virginia Teacher of the Year, Tommy Smigiel. As you'll learn, Tommy endured a traumatic event as a high school student, but rather than let that event define him, he used it as an inspiration to one day return to that school as a teacher. He explains why resiliency may be the most important trait of a rookie teacher.

In this episode, we chat with Pamela Harman, the 2008 Alabama Teacher of the Year. One of the topics we discuss in depth is mentorship--how to get new teachers the help they need by partnering with experienced teachers in their schools. Luckily, we manage to finish the interview right before all the equipment goes haywire.

It’s almost time to go back to school, and our gift to you is the inspirational Georgia Teacher of the Year, Emily Jennette. A self-described “Energizer Bunny,” Emily is dedicated to teaching the whole child. You’ve got to hear her story about how she involved a local business to help a class of struggling elementary school students. Emily found ways to inspire them to a new outlook on school, and she’ll do the same for you, just in time for the new school year to begin!

If you're a teacher, I hardly need remind you that the summer is over and a new school year has arrived. Whether you view the new year as a blessing and a time of unique wonder (like seeing a rare flower suddenly surface along a well-trod path) or a time of surprise and panic (like seeing a hungry puma surface from the deep end of your swimming pool) depends upon your preparation. In this episode, we talk about how prepared a new teacher should be at the beginning of the school year. We also dish out the tough love in our new "We Told You So" segment. Everyone loves being lectured to, don't they? It is our fist show back, so the episode shakes off a little rust with a handful of bloopers at the very end, and I ask you: is that a rogue cellist suddenly playing a single, haunting note at time stamp 15:18? Spooky! Speaking of spooky, look out for the Halloween episode of the New Teacher Hotline at the end of next month.

In this spooktacular episode of the Hotline, we discuss the very scary topic of teacher evaluations. What could be more frightening than losing your job in a struggling economy? I can only think of one thing...a listener email from Transylvania, Romania (really!) that asks about the differences are between teaching adults and teaching kids.