I Am the Best Teacher in the World...in the Summer

The school year has just ended for me. I always, always spend this time looking back over what I could have done better during the last year. Although I do spend time each school day reflecting about my teaching practices, I find myself better able to judge the way I designed and delivered lessons earlier in the term because some time has elapsed. That distance always allows me to see more clearly what I did, I should have done, and what I could do in the future to help my students succeed.

 After I have spent time looking back (and trying not to cringe at my mistakes), inevitably my thoughts turn to the new school year that will be here all too soon. I imagine the great lessons I will teach. My students will hang on my every word. They will all be so intrigued by the material that they will beg for enrichment work.

In my mind, I am the best teacher in the world when I can look ahead and see what’s possible. I will have learned from my mistakes and moved on to do a much better job—next year.

As my rich fantasy life as the best teacher in the world would indicate, I do believe that making a serious effort to maintain a reflective teaching practice is one of the best ways that teachers can improve their teaching skills.

Currently I am also working on the third edition of The First-Year Teachers' Survival Guide. In the opening section I have a piece about having a reflective practice that should help new teachers be successful. Here is a sneak preview…

Developing a Reflective Practice

“Highly effective teachers soon realize that no one is a natural teacher. Teaching is a deliberate act. No educator can just rush through the hurly burly of a school day with just cursory attention to what we are expected to accomplish and then expect to be successful at reaching our students.

            The deep thought required of educators is far more important than many teachers realize. Reflecting on our teaching should be part of every aspect of our professional lives. Such reflection needs to systematic, methodical, and purposeful.

            Veteran teachers have found many different ways to reflect on their practice. We can gather information about our performance from a variety of sources such as asking colleagues to observe us, surveying our students, joining staff discussion groups, or even videotaping ourselves. Examining the information that you gather in these ways will allow you to assess your strengths as well as your weaknesses. You will be able to discern trends and patterns in your teaching as you seek to improve your skills.

            One very common and useful method of maintaining a reflective teaching practice can also involve recording ideas and observations in a journal on a regular basis. Whether you choose to maintain a journal online, in a computer desktop folder, on paper, or even in an audio version, it is important to be diligent about recording regularly. The questions below can help you use the time that you want to reflect on your teaching practice as efficiently as possible.

1. Were my goals for this lesson reasonable and appropriate?
2. Were my students challenged to do their best?
3. Did students learn what they were supposed to master? How can I ensure that they always do this?
4. How would I change this lesson before teaching it again?
5. How engaged were my students in the lesson? How can I increase the level of engagement?
6. At what points in the lesson did I have to change strategies or activities? Why? How productive was this flexibility on my part?
7. How should I have changed the lesson?
8. How can I offer remediation or enrichment activities to the students who need them?
9. What data do I need to collect before teaching this lesson again ? How can I gather this information?
10. What data do I need to collect before moving on to the next unit of study? How can I gather this information?
11. What can I do to improve my skills at collaborating with colleagues?
12. What worked in today’s lesson? What did not work?
13. How do I want my students to interact with each other as a whole group?
14. What can I do to help my students collaborate with each other in small groups?
15. What is the most efficient way to ___?
16. How can I improve the way that I give directions?
17. How can I integrate technology into my lessons?
18. What problems did I have to manage today? How well did I manage those problems?
19. Where can I learn more about how to ___?
20. How can I improve the way to deliver instruction?
21. How well do I listen to my students? What can I do to make sure that I model good listening skills?
22. Which students were off task? What caused them to be off task?
23. When were my students on task? What can I do to guarantee that continues?
24. How did I show that I was enthusiastic about the subject matter?
25.  How effective were the motivation techniques that I used? How can I modify them for future lessons?
26. How can I foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy among my students?
27. How well do I manage my classroom? What can I improve?
28. What should I do to help my students learn to be self-disciplined learners?
29. How much progress am I making in improving my teaching knowledge or skills? What can I do to improve?
30. How can I use my strengths as a teacher to full advantage in my classroom?”

Student Lies, An Almost-Free Book, and Fostering Positive Relationships

A GIVE AWAY OF A BOOK!

If you find the advice at this site and in Julia's books helpful, you can have some more of it FREE--or almost free.

You can receive an "almost-free" copy of Discipline Survival Guide for the Secondary Teacher if you:

1. Are one of the first ten educators to respond

2. Are willing to write and post a review of the book at Amazon and any other online site that you would like before the end of January, 2012

If you would like to participate in this "almost-free" give away, send your name and address to Julia Thompson at thompson_juliag@yahoo.com. Remember, only the first ten people to respond will get a book--and plenty of thanks for posting a review!

Lies and Lies and Lies

Although there have been countless studies about the prevalence of academic cheating and its negative effects on students and teachers alike, another facet of the same impulse is even more widespread: students lying to us at school. While even the most jaded teacher may laugh at the old “The dog ate my homework” excuses, none of us finds a steady barrage of student lies nearly as amusing. Sometimes it seems as if our students lie to us so openly and frequently that we are engaged in a unpleasant daily  battle with them.

It is a sad and sometimes unsettling fact of our profession: our students will sometimes lie to us. The reasons for their lies are as complicated and numerous as our students themselves.

“I did my homework, but I left it at home” is perhaps the most common lie that students tell us. It is so common, in fact, that many of us reflexively do not accept these words as true after hearing it for the fifth or sixth time in one day. Woe to the poor student who really did leave his or her paper on the kitchen table or in the printer—no one will accept that as truth.

Lies can have a seriously damaging effect at school as well as on other aspects of life. The biggest negative effect of student lies is the destruction of trust between teacher and student. When that relationship is damaged by lies, it is not easy to recover it. No teacher finds it easy to be constantly on guard against lies. At the same time, no teacher finds it easy to be taken advantage of by manipulative students.

So, what are some of the most effective ways to manage student lying so that you can maintain a positive relationship with your students and not feel as if you are wearing a sign that says “I am a sucker for any excuse” across your forehead?

1. Strive to find a mental middle ground in your attitude. Yes. Some of your students will not be truthful. Others will be. This seems to be one of the less pleasant things about our profession that you really can’t control as completely as you would like.

2. Strive to see student lies as a problem that you can cope with instead of just reacting to the issue in an emotional way. Remove as much of the negative emotion you may feel at being tricked and redirect your energies in a positive way.

3. When you find that a student has lied to you, privately deal with that student. Don’t compound the problem by humiliating the student in front of classmates with an angry confrontation.

4. Instead of accusing the student directly, ask questions that will lead him or her to admit the truth of the matter. This is especially important and effective with students who have had momentary a lapse of judgment and integrity and who will self-correct when given an opportunity.

5. Contact the student’s home when necessary. Sometimes it takes a united front to tackle the underlying issues that have encouraged a student to lie.

6. Once you and the student have completely worked out the problem, assure the student that the matter is resolved and that you intend for both of you to move forward. Be matter of fact and friendly in your dealings so that this can really happen.

7. Be a role model of integrity yourself. This is crucial if you are to be able to successfully tackle the issue with success.


Fostering a Positive Relationship

At this time of year, you and your students have probably settled into the various routines that you need to make your classroom run smoothly. They know what to do at the start of class, how to hand in papers, and how not to pack up at the end of class until you give the signal. Although there is a great deal of comfort in this familiarity, it is all too easy for busy teachers to overlook another kind of familiarity that is crucial to the success of a classroom—the endless stream of positive connections that good teachers work hard to foster each day.

Because our students are infinitely complex beings, making a positive connection with them is not only a necessary action, it is one that needs to be made and remade every day. Every encounter with students has the potential to make them feel confident and successful and willing to work to achieve their goals and master the material you have for them. Unfortunately, each encounter can also be one in which you lose the fragile respect you may have gained earlier in the term through neglect if not through actual missteps. Here are just some of the many small actions that you can take to make sure that you have fostered a positive relationship with as many of your students as possible.

It does not take a long time or much effort to do the things in this list, but the rewards will be more than worth it.

1. Tell students that you do not intend to give up until they are successful in your class.
2. Celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.
3. Focus on your students’ strong points. Too often teachers focus on correcting weaknesses instead of encouraging students to take advantage of their strengths.
4. Break long assignments into smaller, more manageable chunks of work.
5. Place students in mixed-ability groups. When teachers group low achievers separately, it sends a message of defeat.
6. Provide opportunities for students to self-evaluate so that they know the extent of their progress.
7. Teach your students the skills that they need to be successful students. Good time management, organization, and efficient study skills will all make it easier for them to achieve.
8. Offer a mixture of assessment types so that students can demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways.
9. Acknowledge it when a student is having a bad day and offer to help if you can.
10. Make sure that you use plenty of formative assessments so that students can know if they are on the right track.
11. Invite inspirational guest speakers to encourage your students to work hard.
12. Instill a sense of responsibility for their own success in your students. Teach them that they control their own destinies.
13. Ask about an event that a child is anticipating.
14. Differentiate your instruction so that all students can reach success.
15. Write students personal notes. Be brief. Be positive. Show that you believe in them.
16. Set aside time periodically for students to set goals and then assess their progress in achieving them.
17. Help students determine and then work with their learning styles. This awareness will help them work to reach their potential.
18. Students need specific encouragement as well as praise if they are to continue a positive behavior.
19. Display encouraging mottoes and slogans from achievers who struggled early in life.
20. Provide ongoing support for less-proficient learners as well as enrichment opportunities for all students.
21. Harness the power of positive peer pressure! Have students work toward common goals.
22. Build intrinsic motivation into every lesson. Offer small, tangible rewards occasionally, too.
23. Have students share successful study strategies with classmates. Informal peer support can be a powerful tool.
24. Make it a point to monitor frequently. This will allow you to help students when they first experience difficulties.
25. Consider holding periodic ceremonies to recognize students who have reached goals or who have otherwise been successful.
26. While you should never water down the curriculum, you should alter the way you teach it so that all students can learn.
27. Use wall charts, stickers, and other motivational tools to make student success visible to all.
28. Use positive labels as often as you can so that students know what to call their success and how to repeat it.
29. Take time to discuss the dangers of substance abuse, gangs, and unprotected sex with older students. This will help them stay focused on their positive goals.
30. Call on all of your students and not just the ones you think know the answer.
31. Attend after-school games, performances, and other activities.
32. When a child speaks to you, stop what you are doing and really listen.
33. Assign the work groups in your class. Don’t let cliques choose their friends.
34. Schedule team building activities when you place students in groups so they can learn to work well together.
35. Set class goals and work together as a team to achieve them.
36. Let your voice be the kindest one your students hear all day.
37. If a child is ill, pay attention. Send him or her to the nurse. Call home.
38. Let your expression reflect the pleasure that you take in your students’ presence.
39. Have no invisible students in your class. Speak every child’s name every day.
40. Contact a child’s home with good news.

Three Classroom Problems...Three Solutions

One thing is certain: to be a good teacher, you have to be able to solve porblems quickly and with confidence. While most of us are very good at solving serious problems such as covering  massive amounts of curriculum and convincing a roomful of students that we really do have their best interests at heart, sometimes it's the small problems that can be energy zappers. Perhaps the suggestions offered here can help!

Problem 1: Heavy Backpacks Blocking the Aisles

Your school does not have a policy concerning student backpacks. Your students carry around all of their school belongings in backpacks that sometimes seem to weigh more than they do, and their backpacks block the aisles in your class.

SUGGESTIONS

This is a problem with two parts that you must handle separately. First, deal with the weight of the backpacks. Then, tackle the issue of the obstructions and disruptions in your class.

Backpack Weight

• This situation certainly requires collaboration with other teachers. When you speak with colleagues, suggest that you stagger homework deadlines so that students can leave some of their belongings in their locker, in the classroom, or at home.

• Talk to your students to let them know how concerned you are about their health and their stress level. Ask for their suggestions on how to solve the problem.

• Consider involving parents in finding solutions.

• Find out why students feel the need to carry so much. Do they need more time to go to their locker? Do they need advice on how to manage their materials?

Obstructions and Disruptions in Your Class

• When students have backpacks in class, expect them to place their backpack under their desk or as close to them as possible in order to leave a safe aisle.

• Take a team approach to keeping backpacks stowed safely. If they are involved in creating the solution, students will be able to police themselves and each other. Working together on the problem will increase the chances of successful resolution.

• See if you can provide a safe place for students to keep their backpacks other than near their desks.

• Teach students that it is disruptive to constantly search for materials in their backpack during class. Encourage them to keep their belongings as organized as possible in order to reduce search time.

Problem 2: Lost Papers

 

Problem: You hand back a set of homework papers and notice that some of your students do not have their papers. You tell them that you never received their work. They, in turn, assure you that they did the work, turned it in on time, and you must have lost it.

SUGGESTIONS

• Be very organized about how you manage student papers. By appearing very organized, you will prevent many false accusations because students will not think that they can take advantage of your disorganization.

• Grade papers and hand them back as quickly as you can. The longer you delay in returning papers, the harder it is to keep track of them.

• If you use an in-basket for students to hand in their work as they finish it, be sure to move their papers to a labeled folder before the next class can add theirs to the stack.

• If you are unable to check a set of papers within a day or two, at least check to make sure all students have turned in work. This will preclude any surprises for students who are expecting to receive graded papers.

• Do not be absolute in denying your guilt. Instead, try to solve the problem by first asking students with missing papers to check their own notebooks or lockers to see if they could have taken them from the room accidentally. If the papers do not turn up, then offer the students more time to redo the work and turn it in.

Problem 3: Students Without Supplies or Materials

 

Problem: Some of your students have problems keeping up with their materials. They come to class without pencils, pens, papers, or books. You find yourself growing increasingly frustrated as you wait for students to borrow the necessary tools to do their work, wasting valuable instructional time.

SUGGESTIONS

Off-task behavior and discipline problems are just two of the things that can go wrong when students come to class unprepared. Keeping extra supplies on hand will help you avoid many problems. You should implement a system that works for you and your students—one where students can settle quickly to work without fuss. You can do this without having to spend a fortune of your own.

Try to have extra textbooks on hand to lend to students if they forget theirs. When you lend a book to a student, make sure the student writes his or her name on the board or another safe place so you have a record of where the books are. You could also assign a responsible student to be in charge of issuing and collecting borrowed texts. Other teachers have found that expecting students to provide collateral is also effective.

If missing pens or pencils are a problem, set up a system where students can borrow from a shared bank of supplies. Here’s how:

Step 1: Select one or two students to be in charge of the supplies bank.

Step 2: Ask every student to donate a new pen or pencil.

Step 3: Mark the pens and pencils with a number.

Step 4: When students need to borrow a pen or pencil, the students who are

in charge of the bank can record the number and the name of the student who borrowed it.

Step 5: The students who distribute the supplies are also the ones who should remind the borrowers to return them at the end of class.