Are you looking for ways to become a better teacher? Check out our list.

1. Get 8 hours of sleep every night
2. Have a refillable water bottle on your class desk
3. Have a ‘keen’ learner ready to hand out worksheets
4. Keep a pencil case full of whiteboard pens
5. Warehouse a permanent marker pen vertically,
6. Stash a pile of glue sticks
7. When it’s a morning break
8. If you’re on break duty, save ‘pastoral moments’ for class discussion
9. Learn the power of Cntrl, Alt, Delete
10. Read each word in your school’s behavior policy
11. Dress in comfortable shoes
12. Keep an eye on the job market, the terminology used, and the salary scale
13. Ask learners to repeat information back to you
14. Read to your learners every lesson, every day
15. Show learners, you care about them
16. Have a teaching friend who can rescue your class in an emergency
17. Teach learners how to learn in a noisy environment
18. Store your keys and I.D. badge on separate lanyards
19. Get on great terms with your site staff; you may need a fan or a heater in your class
20. Hold the door open for learners
21. Superglue a pencil sharpener to the end of your teaching desk
22. Laminate a 5-minute lesson plan to your teaching desk
23. Say ‘Hello’ to every stranger/visitor in the school halls
24. Wear a vest in the winter months
25. Always carry hand gel
26. Eat one small bag of your favorite snack at your classroom desk every week throughout the winter
27. Get yourself a good quality visualizer
28. Subscribe to your association and/or teaching union
29. Attend one teaching conference at least every two years
30. Teach learners how to work in silence for chunks of time, building up the timeframe toward the examination
31. Keep learners attentive, working in 10-20 minute chunks before providing some time to retrieve or slow down
32. Buy yourself a whistle
33. Have a few motivational quotes printed on your classroom wall
34. At the beginning of each term, print off a ‘next holiday’ picture to keep your mood
35. Talk to your head educator when you are feeling low
36. Call one learner’s home with great news every Friday night
37. Always be polite and patient with your administrative team
38. Have a conversation with your janitor
39. Make sure learners stack chairs on the tables at the end of every day
40. Never hand over your photocopying card to a friend
41. Bring in boxes of chocolates on your birthday – one for class, the other for the staff room
42. Challenge all outdated marking policy ideas
43. Throw your feedback stamp in the bin
44. Keep a t stash of blue/white tac
45. Lead an all-staff professional development session
46. Teach from the back of the classroom sometimes
47. Just once, take the ‘learner’s’ bus journey home to understand their story
48. Try teaching without your whiteboard and projector
49. Teach learners the origin of keywords
50. Inculcate a ‘show me’ whiteboard culture in your class
51. Place QR codes on your handouts
52. Observe an expert educator
53. Make friends with the collaborator who has worked at the school for the longest time
54. Arrive at every class before the learners
55. Arrive at school before the learners
56. Where possible, leave school with the learners
57. Don’t wear colored clothes that show off your sweaty armpits in the summer
58. Don’t wear flip-flops, ever
59. Know where your nearest fire extinguisher is
60. Know where the CCTV cameras are
61. Make a feedback zone in your classroom for one-to-one meetings during class
62. Make a class ‘Youtube Playlist’ you can use at any time
63. If you ignore it, you condone it.
64. Non-verbal signals are your learner’s best friend
65. Spending hours creating screencasts or pre-recorded ‘how-to’ tutorials will help get your life back
66. Teach learners study skills from the first day they meet you, not a few weeks before exams
67. Video and voice recordings are more compelling than a written report
68. Don’t get yourself into the middle of messy relationships
69. Come up with an idea for an education app or business
70. Don’t permit the class bully to bully you
71. Always give learners 2 or 3 minutes to ‘wind down after a wet and windy break
72. Work hard to sustain your reputation daily – you can lose it anytime in a moment of madness. For example, being on time, supporting a friend breaking up a fight, and helping with the school production after school.
73. Don’t let anyone use your bag of highlighter pens
74. Know safeguarding law inside out
75. One foot on the class floor, one foot on the hall – meet and greet, end and send – every lesson
76. Study your subject knowledge once a month.
77. Love land all subjects matter across the school.
78. Assemblies are crucial to school ethos and values. Be on time, show learners that you are also listening, and be prepared to make announcements with a strong, loud voice
79. Position your educator’s desk to face the classroom door but on the opposite side of the room
80. When traveling in the class and having one-to-one conversations, always face the class
81. Keep a timer on your table
82. A hole-punch too, or chain or glue the base to your desk
83. End every lesson early, providing lots of time to ‘ reflect, retrieve and plan ahead with learners
84. Make the first minutes of every lesson exciting. This energy will ‘rub off on your learners’ moods…
85. Learn a poem by heart and recite it to your class when they need ‘revision’ moments of creativity
86. Order your teaching book using any discounts your school librarian has access to
87. Walk the school halls during one non-contact period. Observe what is happening.
88. Find out how to make a cup of tea in less than 2 minutes
89. Be on ‘great terms with your school’s administrators
90. Don’t get caught up in idle school gossip and rumors
91. Have two clocks in your classroom. One for you, one for the learners, which is a couple of minutes slower
92. Your educator planner is your life.
93. Develop a clear scrip for educator instruction
94. Don’t wear tight clothes
95. Conduct a research project
96. Keep your social media profiles clean
97. Dress up
98. Take a day off sick if you are run down
99. Have a piece of chocolate
100. If in doubt, read tip number one