Tag Archives: parents
Non-instructional Staff Work with Difficult Parents Too
The bus is late because the bitter cold kept the engine from turning over right away this morning. When the bus finally arrives, an irate parent complains to the driver than her child had to wait outside five minutes longer than usual.
A student is suspended for breaking a window, and his parent decides to take out his frustration on the principal’s secretary when she answers his phone call. Continue reading
What Would You Do? – The Awkward Parent-Teacher Conference
Ryan was a student in my English 10 class. He was a nice kid – kind of goofy, kind of awkward, not very motivated, but nice and very smiley. He wasn’t doing well in my class and we both knew the reason was that he didn’t do his homework and he resisted coming in for help before or after school.
I called home one night and spoke with Ryan’s mom about Ryan’s grades. She was pleasant, but asked me to just speak to her and not her husband. I thought it was troublesome, but I made a note of it. The next day, Ryan approached me and said he’d do anything if I didn’t call home. Again, troublesome. Continue reading
Making Parents Allies
Involved parents are crucial for student success. Many become and stay involved in very helpful ways, especially in an era of diminishing resources. In many schools, parent volunteers offer added supervision, mentoring and tutoring. Increasingly, strong PTO’s conduct fundraisers to support extracurricular activities otherwise subject to the budget ax. Although most parents appreciate our efforts, few truly understand the energy needed to teach. Many parents, themselves overwhelmed by the stress of life, have little patience for hearing about problems from their children or about their children. It is increasingly common for many to react with defensiveness and anger when we express our concerns, and they are quick to blame educators when their children complain to them about a perceived injustice. 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
Classroom Supplies for the Disorganized Student: A Help or a Crutch?
“With students who lack motivation, the wise teacher picks her battles wisely. It is best to avoid hassles over whether a student has necessary supplies until after the student experiences success.”
-Dr. Allen Mendler, Motivating Students Who Don’t Care, p. 26
For students who always leave folders in their lockers or never have a pen, Mendler advocates having donated supplies in class for all to use, return, and replenish. Continue reading
Recognize Student Achievement, both in and out of School
Two of the best hours of my teaching career occurred on a Saturday morning at a dirt bike track. I went to watch my student Sean, whom I’d had in class before. He was a junior and still struggling in my English class. I was a couple of years older and a whole lot wiser than I had been Sean’s freshman year.
We butted heads two years before. I wanted Sean to turn in homework, but he didn’t want to do anything. I begged, pleaded, and called his mother when she finished waiting tables. I praised each little step Sean took in the right direction and silently gnashed my teeth when those steps didn’t turn into progress. He passed English 9, but only because I pushed and pulled him through it every day. Continue reading
Ten Things that Successful New Teachers Do
The first year of teaching can be challenging, rewarding, stressful, joyful, difficult, and fun. The first year will always be memorable, with some ups and downs, but also with many valuable learning experiences for the teacher. While some teachers describe their first year as “a trial by fire,” or a “sink or swim” experience, there are strategies for making the first year more productive and less stressful. The following strategies will help you to get organized in your first classroom and to achieve success with your students. 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
Tasks for Classroom Volunteers or Student Assistants
As a high school teacher, I didn’t have the parents lining up at my door to volunteer like my colleagues in the elementary school did. I had one parent volunteer and a few student aides, though. Sometimes having a student assistant is more trouble than it’s worth because you spend half of your planning period either tracking them down or instructing them on what to do.
I’ve learned that with student assistants or parent volunteers, it’s best to outline your expectations from the beginning so that there are no misunderstandings. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that with my parent volunteer and she ran amok. Eventually, I had to go to my principal to rein the parent in.
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How to Redirect Chatting Students
I remember as a new teacher I had trouble with what I perceived as the whole class talking. Sure, this was the problem – at the end of September. The talkers had taken over to the point where I felt like I had to hold the entire class after the bell – never a good idea.
However, if I could have looked back at the beginning of the school year, I could have picked out the major talkers. But, I was new. I didn’t know that to stop the problem of the whole class talking, I had to redirect those big talkers right away.
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