by tekassi19 | Apr 23, 2018 | Discipline With Purpose, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
‘You do you’ is a common slang phrase among young people. Translation (for those of us a generation removed): ‘Do whatever you believe/feel is right for you’. Our culture places a much greater emphasis on feelings and emotions for making decisions than we did in the past. Pro and Con lists seem to be a thing of the past. Now it’s do whatever you feel like doing.
The Problem With ‘You Do You’
Anxiety keeps us at home. Elation wants us to spend money we don’t have because we ‘deserve’ it. Hurt helps us think of ways to get back at people. Anger fuels obscenities or worse. Indignation wants the world to know via social media how we’ve been wronged.
No one will call anyone on it because, hey, ‘you do you.’
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by tekassi19 | Apr 17, 2018 | Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
So often what children learn is caught rather than taught. Gratitude is one of the skills that is both taught and caught. We teach children to say thank you, but is that enough?
Thankfulness is an expression. Gratitude is deeper. It is an attitude of the heart.
Does it really matter if teachers show gratitude towards their students?
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by tekassi19 | Mar 19, 2018 | Social Emotional Skills, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom, Teach for Transformation
Have you ever had one of those moments when something that is commonplace to you seems amazing to someone else? There are all sorts of insights you can glean from interacting with strangers in the most unassuming of places.
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by tekassi19 | Mar 5, 2018 | Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
As educators we start the beginning of every school year with the best of intentions about how we intend to “manage our classroom.” And by that I really mean, how we intend to manage the student misbehavior.
There are books, workshops, and classes that tout different classroom management programs—sometimes they are way too complicated, and sometimes I wonder if they talked to a teacher about what actually happens in the classroom. Then there are skill-based programs that focus on teaching children the skills of self-discipline.
But when it comes down to it, in the moment, when a teacher is exhausted and nothing seems to work with a particular student, our good intentions fly out the window and we end up trying to control behavior rather than help students manage their own behavior.
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by tekassi19 | Feb 19, 2018 | Social Emotional Skills, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom, Teach for Transformation
I fear we have given the next generation a false idea of leadership. Schools reinforce students as “leaders” when they are the captain of a football team or when they are elected to Student Council. The oldest students in the school are considered leaders for the younger students in the school. The winners of school spelling bees and those chosen to represent the school at a district function are leaders.
If this is the model of leadership we show children, who would not want to be a leader? These are positions that are often in the limelight.
Are we doing a disservice to children and young adults when we do not teach them to count the cost of leadership? Have we sheltered children rather than prepared children to step into true leadership positions?
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by tekassi19 | Feb 12, 2018 | Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
Two of the most exciting times of the school year are the first day of school and the last day of school. In between those 2 days are another 178 days (give or take) that each have their highs and their lows. Now that the holidays have passed and we are down to the remaining 3 months or so of school, we have the joy and hurdle of spring between now and then.
Most people do not realize how tough Spring Fever can be on teachers and administrators. Schools and classrooms are filled with students who have no desire to learn, no desire to do any work, and would much rather be doing anything else, just not school work. And yet, educators all over the country, make it through spring every single year and get their students to actually learn and turn in work, but often not without great struggle on the part of the teacher.
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