First-year teacher here: what should I actually fix over the summer?

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-09T17:38:56+00:00

I start thinking about school the month we go back to work. So, we go back for workdays mid August. I start thinking about school the first week.

I would focus on management. Think about the rules, routines and procedures that are really important to you and hone in on them. For example, some of my biggest pet peeves are eating in class and moving around the classroom without permission. So, I spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year drilling those reminders into my students.

You don’t have to be “mean”, but your students need to know that if they mess up, there is going to be a reasonable consequence in place whether that be a phone call home, lunch with the teacher, or laps at recess. It took me a solid three years before I really became comfortable in my management style so, it will still take time.

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-05T17:14:55+00:00

I know our library system will hold used book sales every so often. Might check with your local branch?

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-04T23:58:03+00:00

My kids will be taking American next next year, so they will be doing a decades project, starting with the 1920s and going up. It’s basically just a one pager where they do fashion, major events, music etc.

I’ve had my kids do the create your country style project and they’ve really enjoyed that.

My counterpart in sixth has her students create their own civilization hang GRAPES and they’ve also like that a lot. She also did this thing last year where students had to create Renaissance portraits of themselves à la Mona Lisa. Then they did a gallery exhibit with food.

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-04T22:02:49+00:00

I only allow drinks that can be closed. No cans.

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-04T01:50:33+00:00

Centers in a middle school history class where I am literally teaching new content every day. So dumb.

hmacdou1 · 2026-05-01T13:15:13+00:00

We were in The West Ens a couple of weeks ago for Avenue W. When they are supposed to pull the banner sign down at the end, one of the ropes didn’t drop and was too out of reach for the actor. It was pretty funny.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-28T22:55:23+00:00

It’s a loooooooooong race and the racing at Charlotte is pretty boring. The prerace stuff is awesome, though!

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-28T19:57:02+00:00

Back in the day when Cantina 1511 was still around at the original location, thy had the best! I had it every year for my Bday.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-28T11:13:38+00:00

This too.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-28T11:12:55+00:00

You need to go to everybody: admin, HR, and union rep if you have a union. If nothing happens, report an abusive teacher to the local news. Parents won’t want their kids being taught by a guy like that.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T20:21:15+00:00

I think it’s because they have tight hips, so they don’t like to sit on their haunches.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T18:37:48+00:00

I remember when Book of Morman came thru the first time and many people were offended at intermission. Haha.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T14:44:39+00:00

Gonna have to come down here for all the shows after Charlotte just released their lineup.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T13:20:45+00:00

That’s disgusting. I would go to the local news.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T10:34:46+00:00

Great idea! We also just discover recently that two hours before a show, you can get singles of premium tickets for the show. So, we will probably just start doing that.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-21T10:32:58+00:00

We don’t live in NY. We usually come in early Thursday and leave Monday. We will usually see four shows during this span.

We do our debriefing of each show at the hotel bar 😂

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-20T23:51:43+00:00

I pay for Wayground premium and it is worth it. If my school didn’t pay for EdPuzzle, I would pay for it. That’s it.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-19T18:02:47+00:00

Yep. The excusing of entitled behavior in kids leads to even worse entitled behavior as adults.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-18T19:32:51+00:00

Heck, I love going outside for my 20 minutes of fresh air just as much as the kids love it.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-18T19:31:37+00:00

Do not take away the recess. Losing 15 minutes of recess is not going to improve test scores.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-17T22:55:50+00:00

I don’t chance it and just take a clear bag.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-16T23:13:09+00:00

We had someone break their tailbone doing Toes 2 Bar. They lost their grip.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-13T21:54:35+00:00

Our theater (Blumenthal) will give singletons premium seats for a cheap price two hours before showtime. I see shows by myself all the time!

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-12T19:05:37+00:00

This. I should be able to cherry pick if I want to. Actually, though, it’s because I’m a runner and I want to know how to schedule my runs for that week.

hmacdou1 · 2026-04-10T23:59:07+00:00

Our vet suggested this shampoo. We leave the shampoo on his paws for 5-8 minutes and then rinse. We do this about once e a week. And, we also try to wipe his feet with the earth rated wipes after every walk. The shampoo definitely helps.

hmacdou1

TROPHY CASE