audio by year 2007

Ever wondered how a principal's opinion of you changes when you send kids to the office? Are you worried that, by referring students, you're announcing to the entire school "I can't control my class"? Wonder and worry no more, as we talk about the role administrators will play in your classroom management strategies. We also answer an email from a teacher who thinks she made a lousy impression on parents during Back To School Night, and worries that (because she's so young) she'll never regain parents' respect.

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 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?

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!