Secrets for Secondary School Teachers Read Online Free PDF Page A

critical as anything else you do as part of your teaching method and style. If the learning environment is uncomfortable, unattractive, distracting, or unduly plain and dull, you cannot maximize the possibilities for fun, organization, and focused concentration that will be necessary in the tasks that you plan.
    Your classroom is your new home. In some cases, you will spend as much time there as the place where you live. Customize and decorate it in such a way that it becomes a comfortable base for your work and an inviting place for others to visit.

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    Knowing Your Students
    N ow that you’ve got your room out of the way, it’s time to concentrate on the students with whom you will be working. Within a very short period of time, you will be exposed to over a hundred students, each with individual needs and unique names to memorize and pronounce correctly. If you think that’s overwhelming, just think about foreign-language teachers who not only learn the real names of each student but also their assigned Spanish or French or German (or Russian or Japanese or Latin) names.
    Learning the names of students quickly is only one of your initial tasks; you will also want to accumulate some basic data on each of your students.
    C OLLECTING I NFORMATION
    One straightforward way to collect information on your students is to ask them to fill out index cards on the first day of class, beginning with their names at the top. You can also ask them to suggest ways to help you remember how to pronounce their names correctly (such as with pictures or phonetic spelling).
    Not all students go by their given names. Many have preferred nicknames. Some are diminutives such as “Jimmy” or “Susie.” Others are common, such as “Junior” or “Bud.” One boy told me (Ellen) he wanted to be called “Boogie.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Because he wrote he was a football player, I went to see one of the coaches. I told him I had a student who wanted to be called “Boogie” and asked him what the story was. He assured me that it was okay; everyone called him Boogie.
    On succeeding lines of the index card, there is room for all sorts of information. One line at a time can provide a place for the following:
•    Name and nickname.
•    Address.
•    Telephone number(s) (sometimes students have their own telephone numbers).
•    Birthday .
•    Age.
•    Mother’s or guardian’s name, telephone numbers at home and work, and e-mail address, if available.
•    Father’s or guardian’s name, telephone numbers at home and work, and e-mail address, if available . You may also want to inquire as to what hours the parents or guardians work.
•    Language skills. (Ask, “What is your first language?” then “What languages are spoken in the home?” “What languages do you read?”) Here, you will learn if there is support in the home for English language (or foreign language) activities. Some students will not be able to get help with their homework in subjects such as English grammar if their parents or guardians do not speak English. This information will be useful in planning for communication with parents where translators or translations may be needed.
•    Interests and activities. (Ask students: “Do you play an instrument?” “Do you play sports?” “What activities do you participate in before school? After school? Untilwhat time?”) Here, you will learn what responsibilities your students have—who baby-sits, who cooks for the family when parents are at work. It’s also important to know whether the student works or not and if so, how many hours per week.
    I (Ellen) had one student who was always falling asleep in class, although he seemed like a very capable learner. At first, I thought it was a motivational problem, then that he was just being obstructive. Finally, I remembered to look at his card, and I discovered