Shine On, with EduMagic

Hello EduMagicians,

A book for new teachers just hit the bookshelves near you: EduMagic Shine On: A Guide for New Teachers, co-written by me and three former students, now friends: Hannah Sansom, Katy Gibson, and Hannah Turk. It was written to encourage and support the new educator, to show them that they are not alone on this journey. EduMagic Shine On is separated into eight parts. Let’s check them out:

● E – Expectations – During this section, we give you a little dose of reality about expectations for yourself, your learners, and your classroom. We begin with a prompt for readers to reflect upon how college shaped their expectations as teachers, leaders, and learners. Then we dive into each of those expectations and reflect on how we can make them a reality.

● D – Dealing with disappointments - Maybe that’s a word you don’t want to think about as you start the “honeymoon” phase of a new job. But we want to be real and honest, and, like with anything, disappointments will come. This chapter is a “survival guide” per se, not something we intend to intimidate you or cause worry about. Throughout this chapter, we discuss some pit stops that you may encounter along the journey of your first year of teaching. Remember, these are pit stops; we don’t stay; we make a quick stop and keep moving forward.

● U – Unstoppable - There will be days in teaching that bring you such tremendous joy that your face will hurt from smiling. Days when a child “gets it,” and you can see that lightbulb moment happens. Days where you get a hand-drawn picture, card, or gift for no other reason than just because. This chapter was the most difficult to write and work through and deals with some heavy topics, but we want to share our experiences with you even when they are hard so that you can know that you are not alone.

● M – Making it work - We’ve done some thoughtful reflection on some hard truths of teaching. There is a lot to think about leading up to and living out that first year: expectations, planning, routines, management, and having a life outside of school. Time to think about all those components of teaching and how they come together. We will do a crash course on making it all work: from classroom management to your sanity.

● A - All in This Together - Building Collaboration - Our students come to school with many needs and goals. It is up to us to work with our colleagues towards the main goal of educating students the best that we can, keeping students at the forefront. Collaboration is key to providing the best student-centered education. This can happen through partnerships, co-teachers, administration, and families.

● G - Getting ready - One of the biggest ideas new teachers look forward to completing is...drum roll please...setting up your classroom! You finally have that set of keys and space to make your own. This section has checklists to help you prepare for that first day of school and beyond!

● I – inspiration - We know that teaching can be hard — no one said it would be easy. It has been a long road to get to your classroom, and now it’s not exactly a walk in the park either. But keeping your inspiration, your “why,” in the front of your mind will help you get through the days that feel long. Inspiration is like a fountain; while you are there and you are drinking from it, it seems like you will never be thirsty again! We share ways to inspire yourself, inspire students, and draw inspiration from others.

● C – Check yo’self - We leave you with a few more tips, specifically on how to be the best possible version of yourself. Living and learning the teaching experience is very rewarding, but it sometimes comes with unfilled expectations, disappointments, and a long to-do list. Friends, those are all part of life.

This book is laid with places to reflect and journal. It shares real accounts and stories from first-year teachers in their own words. These teachers share advice, tangible tips, and resources that you can get your hands on immediately and implement in your classroom today. In addition, we have little sections for making the magic happen throughout the book, where we share a quick tip for each section of EduMagic. You can purchase this book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. There you have it! I hope that this article inspired, encouraged, and supported you.

Teachers, you got this; you have the EduMagic in you!