If you have ever had the opportunity to observe a master craftsperson at work, one of the first things you will notice is how easy they make their work look. This principle applies to artists, athletes, plumbers and painters. It also applies to teachers. If you were fortunate enough to have some master teachers in your K to 12 schooling or for your university student teaching, you will have seen this principle at work. You will recall how easy they made teaching look. For the most part, their classes just flowed. The teacher would ask the students to do something, and the students did it. The teacher would cue the kids to transition into a new activity, and the kids transitioned. There was little conflict, few arguments, and the vast majority of classroom time was spent engaged in learning. It is a pleasure to observe these kinds of behaviors in the classrooms of master teachers, but this leaves us with an important question: how do they do it? Just how did these teachers get their students to be so cooperative and have their classroom running so smoothly? That is what THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER’S SURVIVAL KIT: 83 simple things that successful teachers do to thrive in the classroom will show you – the kinds of things that master teachers do to make their classes work – both for themselves and for their students. You too can become a master teacher. This book will show you how.

Table of Contents:
Preface: Fish Discover Water Last Acknowledgements Introduction: Establishing Legitimacy How to Get the Most from this Book Section One: What You Need To Know and Do before School Even Starts Introduction: The Importance of the Teacher and the Power of Positive Thinking 1.The Question You MUST Answer First! 2.Do Your Christmas Shopping in the Summer! 3.The Stomach and the Brain – Have Food Available for Your Kids 4.Vomit, Coffee & Ketchup – Have a Change of Clothing Available for Yourself 5.Mints and Toothpaste – Essential Tools for Effective Teaching 6.The Best Teacher Prep Tool Ever Made – Large Capacity Flash Drives 7.Who’s the Boss? Probably the Principal 8.Without This – Nothing Else Really Matters: Lessons from a Student to a Teacher 9.Establish a Seating Plan That Allows Maximum Proximity to Your Students 10.Tick. Tick. Tick. 11.The Problem of Pens, Pencils, Paper . . . 12.How Sponge Activities Can Prevent All Kinds of Discipline Issues 13.Facebook, Twitter and Twits 14.The Only Three Ways to Teach a Child 15.No Matter Where You Go – There You Are 16.Is Teaching Really Your Gift? 17.Half Step, Full Step, Step and a Half: How Many Steps Will Your Kids Be Taking With You This Year? Section Two: What You Need To Do With Your Students on The First Day And During The First Week Of School Introduction 18.You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression 19.Pizza and Movies: The Best Investments You May Ever Make 20.Why Procedures and Routines – The Way We Do Things in Our Classroom – Are Critical to Successful Teaching 21.Start Teaching the Curriculum on Day One 22.To Know Them Is To Love Them . . . Well, Most of the Time 23.Why Should the Kids Listen to You? The Importance of Establishing Legitimacy. 24.Fired Up? Ready to Go? 25.Let Horton the Elephant Be Your Role Model 26.Even Monkeys Know When Something is Unfair 27.When You Are Vastly Outnumbered, Fighting is Unwise 28.The Importance of Face 29.Never Look Back When Asking a Student to Follow You Out of the Classroom 30.Don’t Just Stand There – DO SOMETHING! 31.Knowledge Has Value 32.Did I Do That? Helping Students Keep Track of Their Achievements 33.Always Have a Plan B. 34.What Did You Learn in School Today? Section Three: What You Need To Do During The First Month Introduction 35.Eyes Open; Ears Open; Mouth Closed 36.The Best Teachers You Will Ever Have 37.Secretaries, Custodians and Teacher Aides 38.Who Knew? Ten Minutes is a Huge Chunk of Time 39.Maybe Not 50 Shades of Gray – But 49 For Sure 40.What’s the Difference Between a Classroom and a Petri Dish? 41.Want to Avoid Classroom Chaos? Bait the Hook to Suit the Fish! 42.How to Train a Tiger – The Art of Negotiating with Your Students 43.Practice Saying, “I’m sorry” and really mean it 44.Getting the Elephant to Go Where You Want It to Go 45.You Don’t Want to Send Kids to the Principal’s Office – At Least, Not Often 46.When You Bring a Problem to Your Principal, Always Bring a Solution 47.When Your Students Tell You Stories about Their Families 48.How to Get Parents/Caregivers to Look Forward to Your Phone Calls 49.Parent’s/Caregiver’s and Emails – Managing Expectations 50.Don’t Confuse Activity with Achievement 51.What Do You Mean You Only Taught That Once? The 9 Laws of Learning 52.In Pursuit of Peppermints and PEZ™ 53.So You Reached the End of September – Time to Take a Good Look Around You Section Four: What You Need To Do During the Rest of the Year Introduction 54.Great Teachers are Great Storytellers with Great Stories to Tell 55.Remember the Starfish Story – You Cannot Save Them All 56.You Must Learn to Adjust 57.Not My Circus – Not My Monkeys 58.Remember. . . There Is Always Enough Time To Do the Most Important Things 59.Learn to Make Staff Meetings Productive 60.Learn to Say “NO” Nicely 61.Make the 80 - 20 Rule Work for You 62.Become First a Good Animal 63.Who Do You Need to Forgive the Most? 64.If Your Name is Johnny, You Must be Bad 65.I Am Not My Older Brother . . . 66.Remember This About Your Students – They’re Not Done Yet 67.You Can’t Free a Fish from Water - Your Students Live at Home 68.They Already Have Friends 69.Do You Want to Hear a Joke? 70.How to Use Music to Sooth a Savage Beast 71.When You’re Sick, Tired, Cranky, or Having a Bad Day 72.You Are Rarely the Target – Even When They’re Aiming at You 73.Every Artist Was First an Amateur 74.You Are Never Done 75.When You Stop Learning, You Are Done 76.You Don’t Bring in an Elephant to Teach the Color Gray 77.How Do You Eat an Elephant? 78.Why We Don’t Try to Teach a Pig to Fly 79.The IKEA Effect – The Pride We Feel in Work We Do Ourselves 80.If You Are Working Harder Than Your Students in Class, You’re doing It Wrong! 81.The Virtue of Frustration 82.Let This Year’s Students Help Make Your Courses Better for Next Year 83.So You Reached the End of June – Time to Look Back Section Five: What You Need To Do During the Second and Third Years of Teaching, and Going Forward From There Twenty-Eight Essential Truths About Teaching Lastly: The Secret to Success in Teaching Three Recommendations for Further Reading References About the Author