Julie Hawkins

EDCI – 631 – 701

January 24, 2020
Assignment #1

Read the article Messages for New Teachers Messages for New Teachers .docx; from the

lists elect the two things you think are the most valuable for new teachers. Write a 250 word,

double-spaced, 12- font Times Roman essay explaining why the two items you selected are the

most important. Submit the assignment as a Word document.

I think this entire article was very valuable for new teachers. It gave me a lot of advice on

what to start doing now during clinical teaching to begin to get ahead before I start teaching full-

time and have my own classroom. For me, it was difficult to choose the two that I believe are the

most valuable. These two are:

4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are unclear about something. Also,

don’t be afraid to exhibit your own individual teaching styles and techniques. We should

always be able to learn from each other.

8. Be open to suggestions. Communicate with fellow teachers, administration,

parents and departments often. Ask questions to clarify expectations and follow through

on information given.

Number four was one piece of advice that I believe is crucial. You need to ask questions

if you are confused. Being confused only wastes your own time, your students time, and others

time. People are willing to help, if you are willing to share your own misunderstandings.

However, just because you are new doesn’t mean you need to just roll over to everything they

say and teach as if you were someone else. You can learn something from everyone. But you

need to find a way to take that learning and apply it to your own style and needs. I think this is so
 Julie Hawkins
EDCI – 631 – 701
January 24, 2020
important for new teachers to realize because they often feel like they just need to figure out

everything one their own. They just feel like they need to suffer, and they’ll eventually sort it

out. No one wants to look dumb, and new teachers may often not ask questions because they

want other teachers to think they are competent. This idea is nonsensical, and everyone should be

okay with asking questions and learning from each other. Then new teachers need to learn how

to take that new information and use it alongside their own style instead of just copying their

mentor the entire time.

Number eight was another piece of advice that is very valuable. It is very similar to

number four because of it meaning that you need to put yourself out there and communicate with

others. Others will be willing to help you, but you need to be open to their help. Experience goes

a long way, so this piece of advice would be important for new educators to remember when

more experienced teachers give them advice. Open communication is incredibly important for

everyone to succeed. If the children’s best interest is what is in your heart, you would want to be

open to other suggestions and work as a group to best help that child. If new teachers ignore this

advice because they think they know what is best, they are really only doing a disservice to their

students.

Overall, this whole article was very beneficial. If I learned just one thing, it would be to

ask. Ask for help when you need it. Ask for advice. Ask for guidance. Ask for whatever you

need. If you don’t ask, you’re cutting yourself short. There are so many resources around you,

but it is your own job to step up and ask for them. Just like we want our students to reach out

when they are struggling, we must do the same if we want to be successful teachers!