
I wish I had known how to help kids learn how to read. I was good at helping kids who could already read develop their reading skills, and I became pretty good at helping weak readers get better. But for those kids who had made it all the way to the fourth or fifth grade as non-readers, I was of little use.

I wish I'd known more about how to diagnose and then address early literacy and basic math needs. I could have been a much better resource for my students if I'd had more concrete tools for building foundational skills.

I wish I'd been able to watch more good teachers in action before I started my job, especially those who taught my subject area well in tough schools like mine.

I would have liked to have learned more classroom management skills. Once I started teaching, a lot of the classroom management techniques that worked best for me were ones I learned after observing the best teachers in my school.

I was nervous about communicating with parents, but I was clueless to the fact that they might be nervous about communicating with me! Had I known this, it would have calmed my nerves somewhat and I might have approached meetings and calls differently.

I wish my teacher preparation program had taught me how to teach someone to read. (Yes, I taught high school math, but it would still have been useful.) Also, I wish I'd learned the basics about learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and some instructional/management strategies for engaging students with disabilities. Before I started teaching it would have been nice to see what a high-functioning classroom with high-needs students looks like.
I wish I'd known how weak many middle school students' grammar foundation would be and that a fair number of students really don't enjoy reading. I was also unaware of how to work with an administration set on keeping parents happy at all costs.
I realized how poorly I was prepared to teach middle school. I was certified to teach middle school after graduating from an elementary education program that didn't prepare me for much past 3rd grade.
A few words of advice for new teachers from NCTQ veteran teachers:
Call/email families early and often. Invite them to class. Visit their homes. Use online grade/attendance trackers so that they can stay involved. Don't skip sleep and don't work both days of the weekend. Laura Johnson
Learn Spanish. Nancy Waymack