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Three Things All Teachers Should Know

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:41:10 +0000

Teachers enter the classroom with numerous bits of advice and countless tricks up their sleeves, but when it comes down to it, the advice and tricks will only take them so far. Here are the three things that all teachers need to know before setting foot in their classroom.

1. Lesson planning is important.

In fact, lesson planning is so important it will effect classroom management, student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Learn how to plan a lesson from start to finish: Lesson Planning Tips

2. Having a thorough classroom management plan is vital.

Many teacher preparation programs train new teachers to avoid discipline issues though proactive management – walking around the classroom, high interest lessons, caring about students and so on. The actuality of teaching, though, is not quite so idealistic. In fact, classroom management is often one of the top most difficulties that teachers face. Learning how to manage a classroom full of students starts with a well thought through classroom management plan. Learn all you need to know about classroom management: My Classroom Management

3. Love each student where he or she is.

A college professor once told me that the student who drives you the most nuts is the student who needs you the most. Indeed, in today’s society, parents are leaving more and more up to the teachers and this results in students who need love, attention, respect, boundaries and simply someone to care about who they really are – faults and all. Remember when students continue to act up that very often they are simply being children and while we need to teach them how to act and interact with others, we need to also love them as they are.

Team Meetings Increase Student Motivation

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Teachers often struggle with a lack of student motivation along with numerous classroom management or student discipline issues. Holding a classroom team meeting may help students take responsibility for their education as well as their behavior in the classroom.

Teachers need to team together as well and provide support and motivation for each other. Celebrating the small successes and providing ideas for handling the various problems that come up will become invaluable in preventing teacher burn-out.

Read more about how to implement team meetings within the classroom.

Zero-Tolerance Policy for Weapons

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:01:41 +0000

Schools have implemented zero-tolerance policies for weapons and drugs as well as strict rule for handling those students who break the rules. So when a six year old is caught with a cub scout knife and was sentenced to 45 days in an alternative school for breaking this weapons rule, people question the logic behind such a strict rule.

In this child’s situation, the school district voted to change the policy for Kindergartners and First-graders to a 3-5 day suspension. But where do schools draw the line and how do they keep all students safe?

Schools should have strict policies for students who bring in any kind of weapon or threaten any type of violence. In fact, some schools have suspended Kindergartners for breaking the zero-tolerance rules, and for reasons less innocent than a child trying to eat lunch with a cub-scout knife.

Parents should back up the school and teach their children not to bring in weapons. While it may be an acceptable tool for use in the home, teachers must keep all students safe and what parent would want their child in danger while at school? While one student may not mean the tool as a weapon, another child with anger issues may take the weapon and use it maliciously.

While teachers must use judgment in keeping students and staff safe, the fact is that many teachers work in schools where violence is a serious issue and students as young as 5 years old attack teachers with flying fists. Violence is not an issue isolated to high-school students and schools should stand behind their zer0-tolerance policy.

The Drop-Off Generation

Jennifer Wagaman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:22:49 +0000

Teachers fight a constant battle to get parents more involved. Some schools have highly involved parents and other schools have less than half of the parents show up to a back-to-school night. Part of this lack of parental involvement is a product of the drop-off generation.

This is the generation of parents who drop their kids off at school, at soccer practice, at dance lessons, at baseball. These are parents who are too busy dropping their children off to come in and participate.

While there are still many parents who are deeply involved in their children’s lives, there are too many who simply are too busy to do more than drop them off. parents need to consider where they are too busy in their own lives. Where are you dropping your children off instead of participating?

If more parents participated, how many discipline problems would never happen in the first place? How many kid would read more at home? How many kids would have help with their homework and do better on tests?

Teachers, learn tips for how to encourage parents to become more involved.

New Website for Classroom Management Tips

Jennifer Wagaman — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:17:48 +0000

Looking for a site devoted just to helping you improve your classroom management? The My Classroom Management website has free information and ideas for how to create that perfect classroom.

Find new ideas, ask questions and share things that worked in your classroom!

Visit: myclassroommanagement.com

Stop Bullying Now FREE resources

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:32:14 +0000

The Stop Bullying Now website has free resources for educators and administrators to teach students about bullying. The resources include multimedia presentations designed to teach school staff, teachers and parents about bullying.

Find tip sheets, webisodes, books and more. All resources on the website are free.
Bullying is a serious problem and needs to be addressed in every school across the country. With these resources teachers will have the tools they need to learn how to stop bullying in their schools. Awareness of the problem is the biggest first step towards preventing and solving it.

Start a stop bullying now campaign in your school!

Attention Deficit Disorder

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:37:13 +0000

ADHD, the disorder that tends to effect more boys than girls: is it over diagnosed as a result of poor parenting? Is the child who can’t sit still in class simply disobedient or did he have too much sugar or other food additives?

Some teachers still believe that ADHD is a made-up disorder; an excuse for parents and teachers to use medication to manage discipline problems in the classroom. In fact, ADHD is a very real, very frustrating disorder that effects more students than we probably realize at this time.

This great book: All About Attention Deficit Disorder provides straight-forward honest answers regarding this disorder, the diagnosis and the treatments. Even if you think you understand ADHD, check out this book. You may be surprised at what you learn!

Teach Proper Vocabulary to Minimize Discipline Problems

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:37:37 +0000

Everyone gets frustrated and upset. Students are no exception to that rule. How children are taught to handle their frustration and anger will make a huge difference in the classroom behavior and overall atmosphere for learning. Unfortunately many parents are not teaching their children how to handle their anger and the job is left to teachers. Here is an idea for helping students learn to manage themselves while keeping problems to a minimum in the classroom:

Teach Proper Vocabulary: Instead of simply chastising a student for swearing, encourage the class to learn the meaning of words and to find words that better describe their emotions. In addition to helping students talk about their emotions and thus working through those emotions, you will also help students expand their vocabulary and prevent fights and other behavior problems in the classroom.

Teaching proper vocabulary will also help students clearly communicate with you and others. If they are frustrated, they can explain their angry outburst with words that tell you and others what is frustrating them and why. While it may be awkward at first, with consistency, using proper vocabulary in the classroom will help to minimize discipline problems.

Teachers Involving Parents More

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:35:55 +0000

Involving parents in the lives of their children is vital to classroom discipline. The more involved parents are, the fewer discipline problems while the less involved, the more serious the infractions. Permanent expulsions in Baltimore City schools has brought up the question of the right for a child to receive an education, and the rate of dangerous and serious behavior issues has dropped as schools begin to come down hard on these students. Parents need to step up and become more involved and provide greater boundaries for their children.

Here are some tips for teachers to involve the parents more:

Send home positive notes! letting parents know when their children do something good is a great way to build a positive rapport.
Make every effort to meet with parents frequently through the school year to discuss the child’s progress
When a parent comes to you with a concern, take it seriously and discuss ways both you and the parent can work together to resolve the issue
Make phone calls when the child does something good, not just when they misbehave.
Invite parents to come and observe the classroom
Always encourage your students to talk to their parents about what is going on at school
Assign students projects that require them to talk to their parents

Find out more information on preventative classroom management that starts at home.

Working with Autistic Students

Jennifer Wagaman — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:50:15 +0000

While in college I did an independent study with a school that had two classrooms dedicated to the autistic population. It was a public school that had somewhere between 10-15 students who had been diagnosed with autism and they had two seperate classrooms dedicated to their education. Both classrooms included students who were mainstreamed into regular education classroom for part of the day. Each classroom had a teacher and one teachers aid per student.

There was also a sensory integration room in the school where students went to receive some of the therapy that helped them with their autistic symptoms. So along with their schooling, they received swinging, jumping, brushing, rolling and more. The experience was fascinating as I learned how varied the symptoms of autism really are. Some students were being taught how to take turns and click a computer mouse properly and some were being taught how to participate in a routine or try something new at snack time. One student was secluded from the classroom with a single teacher due to the recent outbursts that indicated the opportunity for harming another student or staff member.

While each child is very different, there are some basic similarities for regular classroom teachers that may help with classroom management, lesson planning and teaching. Here is a collection of some of those tips: Teacher resources.