Five Minute Activity for Teachers
Journal Writing for the New and Experienced Teacher's Soul
New teachers fresh out of teacher’s college often feel isolated in school. Many end up quitting teaching due to a lack of proper support. Mentor teachers, as willing as they are, try to make the time to observe a new teacher. If you find however, you and your mentor’s schedules coincide, there is always the option of teacher journals and diaries.
Why journals and diaries?
New teachers spend a lot of time expending emotional energy around issues of classroom management and lessons that didn’t succeed. They need a quick pick-me up from another mentor that will give them support and encouragement they need. Sometimes a new or any teacher just needs time alone to reflect on the lesson. The writing alone is already a panacea and can later serve as a dialogue between another teacher. Writing your journal daily or even weekly will help develop that critical reflective eye that is necessary for further teacher development and growth.
What should go into the journal?
In the beginning, virtually anything. A new teacher is busy transferring all the theoretical knowledge acquired and putting it into practice. It can be the lesson plan itself, describing what went wrong, what worked successfully. This bit is especially important for new teachers since they don’t have the objective eye for examining all that went on during an activity.
What is the next step?
If you want feedback, you will decide to whom you want to share your journal. Choose wisely so you won't be too disappointed. Often, after a lesson, I would describe the lesson in a nutshell, what needed work and what was successful, print it out with the date and hand it to my mentor in the break. She would then give me feedback the next day. It was extremely helpful “hearing” somebody else’s voice offering kind words of support and encouragement along the way. This was before blogging became big in the teacher's world. Now, if I started out, I would start a teacher blog.
Final Words
Acclimating to the classroom climate is individual for everyone. Journal Writing is just one way to cure a new teacher’s soul.
