Advice from 7th Grade Students for New Teachers

From the mouths of babes.....Below are some bits of advice from seventh grade students to new teachers of adolescents.

Be patient and try to understand their minds. Make projects fun and class fun so they don’t get bored. Have fun!

Don’t let them be the boss of you. Don’t give them a lot of homework if you want them to like you.

Don’t be afraid to tell them that they’re misbehaving.

Don’t fall for excuses. Tell jokes, but don’t be awkward. Don’t take off points for spelling. Be fun!

When we are loud make sure to be strict to quiet us down.

Be patient because adolescents can get off task and you need to be patient.

Don’t let the kids take over! Be strict, but nice. Be patient!

Use a lot of different ways to teach. Example: don’t always make kids take notes, sometimes play a game to help kids learn.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Don’t give them too much slack.

Everything is hard before it is easy. Let them chew gum, lots.

Control the kids, don’t let them talk too much.

Don’t give a test without telling the students a week ahead.

If you want kids to like you do a lot of fun stuff with the kids that you think they would like. You were a kid once think of something.

Be flexible but not flimsy. Don’t be super strict, like detention after the first day-late assignment from a relatively good student, but don’t allow them to turn things in a week late for full credit. Don’t take off a ton of points for spelling. Encourage them to read. Don’t overload them with homework – other teachers are giving them homework too. Especially from a textbook.