If I didn’t have ___________, I would never make it as a history teacher.

 Becca Horowitz A clear course plan is my pedagogical compass and a good expresso gets me going, but what truly sustains me is the joy of being with my students and the small world we create together in the classroom.

As Laura said, coffee helps, but the 4QM method helps me and my students track the event, the characters, and their motivations. With all of the details out there, this helps us trace all of the "ripples" emanating from the event.

I've set a goal for myself to have a personal interaction with every student, every day. That means I can't count things that I say when addressing the whole class. Whether it's greeting students at the door or checking in with them one-on-one during class, I find that this strategy goes a long way toward building classroom community.

Time. My family has been very supportive of me taking lots of time,  creating lessons and activities,  grading papers,  and doing extra curricular activities,  such as parades,  conferences and more.  You can't get time you miss with your family back, so it was cool too have them along for much of this.  Kids coming to school with me when they were little,  family dinners in my classroom at night.  All the extra time for me to work at this crazy job.    

A clear classroom / home divide! Teaching is tough work sometimes, and having the clear boundary between work and home has saved me, especially when I was just starting out!