Author Archives: maggiedahn
Managing Up: Tips to build a relationship with your school leader
During the two years I taught at my placement school in Chicago I probably had a grand total of 6 personal interactions with my principal. (And most of these were for evaluation purposes). She was in my classroom so rarely, ...
Contemplating Life After the Corps
“So, what are you doing next year?” Get used to it, second year corps members. If it hasn’t started already, you’re about to hear this question over and over again from your friends, family, and peers. You’ll experience the surreal feeling you ...
Prep your first day back like the first day of school
One of the biggest mistakes I made in my first year of teaching was neglecting to plan for that first day back to school. I figured that my students “already knew” the expectations and would “remember” classroom procedures. I thought ...
Planning the Perfect Winter Break
As long as we all make it through the end of the world on December 21st, you will soon have two weeks to yourself. Two weeks of freedom. Two weeks of holiday parties, delicious food, and endless Lifetime movie marathons. There’s ...
How I Hang In There When Things Get Tough
“The time I experience the most joy—real, belly-aching joy—is when I work with children.” When I’m at the end of my teaching rope, this one sentence puts me at ease and anchors me in my pre-teaching career idealism. It’s pulled right ...
Stop Dreading Sunday: Make planning less like punishment
A typical Saturday night in 2008. 11:30 P.M.: I’m having a wonderful time at a local Chicago bar with fellow first-year teachers. We're sharing stories of our week as a sense of impending doom looms large over the group. I go ...
