Hi!
I'm a new elementary teacher and a bit out of the ordinary; I homeschooled my children until they went to college and then was a reading/spelling tutor. This fall, I will be teaching a 2nd/3rd combination classroom in private school for low income inner-city students. I've never taught in an elementary classroom before. I'm thrilled about the opportunity but apprehensive about classroom management and multitasking. I'd LOVE to actually observe someone power teaching. I've seen the videos. I'm just wondering . . . will I have the energy to keep this up all day? Is there a way I can prepare myself mentally? physically? I'm only 25 in my mind, but my body doesn't agree with me:S I truly appreciate this site and all the work by very generous people.
Gina

Gina,

Do not worry. WBT is there for you to use, not to use you. You can adapt the method, and the level of energy you use to serve you, and your style and personality in the classroom.

That said, even if you do want to go full throttle you should know that the kind of tired you are looking at is really different, in my experience, than what most teahcers go through.

Most teachers come out of the school at the end of the day and are emotionally exhausted, often frustrated, as well as physically tired. I find that, on days that I use a lot of WBT during the day, I am physically tired at the end of the day, but it is the kind of tired I would be after a workout. It is not the emotionally beat down exhaustion that so many teachers endure nearly every day.

You will not believe how much easier this method can make your day.

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff--that give me lots of hope! I'm eager to try. Actually, I think this will mesh with my personality pretty well. Now I have a good excuse to be goofy, expressive, and spontaneous.
Gina

Hi Gina,

I have the same experience as Jeff. I actually feel less tired when I use WBT. On the days before WBT, I would leave school feeling like I sucked as a teacher. The days I used even parts of WBT, I left school feeling like I was finally in control. I think the kids left feeling more secure as well.

Diane

Hi Diane,
How long did it take you before you felt comfortable with WBT? Are there any pitfalls I should avoid?
Thanks,
Gina

Hi Gina,

I, too, was scared to start it for fear I wouldn't do it right. I teach ESL to grades K-6, so I had the experience of using it with 8 different groups last year. I had really good luck with the younger ones, so I think you're going to be okay from that aspect. I started it around Spring Break, and I was at the point of giving up on teaching, because I felt like a failure in classroom management. I did not ever think that I was just going to try this and see if would work. I went into it with the thought that I had finally found the system that was going to save me. So I tried to learn everything I could about it, knowing it was a life-changing, and career-changing, experience for me. (I was right!) I watched some of the videos over and over, and I wrote some of the text from the videos right into my lesson plans. I referred to that text several times during the first week. I think that was the key to feeling comfortable with it. And when my students started speaking the rules without looking at them, I knew they were getting it. Regarding the "teach/okay" - I taught it to them, and they did it well. It really helps to write the "teach/okay" moments in your lesson plans. I would recommend you first teach them how to get into their partnerships, how to face each other, how to listen, how to speak, etc. And talk about how to be respectful, even if it's a partner they don't want to be with. I didn't have assigned seats, so I talked about how they might be sitting next to someone different the next day, and they had to treat everyone the same, i.e. no rolling the eyes and no negative comments. And regarding the energy - once I gave up trying to teach them everything, and letting them teach each other, I had more energy, because while they are doing the "teach/okay", I get to take a breath or two. And the added benefit is that they are much more engaged, versus tuning out about two minutes into my "lecture." Good luck, you will love it. And keep reading this forum. Great people are there to answer your questions. Keep asking them, too. I asked a million of them. Diane

Hi Gina,
I really can relate to your question about having the energy to keep it up. I have been using WBT for 2 years, and it took a full year, really, before I didn't feel more physically tired. By the second year, it was so natural, it was much easier. I'll admit, I was mentally tired, too, but in a much better way. I wasn't mentally discouraged, I was just tired from having to consciously retrain my brain to think in WBT terms, and to not react the way I instinctively did before learning WBT.
I only added this comment so that, if you DO find yourself feeling tired, don't feel discouraged. I think it's a natural part of the learning curve.