Be Tough! You Can Resist Spring Fever!

Great Teachers Are Determined Teachers

Even the most stalwart of us finds it hard to be a consistent and dedicated professional when the weather outside is warm and flower are blooming and students are tired of being cooped up inside after a long winter. As tempting as it is to give into the lure of Spring Fever and just let students have a day or two or three off...to relax things a bit... now is not a good time to forget the importance of what we do. Here is a little checklist of reminders to help us all stay resolute in our desire to help students achieve their goals.

_____Today I will encourage and motivate my students to be self-disciplined rather than demand compliance.

_____Today I will provide my students with interesting, well-paced lessons that are designed to help as many of them learn as much as possible in the short time they are with me.

_____Today I will treat every student as a worthy individual whose contributions are important to the entire class.

_____Today I will be generous with praise and appreciation for the good things my students do.

_____Today I will be sure my students understand the immediate and future value of the material I teach.

_____Today I will be consistent in enforcing rules and in maintaining high standards

_____Today I will convince my students that I believe they can all be successful in my class.

_____Today I will give prompt feedback so that my students know what they have done well and what they still need to do to improve.

_____Today I will assume responsibility for the discipline climate in my classroom.

_____Today I will plan ways to prevent discipline problems from disrupting the successful atmosphere I want in my classroom.

_____Today I will take actions that will keep misbehavior from escalating into larger problems.

_____Today I will provide lessons that will use my students’ time wisely from the start to the end of class.

_____Today I will help my students set goals for themselves so that they have a larger reason for learning than just complying with my demands.

_____Today I will be organized and efficient because I know that a disorganized and inefficient teacher often creates academic and behavior failure.