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I have my first CHL class on Sunday and my rubber gun should be coming in the mail today! I don't know which I am more excited about. :-)

Any advice for my first class from any of you experienced teachers? I have already learned so much from y'all.

Have more instructional material than you think you could possibly need. It is always easier to skip over something than to make something up on the fly!

The most important thing is to have fun! If you are enjoying teaching them, then they will usually enjoy being taught.

mommagamber wrote:I have my first CHL class on Sunday and my rubber gun should be coming in the mail today! I don't know which I am more excited about. :-)

Good luck! I guess I should order a rubber gun. I didn't know they were that exciting.

Mine are just cut out of wood.
I dont think rubber guns would be that exciting.
Now Polymer, Stainless, Blue steel, Alloy, Nickle, aaaaaaaaaahhh those all excite me.

Do a review of your materials, looking at the test and find the information from the test in your materials. My first class, I had missed something in the materials. Thankfully I had covered it in the questions and answers.

WildBill wrote:

mommagamber wrote:I have my first CHL class on Sunday and my rubber gun should be coming in the mail today! I don't know which I am more excited about. :-)

Good luck! I guess I should order a rubber gun. I didn't know they were that exciting.

Ya, it was not as climatic as I thought it would be.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I am definitely nervous but it is a small class and mostly friends and they all know they are my guinea pig first class. Thought I should practice on friends and family first.

Mine was a small class of coworkers, with instructions to be harsh with their critique. I wanted to hear what they liked and what they didn't. Overall it was a great learning experience.

You will do great!

mommagamber wrote:

WildBill wrote:

mommagamber wrote:I have my first CHL class on Sunday and my rubber gun should be coming in the mail today! I don't know which I am more excited about. :-)

Good luck! I guess I should order a rubber gun. I didn't know they were that exciting.

Ya, it was not as climatic as I thought it would be.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I am definitely nervous but it is a small class and mostly friends and they all know they are my guinea pig first class. Thought I should practice on friends and family first.

You will improve as you "Practice" & it will show.

One of the things that was my biggest help is:
As I go through my outline I have a "spot" (stickie bullet hole cover up) by everything that is on the test. The # of the question is written on the spot & the # of times DPS asks a question w/ that answer. ie: chg of address & name has a couple of ?s. Under Non-violent Dispute Resolution I think they have 5 about "Respond" (boy they like that part)
That way I know I have not missed something. I also have a key w/ the answers & the page in my outline where it is address. I can go back & find it pretty quickly if there is a ?.

Sic'em Tigress. You will do well.

Keith B wrote:The most important thing is to have fun! If you are enjoying teaching them, then they will usually enjoy being taught.

Spent a lot of years in the schoolroom with this attitude. Served me well.

Be flexible, every class is different and you never know how it is going to roll until you get started. Each class has it's own personality.

One thing I always have to keep a check on is "what-if" questions and the like. If you're (I'm) not careful they can get way off in the boonies pretty quick. They can be great teachable moments but you have to balance them with the material you have to get covered. Use them to integrate points or as segways to the next topic.

And don't be afraid to say "I don't know" or "I can't answer that" or "we need to move on, we can talk about that at our next break." "Totality of circumstances" is a great way to reinforce that point itself and to let you move on.

Good luck

longtooth wrote:One of the things that was my biggest help is:
As I go through my outline I have a "spot" (stickie bullet hole cover up) by everything that is on the test. The # of the question is written on the spot & the # of times DPS asks a question w/ that answer. ie: chg of address & name has a couple of ?s.

Is that in your teaching notes or in the material you show to the students?

I may be reading between the lines too much but the fact that more than 5% of the questions are on the MPA subject is strong evidence DPS thinks CHL can carry under MPA.

Those stickers are in my teaching notes. & yes there are SEVERAL questions from MPA also. Several subjects have more than one question about them not just the two I referrenced.

I love the internet. 11:30 pm the night before my first class and I just got another student. Wahoo! More money for me.

We are all waiting on the first after class report.