Book: The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide

Win-Win Strategies for Success by Dr. Jane Bluestein At the start or your career or at the end of your rope… Get your teaching career off to a winning start—or recharge your passion for your work! The new & revised edition of Dr. Jane Bluestein’s pivotal guide for your teaching career! A great gift for new…

Presentation: Motivating the Unmotivated

Getting past defenses, disinterest, and disengagement Presentation by Dr. Jane Bluestein Of all the challenges teachers face, the one mentioned most consistently over the years has been, “How do I engage kids who aren’t motivated and just don’t care?” Few things are more frustrated that having your planning and enthusiasm met with groans, shrugs, or eye…

Wish List for Beginning Teachers

Interviews with new teachers reveal what they want most: • Encouragement: Feedback that builds on their strengths, not just cautions to “do better” or “try harder.” • Fairness: Not being placed in the toughest schools, given the most challenging students, or being the first asked to make last-minute room or grade level changes • Honesty:…

Why Teachers Quit, part 5

Part 5: Value and Status Note: The following is an excerpt from The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide: Win-Win Strategies for Success, chapter three, “Climate Advisory: Entering Win-Lose Territory.” Although this book also elaborates on why teachers stay in the profession (in my case, since 1973), I believe it is important to also address some of the issues…

Why Teachers Quit, part 4

Part 4: Difficult Students, Difficult Parents Note: The following is an excerpt from The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide: Win-Win Strategies for Success, chapter three, “Climate Advisory: Entering Win-Lose Territory.” Although this book also elaborates on why teachers stay in the profession (in my case, since 1973), I believe it is important to also address some of the…

Presentation: Great Beginnings

Special workshop for beginning teachers, returning teachers, and preservice teachers Presentation for educators by Dr. Jane Bluestein A special presentation for new teachers that focuses on management and discipline issues, which can often overwhelm a newcomer to the profession (or someone who has been away for a long time).

Presentation: Dealing with Difficult Students

Practical Strategies for Success with Defiant, Defeated and other At-Risk Kids Presentation by Dr. Jane Bluestein We all know who they are: The unmotivated student who performs below his capabilities. The student with weak social skills who has a hard time getting along with her peers. The nontraditional learner who

Great Expectations!

Good News for Beginning Teachers No one knows better than a first year teacher that the beginning of the school year bristles with anticipation—and not just for the kids.