Dearest Teachers...What types of students do you get every year? Can you categorize a set list of student types? I am not asking you about about male or female, good or bad, gifted academically or average. I mean a list of mind-sets. Categories of personality traits in your students that...in my classroom anyway...seem to remain consistent year after year. Like most emotional, behavioral, or even psychological traits, these are not innate...they are learned. No matter what grade you teach, most of what your kids display in class has less to do with meat, and more to do with conditioning.
Below is a list of what I see every year during the first week of school. I am curious if any of you concur?
* Many of the kids hate school.
* A bit more than some crave attention.
* Quite a few have a strong hatred for Math.
* Quite a few hate to read books independently.
* Many are afraid to raise their hand.
* Many are afraid to actively participate.
* A few are extremely needy.
* There are always liars in the beginning (I average about two a year).
* Some are way over zealous.
* At least one has a problem with authority.
* Most are highly unorganized.
* Most have accepted defeat..."I am not good at Math"...I am not good at Reading." Etc.
* Quite a few are distracted VERY easily.
* Quite a few talk incessantly.
* At least one bully.
* At least one cryer.
* At least one who is painfully shy.
* At least one tattle-tale.
* At least one show-off.
* Many are bored easily.
* A few shut-down when frustrated.
* Doing Social Studies is the equivalent of getting catheterized!
* A few will be sneaks (Doing anything and everything while your back is turned).
* Some will consistently blurt out, and/or get out of their seat without permission.
* At least one will draw, doodle, or sculpt at their desk while you teach.
* At least one will be a chewer...erasers, bits of paper, pen caps, etc.
* Several will groan when you announce "Take out your Math folders!"
* Several will cheer when you announce "Put away your Math folders!"
* At least one student will zone out all day long.
* All (But maybe one) will hate writing.
* At least one will have to use the bathroom every five minutes.
* At least one will visit the nurse one or more times a week...to simply be sent back to your classroom healthy as a horse.
* More than a few will loose everything but their heads.
* At least two will ask inappropriate questions, or off topic questions during a lesson.
* At least two will BUTT in line.
....Well, I think I will stop the list there.
Every year these are my kids. Every year my kids come in conditioned with all of the above. I have written many other posts that deal with the list above, so I won't bore you with paragraphs of what my views are regarding Classroom Management, and handling your kids. I simply want to say this...
If you think for one minute that you will ever have a class of kids that will consistently sit quietly, do all of their work, listen intently to every lesson you teach, raise there hands, never blurt out, are completely organized, take criticism well, accept authority respectfully, and easily transition from one subject to another without incident...then it just may be that you are living in a fantasy world; some educational Utopia where your students are perfect in every way.
As a teacher...as an effective teacher...you MUST know going in AND FOR THE REST OF YOUR CAREER that your kids will chat, blurt, fart, fidget, doodle, zone out, buck authority, lie, butt in line, sneak, get bored, hate most of the subjects that you are required to teach, and state your name 150,000 times a day! There will always be bullies, and whiners, and tattle-tales, and sneaks!
Are there ways to fix any of this? Are there ways to make it all stop? NO...there are no definitive ways to make any of it stop completely. There are things, though, that will help to UN-teach some of the behaviors listed above. Your kids learned how to do all of this stuff...they can also UN-learn it...they can modify it! It all has to do with you...you and you alone.
The main secret...the secret that will surely transform your kids into an amazing dog-pile of awesomeness is...give them each a reason to want to change. Infuse your lessons with fun! Like a kid who is afraid of the dark needs a nightlight to feel safe...you be that nightlight!
Show that Math can be boring or a royal pain...validate it! THEN...get some contests going...get the kids excited about Math in a new way. Most of the kids who hate it are just confused about many aspects of it. Lift the veil for them...once a kid feels success...Math won't be so bad.
Have high expectations...never back down...prove yourself to be the only Alpha in the room! Be consistent in your expectations and rule following, and actually BELIEVE IN YOUR KIDS! Believe they can succeed. If you believe in them...it is contagious...they will excel, they will succeed!
When your kids ace something...ANYTHING...show them it matters! A bit of extra recess. Some free time at the end of the day on Friday...something that shows what they did matters to you.
Take the fear out of your classroom...shove out the boredom! Make your room a place that the kids look forward to coming into every day. Make them laugh...make them laugh...MAKE THEM LAUGH!!!!
Dearest teachers...all of us (Even the very best of us) have kids who do or will display the traits listed above. It is OUR responsibility to quell the pain, halt the hate, dry the tears, quiet the chat, open the shy, give purpose to the over zealous every day. After a few weeks...when your kids realize that YOUR classroom is like no other...things will change for the better. Not the betterment of or for you...the betterment of and for the kids. The kids probably were given reasons to hate Math, or sneak ahead in line. You give them reasons to compute successfully and wait patiently.
Thanks for reading! I have to say this particular post came on the heels of something that a veteran teacher said to me during a meeting. She said..."It is after Christmas and my damn students are still so chatty!" I cocked my head to the side a bit...like my dog does when he hears something strange...and I thought.."Well, duh...they are kids! What are YOU gonna do about it?"
Mr. Mac
A Classroom is a Community
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
How You Know That You Are a Teacher - by Jeff Foxworthy
Dearest Educators,
A dear friend of mine (Thanks Sherri) posted this Identification List by Jeff Foxworthy on Facebook this morning, and I just had to share it with all of you in "Blog-form"...it is spot on!
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER? By Jeff Foxworthy
1.) You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
... 2.) You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
3.) You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.
... 4.) You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5.) You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
6.) You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
7.) You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8.) You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.
9.) You believe chocolate is a food group.
10.) You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.
11.) You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”
12.) You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
13.) You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
14.) You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
15.) You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
16.) You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!
17.) You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”
18.) You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
19.) You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
20.) You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Be Like Water!
We all know how educational life is, right? We are awoken by the alarm. We lumber out of bed, pour a cup of coffee and wait for its effects to do what they do. We brush our teeth, take a shower and get dressed. We get in our car and go to work for another productive day. We check and double check that our lesson plans for the day are planned out efficiently. We greet the kids as they arrive, listen to announcements, and spend the rest of the day teaching 5 different subjects while handling any behavioral issues that crop up. We dismiss our kids for home by 3:30, and make our way to a faculty meeting, a PLC meeting, or sit behind our desk reorganizing lessons for the next day. By 5 o' clock we head home, taking any papers that are to be graded. We make dinner (Or go out) for the family, then transport the kids to whatever practice, rehearsal or event they are in need of going. We grade our papers, relax a bit with the kids or in front of the television. We head up to bed, set the alarm and climb between the covers for a well deserved rest.
Do I have that about right? Did I hit the nail on the head? If this is a day in your educational life you are either WAY FAR MORE ORGANIZED, LUCKY, AND/OR BLESSED THAN I!...or...you are living in a complete state of denial, and will never admit that the above described "Day in an Educational Life" is complete hokum...fiction...a fairy tale!
Wouldn't it be nice though to actually have a day that moves seamlessly, and smoothly from beginning to end? It's an awesome thought...a wish even. I will bet that those of you who read my dribble...if you really think about it, ALL of you are like me. Our days are spent redoing, reorganizing, putting out fires, spilling our coffee, teaching, re-teaching, reviewing then teaching again, grading papers till all hours, spending our planning making calls or receiving calls. We have car trouble, grocery shopping, cell phone catastrophes, bills to pay, more money going out than coming in, and children (Our own children) who are in need of everything under the sun! By the time we get to bed at night it is later than we promised ourselves it would be the night before, and it seems that no sooner do we close our eyes...the alarm goes off! I believe this is a more accurate description of A Day In the Life of an Educator.
I don't know what I would do if my day went off without a hitch? I am not one who waits for the ax to fall, but I am not naive to the fact that what went well on Tuesday, may very easily crash and burn come Wednesday. Herein lies the meat of this post's dribble...how to handle everything that life has in store everyday as a person...as an educator.
One of my heroes from my youth was Bruce Lee. He was everything to me. I saw every movie he ever made at the drive-in with my dad. My bedroom walls were plastered with posters of him (And Farrah Fawcett too). I wanted to BE him. As I got older I watched a documentary on his life. In one interview Mr. Lee was asked the philosophy behind his style of King-fu. He explained...One must be like water; gentle and flowing, able to move in any direction. But, water can also be one of the most powerful entities on earth.
This philosophy struck a cord with me...it made sense. I have done my utmost to live by this philosophy throughout my life. Be like water.
Educators...we have been charged with an awesome responsibility. With this responsibility comes great rewards for sure! However, it also comes with much heartache, tired bones, overworked minds, frayed nerves, and near empty wallets. What keeps me going are the rewards...that is why I stay. Every year I have about 30 rewards. Each has a name, and a life, and a mind that needs expanding. I also stay because I have morphed Mr. Lee's philosophy from an analogous description of his king-fu to my own life as a teacher, as a dad, as a son, as a friend, as brother, as a human being.
Like water you must flow freely, ever forward...never still so as to become stagnant. Like water you must be able to bend and turn no matter where a day may take you. Like water you must reshape yourself without loosing your quality (Be changeable, pliant and adaptable). No matter what hue of dye is cast (New rules, policy, curriculum), or amount of sediment you must trudge through (DOE or mandated procedures to implement), never loosing the essence of you.
Like water we must permeate ourselves into each of our students, and do our very best to be buoyant, and uplift. No matter how wildly water is splashed it will settle soon enough...wait for the settling. No matter how big the stone is that impacts us, we cannot allow the resulting effect to create a tsunami! Instead, absorb the impact...the gentle ripples that ensue will move under all objects in their path...don't be a tsunami of angst and pent up frustration towards your kids. Like water we are the nourishment, we have the power to cleanse. If a pebble is removed from the sea, does it lower the sea's level? Scientifically of course it does, but...does it really matter? Is the sea all the worse for the loss of a pebble? No matter how much the system takes from you, be as the sea...you are still you.
On the days you are clear, you are golden. On the days you are turbid...breath, and settle. All will eventually cascade to the bottom. Allow your kids to swim in your knowledge, they will all emerge with a bit of you to take with them. Be like water!
There will be times when you must be strong...be like water. Be the raging rapids if you need to make a point, or stand your ground. Be the current of change...move things in YOUR direction! Be unmoving and consistant as ice when it comes to rules in your classroom, and light as steam when it comes to fun in your domain.
Will this very abstract, poetic conveyance of mine keep your life in balance and remove troubles from your classroom, or your life? YES...and...NO. It does help me to keep a balance....it helps me to not pull my hair out, or pound the walls. Will it keep troubles away? NOPE...not at all. There will always be obstacles. Water has a way with obstacles too. Keep pounding away at any obstacle you encounter, like the waves of the sea. Over time...the obstacles will erode away. Be persistent, persevere.
Educators...dear friends...no matter how busy life gets, no matter how hard and unforgiving, never give up. There have been many days when I have been turbid, and many days when a tsunami was building on the horizon. I am sure you all can relate. I always remember to be like water. Not raging water, or boiling water. I sit, and I settle myself. I think of my son, and my students. I remember the emails, letters, visitations, and post cards from past students stating how well they enjoyed their year with me. before long I settle and become clearer.
A life without obstacles would be bliss. A day that went exactly according to planned would be like Shangrila! How amazing it would be! How awesome, how delightful...and how dull.
Do I have that about right? Did I hit the nail on the head? If this is a day in your educational life you are either WAY FAR MORE ORGANIZED, LUCKY, AND/OR BLESSED THAN I!...or...you are living in a complete state of denial, and will never admit that the above described "Day in an Educational Life" is complete hokum...fiction...a fairy tale!
Wouldn't it be nice though to actually have a day that moves seamlessly, and smoothly from beginning to end? It's an awesome thought...a wish even. I will bet that those of you who read my dribble...if you really think about it, ALL of you are like me. Our days are spent redoing, reorganizing, putting out fires, spilling our coffee, teaching, re-teaching, reviewing then teaching again, grading papers till all hours, spending our planning making calls or receiving calls. We have car trouble, grocery shopping, cell phone catastrophes, bills to pay, more money going out than coming in, and children (Our own children) who are in need of everything under the sun! By the time we get to bed at night it is later than we promised ourselves it would be the night before, and it seems that no sooner do we close our eyes...the alarm goes off! I believe this is a more accurate description of A Day In the Life of an Educator.
I don't know what I would do if my day went off without a hitch? I am not one who waits for the ax to fall, but I am not naive to the fact that what went well on Tuesday, may very easily crash and burn come Wednesday. Herein lies the meat of this post's dribble...how to handle everything that life has in store everyday as a person...as an educator.
One of my heroes from my youth was Bruce Lee. He was everything to me. I saw every movie he ever made at the drive-in with my dad. My bedroom walls were plastered with posters of him (And Farrah Fawcett too). I wanted to BE him. As I got older I watched a documentary on his life. In one interview Mr. Lee was asked the philosophy behind his style of King-fu. He explained...One must be like water; gentle and flowing, able to move in any direction. But, water can also be one of the most powerful entities on earth.
This philosophy struck a cord with me...it made sense. I have done my utmost to live by this philosophy throughout my life. Be like water.
Educators...we have been charged with an awesome responsibility. With this responsibility comes great rewards for sure! However, it also comes with much heartache, tired bones, overworked minds, frayed nerves, and near empty wallets. What keeps me going are the rewards...that is why I stay. Every year I have about 30 rewards. Each has a name, and a life, and a mind that needs expanding. I also stay because I have morphed Mr. Lee's philosophy from an analogous description of his king-fu to my own life as a teacher, as a dad, as a son, as a friend, as brother, as a human being.
Like water you must flow freely, ever forward...never still so as to become stagnant. Like water you must be able to bend and turn no matter where a day may take you. Like water you must reshape yourself without loosing your quality (Be changeable, pliant and adaptable). No matter what hue of dye is cast (New rules, policy, curriculum), or amount of sediment you must trudge through (DOE or mandated procedures to implement), never loosing the essence of you.
Like water we must permeate ourselves into each of our students, and do our very best to be buoyant, and uplift. No matter how wildly water is splashed it will settle soon enough...wait for the settling. No matter how big the stone is that impacts us, we cannot allow the resulting effect to create a tsunami! Instead, absorb the impact...the gentle ripples that ensue will move under all objects in their path...don't be a tsunami of angst and pent up frustration towards your kids. Like water we are the nourishment, we have the power to cleanse. If a pebble is removed from the sea, does it lower the sea's level? Scientifically of course it does, but...does it really matter? Is the sea all the worse for the loss of a pebble? No matter how much the system takes from you, be as the sea...you are still you.
On the days you are clear, you are golden. On the days you are turbid...breath, and settle. All will eventually cascade to the bottom. Allow your kids to swim in your knowledge, they will all emerge with a bit of you to take with them. Be like water!
There will be times when you must be strong...be like water. Be the raging rapids if you need to make a point, or stand your ground. Be the current of change...move things in YOUR direction! Be unmoving and consistant as ice when it comes to rules in your classroom, and light as steam when it comes to fun in your domain.
Will this very abstract, poetic conveyance of mine keep your life in balance and remove troubles from your classroom, or your life? YES...and...NO. It does help me to keep a balance....it helps me to not pull my hair out, or pound the walls. Will it keep troubles away? NOPE...not at all. There will always be obstacles. Water has a way with obstacles too. Keep pounding away at any obstacle you encounter, like the waves of the sea. Over time...the obstacles will erode away. Be persistent, persevere.
Educators...dear friends...no matter how busy life gets, no matter how hard and unforgiving, never give up. There have been many days when I have been turbid, and many days when a tsunami was building on the horizon. I am sure you all can relate. I always remember to be like water. Not raging water, or boiling water. I sit, and I settle myself. I think of my son, and my students. I remember the emails, letters, visitations, and post cards from past students stating how well they enjoyed their year with me. before long I settle and become clearer.
A life without obstacles would be bliss. A day that went exactly according to planned would be like Shangrila! How amazing it would be! How awesome, how delightful...and how dull.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
This Blog Isn't Always About My Longwindedness!
Over the years I have purchased MANY items for my classroom, from electric pencil sharpeners to colorful stickers. Actually I only purchased colorful stickers my first year...I found that I was NOT a cutsie-put-a-sticker-on-graded-papers kind of educator. Anyway...I have discovered that there is a great deal of crap out there, and also some pretty cool stuff. Thought I would share. I also thought I would share a WAY-cool list of classroom essentials, and just some general stuff/information for your classroom from teachervision.fen.com...especially for you wonderful novices out there! One note to new educators...you will do as I did...you will try everything, and weed out the crap.
BEST ELECTRIC PENCIL SHARPENER!
I went through 7 electric pencil sharpeners until I found the Boston Pro at Staples. It was $44.00 then, but worth every penny! I bought it in 2003 and it is still going strong! It won't heat up and stop after 3 or 4 pencils...it is awesome! You can also purchase it online from Amazon.com!Product Features
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The following is a list of 10 things every classroom should have from the website teachervision.fen.com
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/back-to-school/classroom-management/56968.html?page=1
How to Create a 'Safe" Classroom!
We, as a nation, are still in mourning for the victims and their families in Newtown, Connecticut. While our hearts are broken, our minds are preoccupied with the safety of our children in the classroom. This conscious, frightening mind-play stems from the very core of every parent, magnified by the heinous acts of a gun wielding madman who targeted the most vulnerable; the most innocent of us all.
As an educator, this tragic event sharpened my diligence to a fine point regarding safety in my own classroom. As a parent, my heart is irrevocably broken for the victims and their families. As a human being I am both shattered emotionally, and uplifted by the tremendous outpouring of love from multitudes all around the world. The big question everyone wants...needs...an answer too?
As an educator, this tragic event sharpened my diligence to a fine point regarding safety in my own classroom. As a parent, my heart is irrevocably broken for the victims and their families. As a human being I am both shattered emotionally, and uplifted by the tremendous outpouring of love from multitudes all around the world. The big question everyone wants...needs...an answer too?
"How do we stop this from ever happening again?"
The question makes sense, doesn't it? For every problem their is a solution, right? In our classrooms we want well, thought-out questions from our kids. Our own questions to our kids are designed to elicit knowledge that would propagate higher order thinking. In a story, it opens on a problem, and ends with a solution. Math is built on this...problems and solutions. This question...the one centered above...is better answered in a seemingly closed environment like a classroom where solutions are more easily reached. However, on a national scale, a solution is rarely ever easily reached. I do not believe there will ever be an absolute, concrete...cut-and-dry solutiolon to this much asked question. This conclusion I have reached is not pessimistic in my point of view. The way I see it...it is realistic.
Cocaine is illegal, yet it can be found in the veins and up the noses of millions across the United States. Robbery, fraud, rape...all practiced every minute of everyday. Laws do well with those of us who have impulse control, or a code of ethics. For the rest, laws are simply challenges for the unethical to overcome! Jail time does nothing to deter any of the propagators of crime...prisons are prolific in all areas of it! So, realistically...can we EVER totally stop this kind of thing from happening again?
Dearest friends...I do not believe there is an answer to this specific question. I do not believe that we can ever absolutely stop this kind of thing from happening again. If there is some kind of an answer to this question, it won't happen quickly, or externally. Building fortresses around schools, or supplying teachers and administrators with guns (HOW STUPID IS THAT???) will not help. Modifying gun laws, no automatic weapons for civilians, more of a police presence in and around schools, more personnel or established personnel trained in effectively monitoring school buildings and grounds certainly couldn't hurt! The answer...a semblance of an answer anyway...must come internally.
I believe that we (Humans) are amazing when it comes to helping and supporting our fellow humans regarding any physical ailment, from cancer to the flu. There are commercials, billboards, magazine ads all calling us to arms to donate, and/or support (This is awesome...I wholeheartedly believe in and support all of it!). We are also amazing when it comes to our animals...we will send money to shelters, or we will adopt a Guinea pig in order to give it food and a good home. When is the last time you ever saw a commercial for the support of Schizophrenia? How about mood disorders, or social disorders?
There are more people in our own hometown who suffer emotionally, or mentally than suffer physically. A small percentage have gone after help...a larger percentage won't because they are afraid of the stigma attached, and are yet...undiagnosed. I believe that more education on mental health issues is needed for all of us. Cancer is tragic, and can take a life in the blink of an eye. Suicide can also take a life in the blink of an eye. AIDS or cancer never picked up a gun and killed children...a person with a mental or emotional disorder did. Our nation must start with its people if there is to be any kind of a solution. Not gun control or any of that ilk! (Automatic weapons have no business being in the hands of any civilian human being. Laws ending this are certainly needed, as well as better regulating who gets a gun permit!). More research, more education, more support for and towards the mental well-being of our people. This is a start.
In the "Old days" people who got cancer were shunned...exiled by friends and family. It was something only spoken about in whispers. AIDS was the same way...worse in many respects. Because of education to the masses through various media there is now overwhelming support, and research helping to end these diseases and this has quelled the fear (s) and removed the stigma (s) that was attached. It is time to move mental illness in the same direction.
The above is a long term plan, and only one of many ideas that will move us towards hopefully less atrocities in the future. So, what can be done now! How can we protect our students, and make them (And their parents) feel safe?
I believe that we are already doing everything that can be done. This latest tragedy happened because the gunman blew a whole with an automatic weapon through a window to gain access into a secured school. We have all read about so many schools...especially Sandy Hook Elementary...that take the protection of their students VERY seriously. Locked doors, intruder alert drills, fire drills, security cameras, etc. Lanza was mentally unstable 20 year old, and seemingly fell through the cracks as he progressed through adolescence. I am sure that many close to Lanza have speculated upon the notion that MORE should have done for this guy when he was younger and was ongoing. Had more been done, perhaps this horrible event would never have happened? Could be that there were things done to help Lanza early on, but the silent system, being what it is, simply was not enough! When the shooting first took place the word Asperger's was thrown out across the media. Hardly anything is known about Asperger's regarding the general public as a whole, and for this reason a stigma was attached...linking this mild form of Autism to the reason the shooting took place. So terrible for the millions who have Asperger's who are seen even more negatively now. Asperger's, or having Asperger's has nothing to do with killing people! I digress...Sandy Hook did everything possible to secure their kids. Had it been a school lacking in the security department...many more tragedies would have come about on that day.
Regarding my classroom...my school...Doors are always locked, any person entering the building must first come through the main office. Whenever a student leaves the classroom they do so with a buddy. Security cameras are in place, and students are escorted everywhere by their teacher. We have regular Fire, and Intruder Alert Drills. The same as Sandy Hook, and countless other schools across the nation. Just a note...none of this will prevent an automatic weapon carried by a mentally impaired individual from blowing a hole into our school. More research, more education, and more help for those who suffer any form of mental illness (From identification of the disease throughout life!) will help to prevent future tragedies.
Educators...the best, most sure-fire-way of keeping your kids safe inside your classroom starts from the first day of school. You must establish trust with your kids...YOU must gain a trustworthy rep! Your parents must also trust you (HINT: If your kids dig you, so will their parents. If the kids trust you, so will their parents). Be open, and be honest always. Show the kids...everyday...that you "Got their backs!" if they make a mistake, model to them how to fix it! Most kids LIE as their first reaction...let them see that telling you the truth is the ONLY ROAD IN TOWN, and that once they do tell the truth...they are still alive...their heart still beats, THEN congratulate them right before you hand down the consequence! Reward for honesty when it comes, while allowing the kid to pay the price for their mistake. When my kids make a mistake I am on them like flies on crap, but if they are honest...I will still respect them...they will remain trustworthy, while they serve recess standing against the wall. Tell your kids you love them, show them that you do! DO more than SAY! Remember everything from each kid...everything a kid says is important to him/her...it must be to you too! Have high expectations for your kids, and always live up to their expectations! Unless it is a breach in your school code of conduct (Fighting, a weapon, etc)...handle all situations inside your classroom. You and the kid, or you, the kid and the class. My kids know if there is a problem...we have a community meeting. No one points out the guilty...the guilty reveal themselves! We discuss...we fix, apologize, modify...whatever to remedy the situation. If it calls for a consequence...my kids can choose some of the time (Every situation is different...sometimes I choose)...missing recess, ISS, more homework, no Gym, etc.
If your kids trust YOU...they are already safer. If they respect YOU...they are already safer. If your kids listen to YOU...they are already safer. Keep them close. Keep them monitored. Allow them to be kids. Allow them to make mistakes...you can't become trustworthy until you screw-up and learn how to fix it! YOU establish an air of confidence...your emotions and thought streams are contagious. Your entire being is somewhat transferable. Allow your kids into your heart...you will never regret it! When they arrive in late August...it is all you! Classroom Management is all about YOU, and it remains so until June. When they leave on the last day of school, hope that each has acquired knowledge of something they never knew before. My fondest hope is that my kids will leave me a bit wiser, and more compassionate and aware of the world around them. Be ever diligent, and ever watchful.
One last note...I am for gun control, but not the elimination of guns. The use of common sense would help to change or modify gun law to a great extent. There are no AK47's plotting an assassination, or a hand gun filled with malice ready to pop a cap into the head of its owner! Remember Jim Jone's...the whacked-out cult leader? He made big batches of Kool-aide laced with cyanide and convinced whole families to drink it. Men, woman and children...dead! No outrage at Kool-aide...just at the whack-job who brought the punch bowl!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Stubborn "Old School" Teachers...Please Consider These Resolutions for the New Year!
This post will read as something familiar, but only to the few who actually read my rantings. My fondest hope has been to hook novice teachers into reading my blog...my intention being to aid future educators in their classroom life. I feel the need to repeat myself this time, because the end of the world doth approach! In case you haven't heard the Mayan calendar comes to an end just a few days before Christmas this year. I want to make sure that I have stated...emphatically stated...what I deem as important classroom management "Must do's" as well as some well-meaning advice for you (Who ever you are reading this) so that you never give up educating, or so that you stop pulling your hair out because there is SO MUCH TO DO, and SO LITTLE TIME to do it during your school day. If this most recent Doomsday Prophecy is like the 500 others over the last 100 years that have proven to be as true as Squat, bubkus, or pay increases for educators then...carry on. Simply carry on being an awesome educator.
Below you will find a bulleted list of To Do's, Not to Do's, Advice, and anything else I feel that is important for an educator to know. Before I go on, I do have to say that I know (We all know) that there are many teachers out there that have been teaching far longer than I...longer than you...longer than GOD! Most are awesome...some simply NEED to retire. Whether you are an Old Gray Mare, or a Grizzled Old Bull...please consider retiring!? I say this to the stubborn ones...the ones we all had while in school (And they are still teaching!), the ones who stated it and expected us to get it. The ones who wrote it on the chalk board and expected us to comprehend it! The ones who never understood when WE didn't understand. This list is for them too! I am somewhat intelligent and realize that these Old Mares and Bulls would never deem any of my New Age insights, and/or advice as credible. My hippie logic is far beneath their notice. No worries here...the Mayans have it in for them too! I know this sounds harsh. I do not mind being thought of as harsh. So...here goes! A brief list of what I do, and though I may not be the best educator that ever lived...I have a blast in my classroom with my kids!
* Go in like a lion, and remain so! Don't be afraid to roar if you have too...this can quickly bring the attention back to the matter.
* Don't put every grade in your grade book! Allow the kids to practice without fear of failure! Your kids will master any subject, any topic if they are allowed to fail in the beginning!
* Consider your class as a collective, but also as 30 individuals that must be engaged, educated, entertained, and evaluated.
* Be confident and stand your ground. Accept no disrespect! If you must roar...roar at what your kid did more than at the kid himself.
* Be honest. A kid can spot a phony from a mile away.
* Demand honesty in your classroom...easier said than done I know. Most kids have learned to be quite capable liars. You must show them that no matter what happened YOU will stand with them IF they are honest.
* Personal notes. Write your kids notes now and again, and leave them on their desks in the morning. Something congratulatory, or a simple 'I am so proud of you" goes a long way.
* Give students responsibilities in the classroom, and make sure that only the most trustworthy of your kids get this perk. You will find that the have-nots will want to have!
* Validate your kids! Most find Math boring, or Social Studies. Be honest...let them know YOU know this. This honesty also goes a long way with kids (Of any age!)
* Slip in some fun...everyday! I have heard so many educators whine that there isn't enough time in the day for fun! BULL-PUCKEY! Tell a joke! Have the kids get up and stretch. Play the Macarena and have the kids do the dance...it takes all of 3.15 seconds!
* If you establish a boring, humdrum classroom where it is work, work, work from 9am to 3pm you are only giving your kids what YOU hated most about your own school experience. Infuse some fun...some comedy. Give your kids a reason to make it through the dull times.
* Your kids must earn trust, but YOU must also earn theirs. Stay true to your word...no matter what!
* Let your kids into your life, if you do not...they will never let you into theirs!
* Praise, reward, congratulate whenever it is warranted. Seize every opportunity to raise your kids up! You will find that most have never been higher than the ground they walk on. Make it your job to lift them higher than they have ever been!
* Establish Math Helpers, or Grammar Helpers, etc. Kids helping kids is awesome! Most of the time a student will achieve concept attainment quicker with a peer at the helm!
* Most of all...love your kids! There is a place in all children that needs to be disciplined. Even your most hardened kids will eventually respond to consistent, structured discipline. I DO NOT mean for hurtful, or belittling behavior on your part towards your students. I mean...do NOT stand for any form of disrespect to you or to others. Roar if you must, but always end with talking...that part...that secret part in every child will realize that you care, as long as you discipline from the heart and not your anger button!
* DO NOT use the principal or counselor for problems that YOU yourself should handle. Let your kids know that it is you and them against the world, and together you can do anything. YOU handle the problem, you handle the discipline. Parents also should not be called for every single whip-stitch! Unless it is a serious school infraction...YOU and the kid handle it together! This establishes dialogue, and stimulates trust.
* Infuse your day with lessons about life as well as academics. Take a few minutes to teach, or to UNteach behaviors. Talk to the kids not at them. Be with them always.
* A happy kid...a kid that feels safe is a kid that will move mountains! Even on the days when you have to ROAR, and roar some more...stay the course. Let your kids know that you do not love them any less, and teach them how to fix any problem, or burst through any obstacle that they may encounter!
* If you have a sixth sense...develop it. My kids know that I have eyes in the back of my head, and that I can smell a lie from across the room. If you have this sixth sense, awesome. If you don't...fake it!
* Make sure that your kids know that they...each one of them...are the most special kids around! My kids are to me. How could they not be...they are MY kids! I am entrusted with them...you are entrusted with yours. Make them special in your life!
Below you will find a bulleted list of To Do's, Not to Do's, Advice, and anything else I feel that is important for an educator to know. Before I go on, I do have to say that I know (We all know) that there are many teachers out there that have been teaching far longer than I...longer than you...longer than GOD! Most are awesome...some simply NEED to retire. Whether you are an Old Gray Mare, or a Grizzled Old Bull...please consider retiring!? I say this to the stubborn ones...the ones we all had while in school (And they are still teaching!), the ones who stated it and expected us to get it. The ones who wrote it on the chalk board and expected us to comprehend it! The ones who never understood when WE didn't understand. This list is for them too! I am somewhat intelligent and realize that these Old Mares and Bulls would never deem any of my New Age insights, and/or advice as credible. My hippie logic is far beneath their notice. No worries here...the Mayans have it in for them too! I know this sounds harsh. I do not mind being thought of as harsh. So...here goes! A brief list of what I do, and though I may not be the best educator that ever lived...I have a blast in my classroom with my kids!
* Go in like a lion, and remain so! Don't be afraid to roar if you have too...this can quickly bring the attention back to the matter.
* Don't put every grade in your grade book! Allow the kids to practice without fear of failure! Your kids will master any subject, any topic if they are allowed to fail in the beginning!
* Consider your class as a collective, but also as 30 individuals that must be engaged, educated, entertained, and evaluated.
* Be confident and stand your ground. Accept no disrespect! If you must roar...roar at what your kid did more than at the kid himself.
* Be honest. A kid can spot a phony from a mile away.
* Demand honesty in your classroom...easier said than done I know. Most kids have learned to be quite capable liars. You must show them that no matter what happened YOU will stand with them IF they are honest.
* Personal notes. Write your kids notes now and again, and leave them on their desks in the morning. Something congratulatory, or a simple 'I am so proud of you" goes a long way.
* Give students responsibilities in the classroom, and make sure that only the most trustworthy of your kids get this perk. You will find that the have-nots will want to have!
* Validate your kids! Most find Math boring, or Social Studies. Be honest...let them know YOU know this. This honesty also goes a long way with kids (Of any age!)
* Slip in some fun...everyday! I have heard so many educators whine that there isn't enough time in the day for fun! BULL-PUCKEY! Tell a joke! Have the kids get up and stretch. Play the Macarena and have the kids do the dance...it takes all of 3.15 seconds!
* If you establish a boring, humdrum classroom where it is work, work, work from 9am to 3pm you are only giving your kids what YOU hated most about your own school experience. Infuse some fun...some comedy. Give your kids a reason to make it through the dull times.
* Your kids must earn trust, but YOU must also earn theirs. Stay true to your word...no matter what!
* Let your kids into your life, if you do not...they will never let you into theirs!
* Praise, reward, congratulate whenever it is warranted. Seize every opportunity to raise your kids up! You will find that most have never been higher than the ground they walk on. Make it your job to lift them higher than they have ever been!
* Establish Math Helpers, or Grammar Helpers, etc. Kids helping kids is awesome! Most of the time a student will achieve concept attainment quicker with a peer at the helm!
* Most of all...love your kids! There is a place in all children that needs to be disciplined. Even your most hardened kids will eventually respond to consistent, structured discipline. I DO NOT mean for hurtful, or belittling behavior on your part towards your students. I mean...do NOT stand for any form of disrespect to you or to others. Roar if you must, but always end with talking...that part...that secret part in every child will realize that you care, as long as you discipline from the heart and not your anger button!
* DO NOT use the principal or counselor for problems that YOU yourself should handle. Let your kids know that it is you and them against the world, and together you can do anything. YOU handle the problem, you handle the discipline. Parents also should not be called for every single whip-stitch! Unless it is a serious school infraction...YOU and the kid handle it together! This establishes dialogue, and stimulates trust.
* Infuse your day with lessons about life as well as academics. Take a few minutes to teach, or to UNteach behaviors. Talk to the kids not at them. Be with them always.
* A happy kid...a kid that feels safe is a kid that will move mountains! Even on the days when you have to ROAR, and roar some more...stay the course. Let your kids know that you do not love them any less, and teach them how to fix any problem, or burst through any obstacle that they may encounter!
* If you have a sixth sense...develop it. My kids know that I have eyes in the back of my head, and that I can smell a lie from across the room. If you have this sixth sense, awesome. If you don't...fake it!
* Make sure that your kids know that they...each one of them...are the most special kids around! My kids are to me. How could they not be...they are MY kids! I am entrusted with them...you are entrusted with yours. Make them special in your life!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Hang In There, Newbies!
It is a fact that our education system here in the US has been attacked by nearly every media source in this country. It is a fact that many of our citizens believe that teaching is a cushy job where the workday is over at 3:30, and that summer vacation for the "Haves" isn't fair to the "Have not's." It is a fact that many people in this country feel that teachers are already overpaid, and that any talk related to higher income for teachers is a conversation meant only for the idle minded. It is a fact that political entities have slashed budgets at the expense of Art programs, Theater programs, and any other programs related to the Arts! It is a fact that teachers have been placed under a microscope, and scrutinized to the point of mass paranoia. It is a fact (According to the National Education Association) that one-half of all college graduates who majored in some form of education with the dream of becoming a teacher, leave the profession after two years. It is a fact that teachers are now expected to cater to the whims of parents, and subjected to the caustic rants of mom's and dad's who believe that their child's teacher must be a liar, or a tyrant for taking recess away. It is a fact that we have lost good teachers, and that optimism for the staying power of future educators is very low.
It is to this last point...the staying power of new or future teachers...that I wish to take issue. Everything else in the above paragraph? If my intention here was to write a 1442 page War and Peace type novel, I could then scratch the surface of the above factoids. I haven't the time, nor the inclination to do this. This post is for our NEW EDUCATORS, and those who are aspiring to teach. First...you will become well versed in acronymous speech. NCLB, RTTT, DCAS, DSTP, PTO, PLC, RTI. You will come to know what each is, what each stands for, and to what importance your district and government has placed upon each of them. Allow this knowledge to be cerebral...learn it consciously! The only acronym I want you to absorb, to assimilate into your very being, to make as much a part of you as your capacity to love, honor and cherish is this...FELPS! Fight the good fight, Endure, Love your students, Persevere, and Stay the course!
To fight the good fight! You have to know going in that educating young minds is not an easy task. As an educator you must (On a daily, moment to moment basis) engage, educate, entertain, encourage, and evaluate your kids. You have to do with 30 kids what most parents try desperately to do with two! You must regard your homeroom as you would regard your own home...it is yours! In time it will become a second home to your kids, but it IN NO WAY belongs to the parents of your students. The rules, expectations, and overall atmosphere of your classroom comes from you, and you alone. Chances are phenomenally good that you will encounter parents who have control issues (every year), or feel that their way is far better than yours! STAND YOUR GROUND! Be upfront with your parents right at the off! Send home your mission statement, classroom expectations, and any other written communication about you and your Way in the classroom on the first day...better yet...prior to the beginning of the school year. Then, at Open House...drive your Way home! Don't let there be any surprises for your parents. Be professional, but do not be afraid to fight for what you know is right. Be open, be empathetic, but most of all be honest, and show strength in your convictions. Like some of your students, some parents will be under the delusion that they can get anything they want if they display certain behaviors. You must be able to show that those behaviors do NOT work in your classroom! There have been a few times where I have had to deal with parents who felt that their Way was far superior to mine. After some talking, and explanations (To no avail) my response (s) was...it is my way or the highway...you can like it or lump it...the door you came in will also lead you out, I will miss my student! Don't be an ass if you can help it (No matter how much of an ass the parent might be), but don't be wishy-washy either. If you have a principal who supports you...get them involved. There is nothing wrong with having a boss at your back, but the first line of defense will always come from you!
Endure! You will be confronted with a multitude of tasks that will not include the time for educating your kids. Grading papers, grading tests, attending mandated PLC meetings before or after school, planning lessons, planning them again...and again, attending faculty meetings, inservice attendance, entering data into the I-tracker data base, running reports, filling out paper work, keeping up with Common Core standards, staying on track with pacing, writing audits, planning field trips, maintaining correspondence with parents, keeping classroom supplies stocked (Supplies you will purchase) will occupy a huge chunk of your time. You can expect to not get out of your classroom daily until close to 5:00pm (Unless you take work home with you) and that may be on a good day! In addition, you will have to deal with your students' behavioral issues all day (Good and bad). There is no real Age Appropriateness for behavioral issues in school...every grade level is peppered with them. You must endure! Know going in (Every year) that...unless your kids are automatons who sit quietly; programmed to listen and obey your every word...you will have kids that chat, pass notes, gossip, bully, joke, and zone out every day. This is a given...it WILL be. Though you must endure, though you must carry on, it will be up to you as to what frequency and degree these behavioral issues impact your class. YOU are the guiding force. You are the leader down the path. Grow eyes in the back of your head, and strengthen your sixth-sense. Through consistency, your kids will come to know where the line is. Your kids will come to respect you, and quelling these everyday behaviors will come down to...a look from you...a short reminder or prompt, or a letter of encouragement for a job well done. You will have to endure, but that does not mean you will ever have to accept defeat, or become controlled by your class. Things will happen...everyday. Don't allow yourself to hope that all will be perfect. Perfection is subjective and can walk hand in hand with unrealistic expectations. I have had a perfect class every year, and no one alive could ever convince me otherwise, yet I never had unrealistic expectations! I have loved my kids every year in spite of the fact that I have had to raise an eyebrow, or call a kid back from the abyss daily. It isn't a temporary thing (Behavioral issues). It is an everyday, it will happen kind of thing! Your job is to give your kids a reason to make better choices.
Love your kids! It is probably true (It happened to me) that some wizened educator, or a college professor told you to NOT TO GET TOO CLOSE TO YOUR STUDENTS. To keep them always at an arms distance, and make education the forefront of your classroom. What a bunch of horseradish! You will spend nine months, seven and one half hours a day with your students. How could anyone spend that much time with kids (More time than most of their own parents spend with them) and not fall in love with them? You will love your kids! If you have a heart and a soul...you will conjugate the verb to love! In every child there is a part, a very significant part, that needs to be disciplined...that needs to be told NO! All children will argue that this part does NOT exist. What they won't argue with is their lists of respected, and most loved people. Newbies sometimes think (So do some parents) that if I holler or hand-out a consequence my kids will hate me. NOT TRUE!!!! Your kids will PLAY YOU! That kind of mentality hands all power over to the kids! You will see the best and worst qualities in your kids. You will witness heartache, and dry tears. You will punish your bully, and UNteach him/her what he has spent 10 years learning. You will say No, and mean it. You will enforce rules without wavering, and you will encourage, congratulate, and celebrate your kids every chance you get. Being mean...imposing belittling consequences, or just hollering at a kid cause you are pissed is like the saying about sitting in a rocking chair...it keeps you moving, but it gets you no where! Yell if you need too, but never without instruction...never without encouragement...never without showing and modeling how to fix a mistake; showing how to ensure the same mistake never happens again. New teachers...a happy kid will move mountains. A kid who is validated, and shown honesty (Even if it is hurtful) is a kid who feels important. When a kid feels important they feel loved and cared for, and this makes mountain movers!. When your students trust you, when they know who you are and what you are about then you have a classroom. This transfers to the parents, especially when they see that little Johnny actually LIKES school! Your kids will do anything for you when they feel loved, and appreciated! This can be profoundly powerful...wield that power wisely. Lead your kids down the path towards each of their own destinies...not yours. No matter what grade you teach, when you genuinely love your kids they will love you back. You will find that your kids will come back again and again to visit throughout the years You will make a difference! Something else, Newbies...learn the difference between disciplining a kid for you, and disciplining a kid for the kid. If that statement does not make sense...it will. My fondest hope is that it will someday. Also Newbies...remember...NEVER FORGET...you are educating kids. Let them BE kids! Have some fun! Break up the daily monotony with a joke, or some music! Have the kids do the Macarene after or before a test! Every Friday...stop the school day a bit earlier (If the kids earned it), pack-up and pop in a movie for the last 20 minutes. Throw holiday parties; let your kids help plan them. Be a nutball...cut loose, especially when the subject is felt to be notoriously boring by your kids...like Math! Your kids will relax, and they will know that no matter what...you and they are in it together! (MOST IMPORTANT...don't force your kids to love you. Don't spoil the kids, or your parents. The return is false love...false respect from your kids. The kids will do ONLY when you GIVE. the one time you DON'T GIVE...the kids WILL attack! Be REAL, don't be a phony. Kids can smell a phony and an easy-target from a mile away...like sharks with blood!)
Persevere! This could be used as a synonym for Endure, but I believe this core value runs much deeper in an educators soul. Newbies this is especially true for you! New educators...the ones worth their salt...will constantly question themselves. You may feel that you cannot control your class. You will see other classes that seem so meticulously organized that it makes your class look like a pack of rabid wolverines. You may find your kids constantly chatting during a lesson, or that the test you gave yielded more 70%'s than you thought it should have. You may have administrators questioning your methods with parents tagging along side, further causing you to question yourself. You may find that your nights are taken up with grading and lesson planning, or that you have had to reorganize dinner time for your family, because you never get home before 5:00. You may realize (Especially if single) that you will have to find a second job during the summer just to keep up with bills. You may find yourself asking...why did I ever do this? Dearest new teachers, if you ever felt, or thought the way I have described above...give yourself a pat on the back! You have the makings of an amazing, effective educator.
In college you were given all of the knowledge in order to teach a subject, but there is no college class anywhere that can truly teach you how to BE a teacher! Like anything else done well, you must develop it. You have to find your style, your WAY in the classroom. You will discover that what you tried in the beginning was thrown out the window after your first year. Like new parents...there is NO guide on how to be truly effective. You will make mistakes, and you will have monumental blunders. Don't give up...persevere! When you are questioned by administrators, or mentors...keep a stiff upper lip! Explain, be open to advice. In time...show them what you've got! Be adaptable, be pliant. Be willing to work a lesson until you achieve all 90's and 100's! Realize that not every grade has to go into your grade-book! Practice should just be practice...no kid should have to pay for practice! Once mastery is achieved...then grade-book it! Find a veteran teacher (One that you respect, or is respected) and latch on! Swallow your pride and ask questions! You won't feel so alone when you have a respected mentor at your back. If one plan of attack (Regarding behavioral issues) doesn't work...mold a new one! Realize that incentives work a hell of a lot faster than consequences. Establish yourself as the alpha in the room, and roar if that is what is needed to get your kids' attention.
So many new teachers find that...once in the classroom...being an educator is REAL WORK! Dealing with the kids on a daily basis is work to the 7th power! Stick with it! Once you find your Way...your kids will follow. Once you gain your confidence, administrators will stop questioning. Once you gain control...your kids will love you!
Stay the course! Ahhh yes! The key word here is STAY! Teaching will never become less busy! Recent history shows that our workload will only become MORE loaded! You will never get rich teaching, yet the rewards are far more valuable. Like various parables, and fables state...we don't feed our kids turnips, we teach them how to garden (Something to that effect). Is it tough? YUP! Is there a tremendous amount of work and responsibility? YUP! Will it be frustrating? Double-YUP! Will you feel like pulling out your hair sometimes? YUP!
Realistically speaking all of the above is true, but think of what you are charged with doing. In your class there could be the future doctor who cures cancer....because of you! You may be teaching Science to the kid who one day will find the answer to the Everything Theory...because of you! You could be nurturing the kid who will write the next, great American novel, or who achieves Gold in the Olympics...all because of you! Will all the good come quickly? No...afraid not. You must endure, and persevere. Will the bad come quickly...yup, but isn't that always the way?
We are artists and entertainers in the classroom. Great art takes time, and anything worth doing is worth doing well. Keep your eye on the prize, dearest Newbies. Stay the course, hurtle the obstacles, charge through the blockades, expect the unexpected (Everyday). Think of it this way, you have at your disposal a kind of magic. This magic opens doorways to the future. The influence you have on the young minds that you teach...or will teach...may be monumental...they could be the minds that change our world. The broken hearts that you encounter along the way, will heal or remain healed just because you stayed. Pound the walls when you need to. Bang your head on the white board if it helps. Scream from the mountaintops if only to release your frustration! Just stay the course! FELPS it, teachers...give it the time it needs. Your life...just as the lives of the students in your class...will be forever changed!
It is to this last point...the staying power of new or future teachers...that I wish to take issue. Everything else in the above paragraph? If my intention here was to write a 1442 page War and Peace type novel, I could then scratch the surface of the above factoids. I haven't the time, nor the inclination to do this. This post is for our NEW EDUCATORS, and those who are aspiring to teach. First...you will become well versed in acronymous speech. NCLB, RTTT, DCAS, DSTP, PTO, PLC, RTI. You will come to know what each is, what each stands for, and to what importance your district and government has placed upon each of them. Allow this knowledge to be cerebral...learn it consciously! The only acronym I want you to absorb, to assimilate into your very being, to make as much a part of you as your capacity to love, honor and cherish is this...FELPS! Fight the good fight, Endure, Love your students, Persevere, and Stay the course!
To fight the good fight! You have to know going in that educating young minds is not an easy task. As an educator you must (On a daily, moment to moment basis) engage, educate, entertain, encourage, and evaluate your kids. You have to do with 30 kids what most parents try desperately to do with two! You must regard your homeroom as you would regard your own home...it is yours! In time it will become a second home to your kids, but it IN NO WAY belongs to the parents of your students. The rules, expectations, and overall atmosphere of your classroom comes from you, and you alone. Chances are phenomenally good that you will encounter parents who have control issues (every year), or feel that their way is far better than yours! STAND YOUR GROUND! Be upfront with your parents right at the off! Send home your mission statement, classroom expectations, and any other written communication about you and your Way in the classroom on the first day...better yet...prior to the beginning of the school year. Then, at Open House...drive your Way home! Don't let there be any surprises for your parents. Be professional, but do not be afraid to fight for what you know is right. Be open, be empathetic, but most of all be honest, and show strength in your convictions. Like some of your students, some parents will be under the delusion that they can get anything they want if they display certain behaviors. You must be able to show that those behaviors do NOT work in your classroom! There have been a few times where I have had to deal with parents who felt that their Way was far superior to mine. After some talking, and explanations (To no avail) my response (s) was...it is my way or the highway...you can like it or lump it...the door you came in will also lead you out, I will miss my student! Don't be an ass if you can help it (No matter how much of an ass the parent might be), but don't be wishy-washy either. If you have a principal who supports you...get them involved. There is nothing wrong with having a boss at your back, but the first line of defense will always come from you!
Endure! You will be confronted with a multitude of tasks that will not include the time for educating your kids. Grading papers, grading tests, attending mandated PLC meetings before or after school, planning lessons, planning them again...and again, attending faculty meetings, inservice attendance, entering data into the I-tracker data base, running reports, filling out paper work, keeping up with Common Core standards, staying on track with pacing, writing audits, planning field trips, maintaining correspondence with parents, keeping classroom supplies stocked (Supplies you will purchase) will occupy a huge chunk of your time. You can expect to not get out of your classroom daily until close to 5:00pm (Unless you take work home with you) and that may be on a good day! In addition, you will have to deal with your students' behavioral issues all day (Good and bad). There is no real Age Appropriateness for behavioral issues in school...every grade level is peppered with them. You must endure! Know going in (Every year) that...unless your kids are automatons who sit quietly; programmed to listen and obey your every word...you will have kids that chat, pass notes, gossip, bully, joke, and zone out every day. This is a given...it WILL be. Though you must endure, though you must carry on, it will be up to you as to what frequency and degree these behavioral issues impact your class. YOU are the guiding force. You are the leader down the path. Grow eyes in the back of your head, and strengthen your sixth-sense. Through consistency, your kids will come to know where the line is. Your kids will come to respect you, and quelling these everyday behaviors will come down to...a look from you...a short reminder or prompt, or a letter of encouragement for a job well done. You will have to endure, but that does not mean you will ever have to accept defeat, or become controlled by your class. Things will happen...everyday. Don't allow yourself to hope that all will be perfect. Perfection is subjective and can walk hand in hand with unrealistic expectations. I have had a perfect class every year, and no one alive could ever convince me otherwise, yet I never had unrealistic expectations! I have loved my kids every year in spite of the fact that I have had to raise an eyebrow, or call a kid back from the abyss daily. It isn't a temporary thing (Behavioral issues). It is an everyday, it will happen kind of thing! Your job is to give your kids a reason to make better choices.
Love your kids! It is probably true (It happened to me) that some wizened educator, or a college professor told you to NOT TO GET TOO CLOSE TO YOUR STUDENTS. To keep them always at an arms distance, and make education the forefront of your classroom. What a bunch of horseradish! You will spend nine months, seven and one half hours a day with your students. How could anyone spend that much time with kids (More time than most of their own parents spend with them) and not fall in love with them? You will love your kids! If you have a heart and a soul...you will conjugate the verb to love! In every child there is a part, a very significant part, that needs to be disciplined...that needs to be told NO! All children will argue that this part does NOT exist. What they won't argue with is their lists of respected, and most loved people. Newbies sometimes think (So do some parents) that if I holler or hand-out a consequence my kids will hate me. NOT TRUE!!!! Your kids will PLAY YOU! That kind of mentality hands all power over to the kids! You will see the best and worst qualities in your kids. You will witness heartache, and dry tears. You will punish your bully, and UNteach him/her what he has spent 10 years learning. You will say No, and mean it. You will enforce rules without wavering, and you will encourage, congratulate, and celebrate your kids every chance you get. Being mean...imposing belittling consequences, or just hollering at a kid cause you are pissed is like the saying about sitting in a rocking chair...it keeps you moving, but it gets you no where! Yell if you need too, but never without instruction...never without encouragement...never without showing and modeling how to fix a mistake; showing how to ensure the same mistake never happens again. New teachers...a happy kid will move mountains. A kid who is validated, and shown honesty (Even if it is hurtful) is a kid who feels important. When a kid feels important they feel loved and cared for, and this makes mountain movers!. When your students trust you, when they know who you are and what you are about then you have a classroom. This transfers to the parents, especially when they see that little Johnny actually LIKES school! Your kids will do anything for you when they feel loved, and appreciated! This can be profoundly powerful...wield that power wisely. Lead your kids down the path towards each of their own destinies...not yours. No matter what grade you teach, when you genuinely love your kids they will love you back. You will find that your kids will come back again and again to visit throughout the years You will make a difference! Something else, Newbies...learn the difference between disciplining a kid for you, and disciplining a kid for the kid. If that statement does not make sense...it will. My fondest hope is that it will someday. Also Newbies...remember...NEVER FORGET...you are educating kids. Let them BE kids! Have some fun! Break up the daily monotony with a joke, or some music! Have the kids do the Macarene after or before a test! Every Friday...stop the school day a bit earlier (If the kids earned it), pack-up and pop in a movie for the last 20 minutes. Throw holiday parties; let your kids help plan them. Be a nutball...cut loose, especially when the subject is felt to be notoriously boring by your kids...like Math! Your kids will relax, and they will know that no matter what...you and they are in it together! (MOST IMPORTANT...don't force your kids to love you. Don't spoil the kids, or your parents. The return is false love...false respect from your kids. The kids will do ONLY when you GIVE. the one time you DON'T GIVE...the kids WILL attack! Be REAL, don't be a phony. Kids can smell a phony and an easy-target from a mile away...like sharks with blood!)
Persevere! This could be used as a synonym for Endure, but I believe this core value runs much deeper in an educators soul. Newbies this is especially true for you! New educators...the ones worth their salt...will constantly question themselves. You may feel that you cannot control your class. You will see other classes that seem so meticulously organized that it makes your class look like a pack of rabid wolverines. You may find your kids constantly chatting during a lesson, or that the test you gave yielded more 70%'s than you thought it should have. You may have administrators questioning your methods with parents tagging along side, further causing you to question yourself. You may find that your nights are taken up with grading and lesson planning, or that you have had to reorganize dinner time for your family, because you never get home before 5:00. You may realize (Especially if single) that you will have to find a second job during the summer just to keep up with bills. You may find yourself asking...why did I ever do this? Dearest new teachers, if you ever felt, or thought the way I have described above...give yourself a pat on the back! You have the makings of an amazing, effective educator.
In college you were given all of the knowledge in order to teach a subject, but there is no college class anywhere that can truly teach you how to BE a teacher! Like anything else done well, you must develop it. You have to find your style, your WAY in the classroom. You will discover that what you tried in the beginning was thrown out the window after your first year. Like new parents...there is NO guide on how to be truly effective. You will make mistakes, and you will have monumental blunders. Don't give up...persevere! When you are questioned by administrators, or mentors...keep a stiff upper lip! Explain, be open to advice. In time...show them what you've got! Be adaptable, be pliant. Be willing to work a lesson until you achieve all 90's and 100's! Realize that not every grade has to go into your grade-book! Practice should just be practice...no kid should have to pay for practice! Once mastery is achieved...then grade-book it! Find a veteran teacher (One that you respect, or is respected) and latch on! Swallow your pride and ask questions! You won't feel so alone when you have a respected mentor at your back. If one plan of attack (Regarding behavioral issues) doesn't work...mold a new one! Realize that incentives work a hell of a lot faster than consequences. Establish yourself as the alpha in the room, and roar if that is what is needed to get your kids' attention.
So many new teachers find that...once in the classroom...being an educator is REAL WORK! Dealing with the kids on a daily basis is work to the 7th power! Stick with it! Once you find your Way...your kids will follow. Once you gain your confidence, administrators will stop questioning. Once you gain control...your kids will love you!
Stay the course! Ahhh yes! The key word here is STAY! Teaching will never become less busy! Recent history shows that our workload will only become MORE loaded! You will never get rich teaching, yet the rewards are far more valuable. Like various parables, and fables state...we don't feed our kids turnips, we teach them how to garden (Something to that effect). Is it tough? YUP! Is there a tremendous amount of work and responsibility? YUP! Will it be frustrating? Double-YUP! Will you feel like pulling out your hair sometimes? YUP!
Realistically speaking all of the above is true, but think of what you are charged with doing. In your class there could be the future doctor who cures cancer....because of you! You may be teaching Science to the kid who one day will find the answer to the Everything Theory...because of you! You could be nurturing the kid who will write the next, great American novel, or who achieves Gold in the Olympics...all because of you! Will all the good come quickly? No...afraid not. You must endure, and persevere. Will the bad come quickly...yup, but isn't that always the way?
We are artists and entertainers in the classroom. Great art takes time, and anything worth doing is worth doing well. Keep your eye on the prize, dearest Newbies. Stay the course, hurtle the obstacles, charge through the blockades, expect the unexpected (Everyday). Think of it this way, you have at your disposal a kind of magic. This magic opens doorways to the future. The influence you have on the young minds that you teach...or will teach...may be monumental...they could be the minds that change our world. The broken hearts that you encounter along the way, will heal or remain healed just because you stayed. Pound the walls when you need to. Bang your head on the white board if it helps. Scream from the mountaintops if only to release your frustration! Just stay the course! FELPS it, teachers...give it the time it needs. Your life...just as the lives of the students in your class...will be forever changed!
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