All new teachers need CPR; and I’m not referring to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. I’m referring to Consistency, Planning, and Relationships.

The key to becoming an effective educator is being consistent, planning effective lessons, and building relationships with students and parents. The absence of CPR can turn a successful teaching career into a career where you spend every day just holding on and trying to survive HLR utbildning.

Consistency is steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc. To even have a shot at becoming a master teacher you must be consistent with everything you do. From your rules, consequences, rewards, procedures, etc. Children function best when the expectations are clear and they know exactly what to expect. Children should never be confused about what you expect from them or of them.

Countless new teachers struggle everyday because they fail to understand the importance of effective planning. There should be a plan for everything that happens in the classroom. What’s the plan for how and when students will sharpen their pencils? What will students be expected to do each morning when they enter the classroom? What is the procedure when students need to go to the restroom? How will students line up? And let’s not forget about lesson planning. Have you planned lessons that will meet the needs of all students? Have you planned for the students who won’t understand the concept? What will the plan be for the students who finish their independent work early? Do your plans address all learning styles? If you don’t consider all of these things then you haven’t planned an effective lesson. Lesson planning is more than just writing plans in a lesson plan book and calling it a day. Effective planning is considering every detail and going over lessons step by step, before presenting them to your students.

Of course even the best planned lesson won’t even leave the ground if you have not established a relationship with your students. Knowing your students on an academic and social level increases the odds of them being successful and they are more likely eager to perform for you. Students will take notice when you extend the olive branch and they will work harder for you. It’s important for your students to know you care about them.

CPR can definitely be a life saver for teachers and more importantly it can be a life saver for students. When students have consistency, engaging lesson, and nurturing and supportive relationships with their teachers, the sky is the limit.

I’ve been an educator for nearly 20 years and I’ve worked with at-risk youth for most of my career. I’m currently an elementary school principal at a campus with over 600 students. Throughout my career I’ve discovered that not only are we teaching the three Rs, but we are spending a great deal of our time teaching social skills. More and more students are arriving to school without the tools to be successful in a structured environment.