Back to School Tips for Teachers: Motivation, Inspiration, and Reminders

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No matter how many years we have been teaching, there are a few back-to-school tips and reminders you need at the beginning of the year. It is so important to start your year off with the right frame of mind and being on the right track. Teaching might be one of the most complicated and intricate professions and at times, it seems to be a thankless job. However, your outlook on life must be different than others. And it is. That’s why you are a teacher.

Here is a list of a few things we need to remind ourselves as the new school year approaches and begins. This is definitely my go-to mental list each new year. After a full year of teaching and a well-deserved summer break, we need to reaffirm why we are teachers and strive for change.

5 Back-to-School Tips for Teachers

Here are 5 tips for things to remember as you’re starting out your next school year.

1. You are setting an example at school

Whether you want to be or not, you are being inspected by hundreds of little eyes. Make sure that whatever you say or do is something you want little ones to see or hear. Be a leader and someone to look up to.

2. If you expect the best, you will get the best (and tell every student that)

One of the things my school district is currently emphasizing is “empathy not sympathy.” It might be easy to give certain students the crutch they need, but you are only hurting them in the end. Set your expectations high and hold them accountable. In addition to this, the language you use can have a huge impact on your kids. If you tell somebody something enough times, they start to believe it. You hear stories about students believing the negative things they are told, why not make it something positive?

I always start the year by telling my students they were hand-picked to be in my class because they are the best and the smartest. They don’t believe me at first, but the more they hear it, they eventually do. Sometimes a little lie can change the world.

3. Routines and procedures can make or break you

Enough said. Teach and reteach.

4. You are here to make a change

If your goal as a teacher isn’t to make a change, you probably need to change professions. You are here to change a life. On the roughest of rough days, I like to remind myself of this. Regardless of whether or not it is true, it brings comfort knowing that I hopefully made an impact on at least one life.

5.You are an advocate for those who do not have a voice

I’ve always said that I’m most passionate when I’m defending my students and doing what is best for them. Most kids are not able to speak up, but you can. Be the one that advocates for the best by putting your students first. Be the kind of teacher that can call all of your students little stinkers, but if someone else calls them that, it’s just not ok.

Have a great year teachers! What other back-to-school tips do you have to share?