Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

Q&A Collections: Advice for New Teachers

By Larry Ferlazzo — August 07, 2021 2 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 10 years. You can see all those collections from the first nine years here.

Here are the ones I’ve published so far:

The 11 Most Popular Classroom Q&A Posts of the Year

Race & Racism in Schools

School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis

Classroom-Management Advice

Best Ways to Begin the School Year

Best Ways to End the School Year

Student Motivation & Social-Emotional Learning

Implementing the Common Core

Challenging Normative Gender Culture in Education

Teaching Social Studies

Cooperative & Collaborative Learning

Using Tech With Students

Student Voices

Parent Engagement in Schools

Teaching English-Language Learners

Reading Instruction

Writing Instruction

Education Policy Issues

Assessment

Differentiating Instruction

Math Instruction

Science Instruction

Today’s theme is on advice for new teachers. You can see the list of posts following this excerpt from one of them:

ifsomeonetellsyou

* Video: Tips for New Teachers This Fall

During this unusual teaching year, in which where and how teaching will take place is up in the air as a result of COVID-19, I offer recommendations to new educators entering the profession.

* Mistakes New Teachers Make & How to Avoid Them

Michael Janatovich, Sarah Thomas, Roxanna Elden, Kristi Mraz, Christine Hertz, and Julia Thompson contribute their suggestions.

* New Teachers Must Create a ‘Balance’

Recommendations for new teachers come from Cindi Rigsbee, Carol Pelletier Radford, Jenny Grant Rankin, Jennie Farnell, and Ken Lindblom.

* New Teachers Should ‘Leave Gossip for Tabloids & Reality Shows’

Rebecca Schmidt, Madeline Whitaker Good, Katherine Whitaker, Ann Hoover, Jon Harper, and Otis Kriegel provide advice to new teachers.

* What Teachers Wish They ‘Had Been Told’

Allison Marchetti, Rebekah O’Dell, Kathy Levy, Matthew R. Morris, Stuart O. Yager, Rita Platt, and Larnette Snow finish off a three-part series on what teachers know now that they wish they knew then...

* ‘When I Started Teaching, I Wish I Had Known ...’

Linda Hoyt, Jenny Edwards, Mary Tedrow, and Vance L. Austin offer their suggestions about what they know now that they wish they had known then ...

* What Educators Wish They Knew When They Began Teaching

Roxanna Elden, Dave Stuart Jr., Julia Thompson, and Jennifer Gonzalez share what they wish they had known prior to becoming a teacher.

* New Teacher Advice—'Hold on to Your Optimism & Idealism’

Allison Zmuda, Jenny Edwards, Kelly Young, Maurice J. Elias, and Emily Geltz contribute their guest responses sharing advice for new teachers, and many readers do the same.

* Advice to New Teachers From Veterans

Five veteran educators—Valeria Brown, Julia Thompson, Roxanna Elden, Sean McComb, and Megan Allen—share advice they wish they had at the beginning of their careers.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Teachers Don’t Identify Creativity Equally in All Students. Why That Matters
Teachers have subconscious biases in how they view student creativity. That could result in disadvantages—at school and beyond.
5 min read
Close-up of smart girl using small tools to assemble robot by learning from tablet computer, technology concept
E+/Getty
Teaching Q&A Obama Ed. Sec. John King: Teachers Can't Be Bombarded With Reforms
He describes life through the lens of the teachers who shaped him, and reflects on his time leading the nation's education agency.
8 min read
Former Secretary of Education John King speaks with Education Week during an interview on May 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Former Secretary of Education John King reflects on his tenure and on the changing teaching profession in an exclusive interview with Education Week on May 5, 2025, in Washington.
Sam Mallon for Education Week
Teaching Opinion How Teachers Can Ask Students Questions Their Phones Can’t Answer
When students have unlimited answers at their fingertips, it’s more urgent than ever for teachers to find better questions.
Kim McWilliams
4 min read
A questionable and Unsure Future Landscape. A person standing in a landscape with a rock formation in the shape of a question mark.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Opinion COVID Still Affects Classrooms. Here's How
Five years after the start of the pandemic, educators witness its ongoing consequences.
11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week