Your First Year as a High School Teacher: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional

I have been searching for teaching job for 4 years now and have finally been offered one. After being out of college for that long period, I was worried about my classroom managment practices. This book was a great review of everything learned in college plus some! I also have Wong's First Days of School. I think that this text far surpasses Wong's.

As any of you out there in my shoes (about to start teaching secondary school) know, How To books about teaching are abundant for elementary teachers, and in very short supply for us. However, this one is great, even if only as a confidence builder. It does have some great suggestions, lists, and helpfully points out other resources, especially online. So glad I bought it! I've read it once through, and have gone back and re-read chapters as well.

As a recent grad with a job starting in August I find myself reading as many books as possible. Most tell me what I already know. This book is different. I've never seen a book cover so many topics so well. The beginning focuses on lesson planning, setting up your classroom, management, etc. Not only does it discuss these issues but the sidebars have different helpful themes. Some define teaching terms, others give the address of a useful webpage, while some are quick stories or tips from established teachers.Not only does this book help with the basics and give plenty of resources, it goes deeper than any other book I've seen. This book covers touchy subjects that most don't dare talk about. It discusses relationships with peers (it even touches on going out drinking with them), problems with students (such as sex, drugs, abuse, rape, depression, etc) and more. In short I would highly recommend this book to any new teacher.

After looking through book after book, trying to find that elusive Holy Grail of introductory teaching manuals, I found this. A real gem, giving advice on everything from seating charts to discipline to lesson planning. If you're a new teacher, especially if you haven't taken a lot of education courses, GET THIS BOOK. While it is an easy read, it is crammed full of information, and has calmed my first-year jitters a great deal.

This book is EXCELLENT. It reminds me of the book "The First Days of School", only it is geared specifically toward high school teachers. I highly recommend it.