One of the most important things for a new teacher is to have the right learning resources. Basically, the more resources learning that you have to draw from, the easier it will be for you to keep your lessons fresh and new. Although some schools have a learning resource center, often these don't have enough. All of the best teachers that I know bring in their own learning resources. Unfortunately, if You are just starting, this can be really hard to do.
I went to a school that emphasized learning with multiple resources, but when I finally had my first teaching job, I felt overwhelmed. I knew that I needed to have a large collection of learning resources to draw from. You see, unlike most first-year teachers, I was largely responsible for planning my entire lesson curriculum. I had very few learning resources at all, aside from some learning disability resources from a class that I took on special needs students. I was working with fifth-graders, which is a very difficult year if you are not well prepared for it. I faced the prospect of my first day with grim foreboding.
Although I had my first week planned out, I didn't know what to do after that. I didn't really even understand where to look for learning resources. I had some books that I liked to share with the fifth graders, but I wasn't really aware of what they were reading nowadays. If you are teaching students, knowing what the popular books are is very important. If you can pay attention to what they are already reading, you can use it for your lesson plans. One of the best learning resources is your knowledge of popular culture. Basically, anything that you can use to get your kids interested in learning can be extremely helpful.
Just in the knick of time, I found another crucial learning resource: an experienced teacher who took me under her wing. Not only did she share her learning resources with me, but she also listened to my concerns. She heard what I wanted to do in the class, gave me her feedback, and suggested some good sources for learning resources. I was completely thrilled with her learning resource knowledge. She probably saved me hundreds of hours of searching for books, and showed me some things that I might never have found on my own.
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