Survival Guide for New Teachers and What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching

Each year the national education lending corporation Sallie Mae sponsors the First Class Teacher Award program for outstanding elementary and secondary teachers from each of the fifty states plus the District of Columbia, Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands. Winners are nominated by their school superintendents and chosen by a panel of education experts based on their superior instructional skills and interaction with students, faculty, and parents. And each year, the first-year teachers receiving the award come to Washington, D.C., to share their experiences in focus group discussions facilitated by the U.S. Department of Education. Discussion topics include how new teachers can work effectively with veteran teachers, parents, principals, and teacher educators. These two books, written by Amy DePaul of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement, summarize the observations, insights, and classroom tips learned from the experiences of these outstanding teachers in 1996 and 1997.