New Teacher Needs Help!

[Unregistered]

I am new to teaching this year and am having a hard time. The rest of the 4th grade team are veteran teachers who seem to think I am "all set" and don't need any help. We don't share any ideas about the curriculum and how we teach different subject areas. Because I am new to all of this I feel left in the dark. Any suggestions for what I should do? I feel very lost.

[Unregistered]

Did you tell the other teachers that you feel this way? They may not want to step on your toes. You may have to initiate the communication.

[MrMath]

I am new to teaching this year and am having a hard time. The rest of the 4th grade team are veteran teachers who seem to think I am "all set" and don't need any help. We don't share any ideas about the curriculum and how we teach different subject areas. Because I am new to all of this I feel left in the dark. Any suggestions for what I should do? I feel very lost.

yes, i agree with the above poster...
you must open up to your co-teachers...


Mr Wilson,

i need help.
i am still confused about ______,
i am still not clear about ______,
i still dont know how to deal with _______,
what should i do with/if ______,(and so forth..)

would you be able to help me?

[Unregistered]

I also teach fourth grade and use 12 X 18 sheets of red, yellow, and green construction paper. I explain what each means. Green means they are working well together, yellow means caution because they are getting too loud, and red is stop. If I have to hold up the red twice, they must stop what they are working on for a designated period (for example, two or three minutes) and heads are down. I find this works great and I never need to raise my voice.

[Unregistered]

I can assume you that there are "old timers" who are willing to take u under their wings. You simply need to let your "needs" be known to them. Don't feel that you are suppose to have all the answers or "know it all". This is my 39th year and I still learn things. If I don't know, I ask. That is not a sign of weakness, that is a strength. At my age, I continue to learn something new from "old timers" and the "young ones". Ask there are those out that who will coach you and mentor you.

[Unregistered]

I am also a new 4th grade teacher this year. I feel the same way. I just went last week and let the principal and my mentor teacher (who happens to be another 4th grade teacher) know that I need help. I am overwhelmed! They were more than happy to jump in to offer assistance and guidance. Better to ask for guidance now, than to wait until later.

[Unregistered]

Some people are team players and some are not. I believe that if your fellow teachers were willing to share and help you, you would already know it and not be asking for help. You need to find a network of other fourth grade teachers that are willing to help. They're out there - keep looking!

[Unregistered]

I am also a new teacher but in second grade. I was feeling lost in how we teach reading at my school. The principal asked me after my first observation if there were any areas that I thought I needed help with. I mentioned reading and doing groups at that time. She arranged for me to observe another second grade teacher during the reading time. The other teacher explained things to me as she did them. It was a really good experience. Maybe you could see if something similar could be done for you.
Good Luck and may we both feel successful as we gain experience.