Tag Archives: discipline
Dealing with Classroom Cursing
I ran into a former student at the gas station the other day. Paying for gas took me a good half an hour, but I really enjoyed talking to Brandon and seeing him as a well adjusted, married father who is working hard to support his family. What I didn’t want to hear was this: I bet you don’t miss us bad kids, hey, Ms. Trim? Continue reading
How to Handle the Tough Conversations
Teaching has given me a skill that I’ve found other people who haven’t been in the classroom don’t have: I can give bad news to good people. I can even give bad news to people I’m not fond of. Of course, I can deliver good news, too, but no one is very impressed with that skill.
Let me give you an example. I had a student newspaper editor who was slacking off his responsibilities. Alex was a basketball player, an actor in the one-act play, and AWOL in the school newspaper staffroom. When other editors tried to talk to him about his section and the edits, he would lose himself in a crowd, tell them that he’d be in the newspaper room later, or claim to have an urgent need to meet with his math teacher. Continue reading
Grading and Student Engagement
The personal connection between student and teacher is vital to student achievement. When that personal connection exists, the student is more likely to be engaged in the learning and willing to perform the tasks the teacher sets to achieve lesson objectives.
Look around your classroom at the students who have habitual behavior problems. Are they engaged? Do they complete assignments? Do you think they look forward to class? Do you have a personal connection with the student? Continue reading
Fair vs. Equal: Does It Apply to Disciplinary Consequences?
Lakisha sits in the middle row in first period. She’s a nice kid and the school’s best runner. She works hard in class, but struggles to earn a B. When she volunteers a response, I praise her in front of class and she glows.
Thomas sits two seats behind Lakisha. He’s a smart kid, but keeps to himself. He hates to be called on and seldom raises his hand. However, Thomas always knows the answer. If I praised him like I did Lakisha, Thomas would shut down. When I circulate around the classroom during work time, I say a quiet word to Thomas about how I liked his answer and move on. I don’t engage him in conversation; that wouldn’t be effective praise for Thomas. I just drop the quiet word and it’s enough. Continue reading
How to Respond to Tardy Students
Hannah is a nice girl: quiet, studious, and shy. She doesn’t volunteer much in class and if you’re not careful, she’ll spend the entire period staring out the window or creating an elaborate doodle on her folder. She does well on tests, but isn’t likely to hand in homework on time. Organization is one of her challenges. So is time management.
Hannah shows up to her first period class tardy more often than on time. She always has some excuse: the nurse, the library, her mom. Nonetheless, it disrupts class. (Post includes a poll.) Continue reading
I Am Thankful for My Challenging Students
Dr. Allen Mendler recently visited Inside the School to record some online professional development seminars. During one of his seminars, Mendler said something that I couldn’t help but write down. Mendler said that he witnessed this kind of conversation between a teacher and a challenging student:
TEACHER: I just want to tell you that I’m really glad you’re in my class. I know that it’s not your favorite place to be, but I’m trying hard to make sure that I’m the right teacher for you. I’ve tried many strategies to teach you, but so far they haven’t been working very well. I’ll keep trying more so that you can learn. I want to thank you for being a part of my class. You are making me a better teacher.
Let’s be honest: you are making me a better teacher isn’t what I would say when talking to a challenging student.
But it should be, because it’s true. Continue reading
How to Encourage Challenging Students to Turn in Homework
Alicia was a student of mine. She was a smart girl with a giant chip on her shoulder. The kid could write, though. Once you got past the angsty teen stuff, her poetry was inventive and full of symbolism. Despite her best bluster, we became reluctant allies. She liked that I read her work and I liked that she worked.
We still had trouble when it came to Alicia turning in assignments. She wasn’t a fan of the day-to-day reading and writing expectations I had for my sophomore English students. She had no interest in reading nonfiction and less interest in creating plot diagrams. Continue reading
Shutting Down Brainstorm Session Saboteurs
The purpose of a good Brainstorming session is to have a shower of ideas from which to choose. I like to use Brainstorming when I’m asking the class for input on a project rubric, project topic ideas, and possible endings for the novel we’re reading.
Like anything else, good procedures make the Brainstorming session go smoothly. I set down the procedures early in the year and use a transparency to remind the class of my expectations every time we Brainstorm. Sure, it’s redundant, but I think that the sessions go more smoothly when everyone understands what to do.
Continue reading
Top Ten Things I Learned about Teaching This Year
The school year’s almost over, or maybe it is over for some of you lucky people. You’re checking in books, correcting exams, and closing up the grade book. You know that some of your lessons really met the objectives and the kids learned a lot. They caught the spark and you could see how the new understanding captured their interest.
But what did you learn? Did you catch that spark? Did you have an ah-ha moment? I’m out of the classroom and able to talk education experts. Here are my ah-ha moments: Continue reading
