The Field Guide
Everything they didn’t cover in college
Tammy’s 20 videos are thirty years of one teacher’s experience. This is the other shelf: 20 written tips on the things a new teacher has to know and nobody sits you down to explain — how learning actually works, grading, IEPs, language learners, AI, the legal side of the job, and getting through year one.
Who wrote these
Not Tammy. The Field Guide is written with AI, and every page says so. It sticks to what’s well established in research and practice and avoids invented statistics — but it has never stood in front of your class. Where it touches law or policy, the rules vary by state and district: your school’s policy comes first. For what it’s actually like, watch Tammy.
In the classroom
Teach routines like they're content
Every transition you don't teach, you'll spend the year managing.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Ask what the behavior is for
Most misbehavior is a student getting something or avoiding something. Find out which.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Settle phones on day one
Know your school's rule, turn it into one routine, and enforce it calmly every day.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Teaching & assessment
Wait three seconds after you ask
Silence after a question isn't dead air. It's thinking time — and most of us cut it off.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Make them remember, not re-read
Pulling something out of memory is what makes it stick. Build that into every lesson.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Show them first: I do, we do, you do
Explicit modeling beats hoping they'll figure it out — especially with anything new.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Teach reading the way the evidence says
Beginning readers need explicit, systematic phonics — not guessing from the pictures.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Find out who's lost before the test does
“Any questions?” tells you almost nothing. Build in ways to see every student's thinking.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Make grades tell the truth
A grade should tell a student and a parent what the student can do. Keep it about that.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Every learner
Read every IEP and 504 plan before day one
They aren't suggestions. They're legal commitments, and you're part of keeping them.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Language learners need language, not easier thinking
Keep the thinking hard. Make the language reachable.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Differentiate the support, not the whole lesson
Thirty individual lesson plans is how first-year teachers burn out. You don't need them.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
AI & technology
Set your AI rules before students set them for you
Say, assignment by assignment, when AI is allowed — and design work that shows the thinking.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Let AI draft. You decide.
AI can take hours off your prep. You're still responsible for every word a student sees.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Safety, law & ethics
You're a mandated reporter. Know what that means.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, you're legally required to report it — and the details matter.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Student information isn't yours to share
Grades, plans, photos, even names belong in a much smaller circle than you'd think.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Be warm. Keep a line.
Students need a caring adult, not another friend. The line protects them and you.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
The realities of the job
Prepare for your evaluation like a conversation
It isn't an ambush if you know what they're looking for.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Read your contract. Find your rep.
Your hours, duties, leave and pay rules are written down. Know them before you need them.
Written with AI — not by Tammy