Lessons from the Teacher Workroom

Fifty Things Missing from Education Classes

After 25 years in the classroom, these are the lessons no education textbook ever taught me—but every veteran teacher eventually learns.

1. Have the parents sign in to open house night – that way you can send a first email home to say thank you for coming and something positive about their child.
2. Buy yourself a lunchbox you actually love. Teachers spend so much time taking care of everyone else. Start by taking care of yourself.
3. Make Spotify playlists for every possible situation — Arrival; Independent Work; Dance Party; Cleanup; Friday Celebration
4. Keep your classroom rules simple: Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Every desirable behavior meets one or both of those guidelines.
5. Set boundaries with school email. Unless there’s a true emergency, tomorrow morning is soon enough.
6. Protect your sleep like it’s part of your lesson plan.
7. Say the name of each student as s/he enters your classroom. You’ll learn names faster.
8. Make sure your students know how you take your coffee. Mine was often an extra-credit question on quizzes. It turns out students really do bring teachers coffee—and it’s much better when they know your order.
9. Create a “Help Yourself” station so students don’t have to interrupt instruction every time they need a pencil or tissue.
10. Meet the custodian assigned to your classroom—and occasionally leave a thank-you note with a DD gift card. A good custodian can save your day.
11. Don’t start routines you can’t sustain. The best classroom systems are the ones you’ll still be using in February. Start simple and add only what naturally fits your teaching style.
12. Protect your personal life. Set healthy boundaries from the beginning. Parents and students don’t need your personal phone number, and you don’t need to be available 24/7.
13. Carry mints, not gum. Fresh breath is appreciated. Watching someone chew gum while teaching… not so much.
14. Breaking in new shoes? Bring your old favorites. Change shoes at lunch until the new pair is classroom-ready. Your feet will thank you.
15. Keep graded tests. Hopefully you’ll never need them—but if a grade is questioned months later, you’ll be glad you saved the evidence. Have a bonfire at the end of the year!
16. Find your favorite pen—and buy extras. Every teacher has “the one.” Mine was the Bic Cristal in purple.
17. Put your name on your hall passes. The next teacher knows exactly where the student came from, and if the student is found in the hallway, the admin knows exactly where the student belongs! Signatures aren’t always legible.
18. Don’t sacrifice supervision for creativity. If you teach from the front of the room most of the time, every student should be able to face you.
19. Mean what you say. If the answer is no, let it stay no. Students quickly learn whether your decisions are firm or negotiable.
20. Keep your yes. Don’t promise rewards, free time, or special activities unless you’re prepared to follow through. Students should learn that your word is trustworthy.
21. Get to know your school secretaries—and thank them often. Don’t wait for Secretaries Day. They know everything, can fix almost anything, and quietly keep the school running. (Just don’t tell the principal I said so.)
22. Keep your favorite emergency snack in your desk. Mine was York Peppermint Patties in an airtight container. Find yours before you need it.
23. Say yes to faculty treats and events. If a church is serving lunch, enjoy it. If the FFA is making breakfast, get there early. Those small moments build community, and teachers need each other.
24. Prepare emergency substitute plans before you need them. Keep enough organized for several consecutive days and include assignments the substitute can collect or score. Your future self will be grateful.
25. Schedule a pedicure after your first full week of school. Trust me on this one.
26. Keep a change of clothes at school. Hopefully you’ll never need them—but you’ll be thankful they’re there if you do.
27. Lock up your valuables. Purse, wallet, keys, medications—don’t leave temptation sitting in plain sight.
28. Keep a sweater in your closet and a ponytail holder in your desk. You can’t control the classroom thermostat, but you can be ready for it.
29. Leave tonight ready for tomorrow. Straighten your classroom before you go home so you walk into a welcoming space the next morning.
30. Stay away from the main office! Check your mailbox in the morning and again after school, but don’t linger.
31. Cover bulletin boards with fabric, not paper. Fabric lasts for years, hides staple holes, and doesn’t wrinkle every August. Bedsheets work beautifully.
32. Dress professionally—but dress for the marathon. You’ll be on your feet all day. Looking polished shouldn’t require sacrificing your feet. (I’m still paying for those years in three-inch heels.)
33. Enjoy your denim days—but level them up. Jeans don’t have to look sloppy. Pair them with a collared shirt, boots, or something that helps you feel put together.
34. Be thoughtful about personal photos. Students don’t need to see every vacation or family album. But photos of your dogs? Gold. Dogs are always appropriate.
35. Smile on purpose. Some of us naturally look serious (I’m one of them!). Let your students see your welcome before they have to wonder what you’re thinking. Pair that smile with a greeting: “Good morning! I’m so glad you’re here.”
36. You’ve heard, “Don’t smile until Christmas.” No one is suggesting you become the classroom ogre. The point is this: be firm and consistent. Whatever you allow on Day 15 will become normal by Day 65 and excessive by Day 105.
37. Earn the right to loosen up. Start with clear expectations and consistent routines. Once students know how your classroom works, you can laugh, joke, and enjoy them even more… without losing control.
38. Make your first parent contact a positive one. Keep a notepad nearby and jot down little moments worth celebrating. Parents never forget the teacher who noticed something good first.
39. Enforce school rules without malice. Some rules seem silly. But most “stupid rules” exist because someone once did something spectacularly stupid. Don’t become the reason they add another one.
40. Be genuinely enthusiastic. Kids can spot fake enthusiasm a mile away. If you’re excited about learning, they’ll be much more willing to join you.
41. There isn’t a prize for being the first car in the parking lot or the last one to leave. I’ve been both. One morning I even set off the alarm. Twelve-hour workdays are occasionally necessary, but they should never be the goal.
42. Put your name on your coffee mug. It has a much better chance of finding its way home after you leave it by the mailboxes.
43. Back up everything. Twice. Technology— it isn’t a matter of if it fails; it’s a matter of when. Make sure your backup is current.
44. New teachers: ask questions. Veteran teachers: answer them generously. New teachers, remember that experienced teachers are busy too. Veteran teachers, your willingness to share your wisdom may shape the next generation of great educators.
45. Have something wonderfully odd in your classroom. And every time someone asks about it, tell a different story.
46. Be predictable… until it’s time not to be. Students thrive on routines, but they also love being surprised. Keep them guessing once in a while. I loved hearing “You never know what she’s going to do!”
47. Always have an analog backup. When technology fails—and it will—be ready. Read a story. Play a game. Have a discussion. (And yes, even seniors love being read to.)
48. Have students highlight their names before turning in assignments. It’s amazing how many “nameless papers” disappear with one yellow highlighter.
49. Be ready with one really good joke. Rehearse it. When a lesson is failing superbly, stop digging. Tell the joke, laugh with your students, and start fresh tomorrow. They’ll forget the lesson, but they’ll remember the laughter.
50. Go home empty-handed. Tomorrow’s lessons will still be rattling around in your brain. You’ll get used to that. But leave the papers on your desk. They’ll still be there tomorrow.

If you’re a brand-new teacher, welcome to the greatest profession in the world. It will break your heart and fill it in equal measure. You’ll laugh until you cry, wonder if you’re making any difference at all, and then, twenty years later, a grown adult will stop you in the grocery store and remind you that you did.

Teaching isn’t easy—but I can’t imagine having spent my life doing anything else.

Have a wonderful school year… and when you think of #51, send it my way. I can’t wait to hear yours!