by tekassi19 | Aug 11, 2017 | Effectiveness & Efficiency, Margin, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
What if you could steal back time from one of the biggest time thieves? How would your life be different? What would you be able to accomplish?
Everyone gets the same 24 hours each day. There will never be enough minutes in a day to get everything done. As much as we say we want more hours in the day, do we really want more time added to an already long day?! Some days I can’t wait for it to be over. I drop into bed with the hope tomorrow will be better.
My guess is we don’t want more hours in a day. Really, what we want is to accomplish what we need to and still have time left for a personal life. We want more margin in our lives.
. . . Those glorious, empty spaces that allow us to breathe. – Jed Jurchenko
So how do we steal back time?
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by tekassi19 | Aug 6, 2017 | Effectiveness & Efficiency, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
Have you ever tried to follow your own directions? Picture this scene:
A class of 28 energetic and excited 8-year-olds arrives at the music room. A teacher, standing at the doorway ready to greet them, gives these directions to her primary grade students as they enter the classroom.
Teacher:
Good morning, class! Shhhh! I want you to come in quietly and find your place on the floor. Make sure you get your carpet square. Shhhh! If you look at the board, you will see the activities we are doing today. Remember, come in quietly. I told you, Johnny, to find your seat on the floor. Don’t fight over the carpet squares! There are plenty. Quiet, class! No we aren’t playing the instruments today. We will be dancing. Look at the board. Come sit on the floor, everyone.
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by tekassi19 | Jul 30, 2017 | School-Home Relationships, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
One of the most harmful things we can do to children is to hold them accountable for their parent choices. Not only because it damages the teacher-student relationship, but also because we are instilling in children, the false belief that they are responsible for someone else’s behavior.
Parents make decisions all the time that impact their child’s learning in both positive and negative ways. As professionals, we can help inform and educate parents about what is best from an educational perspective, but we cannot place ourselves in the position of judge or jury over parent decision-making.
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by tekassi19 | Jul 23, 2017 | Effectiveness & Efficiency, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
Peek into classrooms during the first week of school and you will find students completing a student interest inventory. Teachers collect this information, but don’t always know how to use it effectively. Combine the information you’ve collected with this research-based strategy that will positively impact even your most challenging student.
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by tekassi19 | Jul 10, 2017 | Effectiveness & Efficiency, Empathy, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
Boys are sent to the office more frequently than girls. The research has not changed. Teachers not only hold the power, but also have the professional responsibility to change these statistics.
I cannot count how many times a student was sent to me for behaviors that could have been handled at the classroom level. 99% of those office referrals were boys. Almost every time, he said the teacher never gave him a chance to explain. I have heard (and verified) this same story countless times over the years.
Many teachers don’t understand that when they send a child to the office they give up their authority in the classroom. The message the teacher sends to all of the students is I can’t handle this.
Every time teachers send a student to the office, they not only miss an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with the student, but also risk an increase in the unwanted behavior.
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by tekassi19 | Jul 3, 2017 | Effectiveness & Efficiency, Strategies & Tips for the Classroom
One of the most important decisions a teacher makes, will affect the entire school year.
Teachers know they must decide how to get their students’ attention. The most effective teachers are able to get every student’s attention at the same time. Some use the same cue every year, others mix it up. Every teacher has one. Not all of them work.
Why does the exact same classroom cue work in one classroom and not another?
The power of the classroom cue lies in how well the teacher has implemented the following five steps.
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