Phyllis (a new teacher) provided the spark for the MiddleWeb listserv's
first extended conversation about discipline and classroom management. It
is, of course, a conversation that never ends, and we will continue to add
fresh conversations to this file as they appear on the list.
Help! I just started teaching 7th & 8th grade Language Arts after
being out of the school system for 16 years! I'm teaching in the Bronx and
I keep feeling like I'm hitting walls.
I go in well planned, but the students need much self-discipline and many
a time the period is spent working on classroom management. I must admit,
it's not all their fault. I don't know what I'm doing!!!!!
With the exception of one observation by my assistant principal., followed
by a class taught by the resource teacher, I have been left to fend for
myself. OK. But tell me. What's the procedure. Does anyone have to put on
the board a "Do Now" assignment? When do you check homework? How
do I start a writing journal?
Right now I've been working on literature. It's taken too long, (almost
4 weeks), to read a short story. I'm certified to teach, but heck, can someone
tell me how to go about doing it? No curriculum. No chalk! I've been asking
my hubbie to bring me chalk from the high school he teaches in.
The school uses the McDougal Littell anthology...and I love it. I would
love to know how to introduce writing. We're finishing up "The Lie"
in one class, "Last Cover" in another, and my eighth grade class
has a test in "The Clown" tomorrow. Where do I go from here??????
I haven't even broken them up into groups for some cooperative learning
and they're getting pretty antsy. How do I simplify my life right now? I
am spending so much time on lesson plans and then running into brick walls.
So much resistance. How can I make it easier on myself? I am dead tired.
I can't sleep nights worrying about whether or not I'm getting through.
I'm disappointed in myself that I haven't even started a writing log with
them.
I know I'd be effective...I just need some tools. Guidelines would be helpful.
Does anyone know what Type l, Type II, and Type III writing is? I am totally
overwhelmed. I'm crying all the time. Is this what new teachers go through
in the middle school? I do have some nice 7th grade classes and I've been
calling a lot of parents in my eighth grade home room class. (I also have
my homeroom for LA.) I feel like I'm drowning.
Is it totally unrealistic to expect silence in a Bronx middle school classroom?
My 8th grade students, (not my homeroom), come in and play "musical
chairs." I feel so inept.
Somebody, please help! Thanks.
Phyllis
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Nancy Long offered this advice to Phyllis -- take "baby steps"
Hang in there, girl! Most of us have been there and survived.
Here are a few survival tactics I have learned in 31 years of at-risk education:
1. Don't assume that they understand anything at all. Break every task down
into baby steps, from the way you want them to put their heading on the
paper to the way you want them to behave. Model the way you want things
done, have them do it for you, praise their efforts and tell them what they
need to do differently, let them do it again. Every day, tell them what
you want them to do and praise them when they do it. Yes, you'll feel silly,
but it seems to work. Especially praise them when they do it without being
told.
2. Praise should be random after the first few times for one behavior, so
they don't come to take it for granted. "Jerry has his paper out with
his heading on it, Tyree has his paper out with his heading on it, Lupita
has her paper out with her heading on it..." is all you need to say.
3. KEEP CALM. If at all possible, draw attention to kids who are doing the
right thing and not the ones who are being disruptive or off-task. They
love to make teachers lose their cool!
4. I focus strongly on every student's right to have a safe, supportive
learning environment. If someone is criticizing or bad-mouthing another
student's work, ideas, or answers I say to the offender (usually privately
but sometimes in front of the class), "Joey, I am not going to let
anybody in this room criticize you like that. This is a place where you
can feel safe to do your best and make mistakes without getting criticized.
And I'm not going to let you do that to anybody else either. Fair enough?"
5. If several students are talking at once, I remind them that I am so attention-deficit
that I can't concentrate on what a person is saying if there are distractions.
I say, "Help me out here. I want to hear what Jennifer is saying."
6. (Maybe this should be #1) Get Harry Wong's book, "The First Days
of School." Read it. It is tried-and-true wisdom.
7. Go easy on yourself. Don't get frustrated with your lesson plans--you
are learning how long it will take to teach a story and the activities that
go with it. Once the kids learn exactly what you expect and that you are
going to consistently reinforce desirable behavior, perhaps they will settle
down and move faster, but for now accept the fact that however long it takes
is how long it takes. They keep telling us that the focus should be on quality,
not quantity.
8. It's likely that many of your students come from homes where the noise
level is high, people compete for attention, and the TV is always on. Calm,
quiet spaces are threatening to some kids--it means there is something wrong
when it happens at home. That takes a while to overcome. Try letting them
hear soft, INSTRUMENTAL music while they are working. Research shows that
remarkable things happen to people's thought processes when they listen
to classical music (Bach and Mozart music especially promotes clarity of
thought).
Hey, I didn't mean to write a book. No doubt lots of people have ideas for
your "bag of tricks". One's first year of teaching is always trial
by fire, and you have been out of the system long enough that this is like
your first year. There IS life after! I commend you for seeking help fron
your fellow middle school teachers. We are our best resource. Keep us posted!
Nancy Long
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Anne Jolly offered some additional tips to Phyllis:
Phyllis's plea for advice really tugged at my heartstrings. I'll add a couple
of ideas to the wonderful suggestions folks have already offered. Then I'll
end with a question.
1. Keep a sense of humor, and let the kids see it as frequently as possible.
Developing good relationships with students has always been one of the best
ways I've found to manage classes.
2. If a student is rude and disrespectful, be non-reactive and keep your
responses strictly professional. Let warmth and enthusiasm pour out when
you are teaching and interacting with your students, but remain nonemotional
when dealing with discipline issues.
3. Use as many manipulatives as possible - bags with chopped up sentences
to be diagrammed, or arranged in order for example. I try to vary my activities
and approach regularly.
4. Be sure all of your students experience some success.
5. If you don't mind giving out your email address, this worked for me.
I wrote my email address on the board and asked all students with Internet
access to email me. I put their email addresses into a group list and sent
them group emails a couple of times a week. I NEVER used emails to chastise
students - just for informal hellos and to give them a glimpse of something
good that was coming up. I also used it to ask them for ideas on how we
could make an upcoming topic (such as the digestive system) more interesting.
I let students turn in some assignments to me on email.
What I found was that students (especially the boys) would share things
with me over email ("My dog got killed by a car yesterday and that's
why I was so out of it in class today.") that they would never share
with me face to face. In fact, I was able to establish closer contact and
better relationships with many students through email. It did not take a
great deal of time.
Now a question - what is your teaching situation like? By that I mean things
like -- How many students a day are you teaching and how large are your
classes? What sort of administrative support do you have? Do teachers in
your school collaborate and support one another?
Please stay in there - you are in the world's most important profession
and working with the world's neediest age group! I'm glad you are one of
us!
Anne
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Ellen Berg offered a few hard-won lessons of her own and suggested several
useful books:
One thing that I would love to see on here is a list of "tricks up
your sleeve" for classroom management to compile and pass along to
my induction teachers.
One of the most important things I've learned about classroom management
is to not take anything personally. When I remain detached, I can cooly
assess the goals of the behavior and take appropriate action. In my diary
on Middleweb last week, I wrote about a student who is giving me a HUGE
(understatement of the century) amount of problems. What I realized this
week is that I was giving him the power to get to me.
The most helpful books for me on classroom management and discipline are
Linda Albert's
Cooperative Discipline and the Wongs'
The First Days of School. They are practical guides that offer
specific suggestions and help identify the goals of the misbehavior. I have
been using many of the strategies from the Cooperative Discipline
book for the past four years, and most of my discipline problems are handled
easily.
Using humor when possible is also a huge help. It's just another way of
showing kids they're not "getting" to you.
Ellen Berg
Turner M.E.G.A. Magnet Middle School
St. Louis, MO
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Nancy Long shifted the conversation a bit to discuss teaching strategies
that can be used with ADD and ADHD students -- and other restless kids:
A man named Ron
Walker presented a workshop in Corpus Christi last year entitled Active
Teaching Strategies for ADHD Students. It was excellent. He is from
Atlanta and can be reached at rwalker@abraxis.com. His wisdom comes from
experience : He is extremely hyperactive and has dealt with hyperactive
students for his whole career as an educator.
His first point was that ADHD is a genetic neurologic condition which FEW
students have, but many other conditions may cause the same behaviors, including
bipolar disorder, obsessive/compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, allergies,
asthma, food intolerances, and ear infections
He states that the presence of severe ear infections in early childhood
is the most powerful predictor of learning disability. 41% of children who
have 5 or more episodes of ear infection with drainage lasting a week in
the first two years of life have learning disabilities. ANYWAY, he says
we need not worry about the medical diagnosis of ADHD, we can use the same
strategies to deal with all "difficult" students.
He gave a good deal of info on modifications under SB 504 and the Americans
with Disabilities Act. Here are his ten behavior management "critical
rules for educators":
1. Establish and maintain eye contact for all oral instructions. If you
can get the room reasonably quiet and get eye contact with all but 2 or
3 students, it raises the percent of students who follow direction from
25% TO 75%.
2. DON'T USE YOUR EYES TO DISCIPLINE, especially when working with difficult
children. Negative eye contact is aggressive (fight or flight reflex). Cocking
the head, leaning the weight to one side, not blinking = negative eye contact.
3. Do establish positive eye contact when praising children.
4. Don't require or attempt to force eye contact when correcting or disciplining.
Don't do or say anything to a child you would not want done or said to yourself.
5. Use pronimity as a primary behavioral control strategy. Approach misbehaving
students without giving them attention. Give positive reinforcement for
corrected behavior without making it evident to others.
6. Don't use verbal correction of misbehavior as a primary control strategy.
The fewer verbal corrections,the better.
7. Do touch children to build rapport and provide positive attention. The
upper forearm the orienting zone, a neurologic reflex appearing within 5
minutes of birth. The center of the upper back is the stress reduction zone
(those nerves are directly connected to the muscles around the heart).
8. Don't "puncture the zone"; do not grab or gesture into the
students' proximity zone (5 years old= within arm's reach; 10 years old=
1 step away; 15 years old = 2 steps away. It stays the same until old age,
when it gets closer again) Discipline at or below their eye level, not above;
this gives the message that it's not a control issue. Stoop or crouch if
you have to in order to get below their eye level. Keep your hands in your
pockets of behind your back. Don't use hand gestures. Look non-confrontational.
9. Do get "softer and closer" when children misbehave or are non-compliant.
Use softer voice, closer proximity. Match the volume and tone of your voice
to that of the person you are speaking with so as not to escalate aggression.
10. Don't raise your voice, except for a "rare fit." Don't direct
rare fits at an individual, but at a situation.
He quoted three studies showing that soft, instrumental background (not
foreground) music benefits the majority of students.
He gave several strategies for multi-sensory/interactive instruction, but
this message is the longest one I have ever written! I'll write the rest
in another message.
Glad I had a chance to write all this--I needed to be reminded of some of
these points myself!
Nancy Long
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When Alexis Ducat responded to a note from Leighann about her challenges
as a new teacher, she touched on classroom management issues. That part
of her message is posted here:
Leighann,
Only four years ago I was a new teacher. I had no ideas what questions to
ask. I was overwhelmed with the proverbial "classroom management",
grading, parents, being on the same page as other teachers in my grade level,
etc., I almost quit.
Now, I am an administrator and I mentor to a passionate teacher. However,
I fear burnout for her as she loses sight, sometimes, of what is feasible
and what is not. I'd rather any teacher err on that side. She calls me every
Sunday night to check planning, etc. Yet, that still isn't enough.
New teachers coming from other districts, Catholics vs. Public school settings,
elementary to middle, high school down to middle, have many issues to handle,
such as grading, discipline, detention struggles, too much nurturing, not
enough, and I could go on. We have new movements, renewals, reforms spring
up every day it seems - standards initiatives, character education, and
middle school structures--advisory, teaming, flexible scheduling.
My question still begs for an answer. Has anyone on the listserve been involved
in some time of collegial--not congenial group of people who truly want
to support and have the time? Alexis
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Leighann Fuller replied:
Alexis,
Ellen Berg, my mentor last year, was the one who originally posted the message
about the second year teacher who thinks she ought to be "perfect"
by now. I know this second year has been a struggle, which is something
I hadn't anticipated. I'm dealing with things better, but things still are
not falling completely into place. Luckily, I have a mentor who cares. Ellen
is always available to listen to me whine, to listen to lesson ideas, to
provide a crying shoulder for "those days", etc.
Newer teachers NEED that kind of support. I have no idea why teaching is
so isolating. In the business world, people are always working together
to reach common goals. Even with the teaming approach, it never seems to
work out well. My team is a team in name only. Teachers should be talking
together about struggles, successes, and ideas... most of all children.
We need the time to share together.
Leighann Fuller
PS: Ellen, if you're reading this.... THANK YOU!!
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Another new teacher, Stacy Goldberger, had a question about working with
parents on discipline issues:
What do you do if the parent gives a response like "He's like that
at home. I don't know what to do with him. We've tried everything."?
Another teacher replied:
Actually, I think it's positive when a parent is willing to be honest and
share this kind of frustration. In many instances our students' parents
feel a need to hide their feelings of helplessness behind a wall of defensiveness.
(Sometimes the "holier than thou" attitude in some schools, sets
the stage.) The rules for parenting have changed, just like the rules for
teaching. Maybe you could get a conversation going among a group of parents
and eachers, maybe your counselor or a local clergy person could suggest
a speaker.
Some schools are offering parenting workshops. Teachers and district guidance
folks have a lot to share...
John Norton then replied:
I noticed today when I was checking out one of the references mentioned
by Mary Lorenz (see below) that the "You Can Handle Them All"
training materials are aimed at parents as well as teachers. See this webpage
where they emphasize the need for teachers and parents to work on discipline
together:
http://www.disciplinehelp.com/parents/main.htm
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Stacey then asked for listserv opinions about some of the discipline
"gurus" like Harry Wong and Lee Canter:
I am curious as to what other middleweb listservers think of Harry Wong,
Lee Canter,
and the like... Since they are both behaviorlists, the method involves the
teacher 'controlling' the students. I do assume, however, that many teachers
modify assertive discipline techniques.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellen Berg offered her opinion about Wong:
Stacey,
I absolutely LOVE Harry Wong. He is 100% on the mark when he points out
that kids need structure, routines, and consistency. I may be wrong, but
I don't recall him ever saying that teachers should (or could) "control"
kids....I firmly believe that teachers cannot control what any child does
or says in the classroom. Our students always have a choice. I think what
Wong advocates is setting up the right conditions to help them want to make
the right choice--to learn, stay on task, and have self-control.
At the beginning of the school year, I freely admit to my students that
I cannot make them do anything--learn, act appropriately, be on task, etc.
and that they have to make the choice to do these things on their own. However,
I do have my own choices to make, and I may choose to call home, have a
conference with them, keep them after school, or recommend suspension if
they do not choose to follow the standards in my classroom. I also have
the choice to recognize appropriate behavior, effort, and high achievement
in my classroom through positive notes home, praise, and extra help during
lunch or after school.
I also think that Wong looks at himself as a teacher of classroom management
rather than discipline. He believes that deliberate, structured classroom
management will result in good discipline in the classroom. I agree completely.
Discipline is such a small part of what makes an effective classroom; the
classroom needs to be set up and managed in a way that is conducive to learning.
In terms of discipline, I really like Linda Albert's Cooperative Discipline.
She explains the signals that our students' behaviors send us (attention,
revenge, etc.) and gives some specific strategies to use with each behavior
goal. I especially like it because it is designed to bring the goals of
the behavior into each student's consciousness...eventually they have to
examine what they did, why they did it, what resulted, and appropriate ways
to resolve their needs.
Ellen Berg
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Mary Anne likes Wong more than Canter:
Stacy:
I make sure every new teacher I work with gets a copy of Harry Wong's The
First Days of School. I don't know if I would classify Wong as a behavioralist.
His "method" is based on the idea that if you teach students the
proper procedures for doing things in the classroom, you have taught them
the responsibility for making sure the classroom runs smoothly.
I agree. Trying to teach kids responsibility instead of compliance is something
I have been working on for years! I am a fan of Alfie Kohn--if you have
not read "Punished by Rewards" pick up a copy of it and read it.
Some of his articles are availible online. His premise is if we keep rewarding
kids (and adults) for everything you ask them to do--rewards have to get
bigger, and what you are teaching them is to comply. I read somewhere that
we have developed a "sticker and star" generation that will be
entering the workforce in a few years. They have been taught to expect a
reward for everything they do.
Lee Canter is too complicated for me! I tried to do the marbles in a jar
thing when I first heard about it at a workshop but I kept forgeting about
the marbles-- I was too busy teaching! However, I have colleagues that have
successfully used the technique. It just depends on what you believe in
enough to be consistant and follow through with. Good Luck!
Mary Anne
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Kathleen Renfrew describes another discipline approach:
Stacy asked: "I am curious as to what other middleweb listservers think
of Harry Wong, Lee Canter, and the like."
I do not know specifically the work of these two. Our school uses the Responsive
Classroom model. Our goal is to teach the students take responsibility
for their own actions. We work very hard to choose appropriate consequences
for infractions.
The students all have a voice in the development of the classroom rules.
This makes a big difference. I do very little controlling of my students
because I want them to act appropriately and make good choices whether i
am there or not.
Does this mean I never raise my voice or get into a power struggle with
a student? No.but it does happen less often than before? I am really working
hard to achieve true community in my classroom. We are working on practicing
mutual respect for each other and the other members of our school community.
All of this takes time. I have a morning meeting just about every day faithfully.
This is our time to greet each other, share, bring up problems that are
affecting our relationships in the community. I had to take the time to
make this happen. I used to worry about the time I as taking away from academics
but no longer
Kathy
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A separate conversation on the listserv about "cultural resistance"
to discipline and management practices provoked this comment from Annie:
Hi, I'm finding in interesting this discussion about cultural resistance.
While I agree with some tenents of it, I don't think it's right to excuse
poor behavior or school work because of "culture". To me that
sounds like racism. As in "this group of kids can't do a certain kind
of work because of their culture".
As a social studies teacher I include many perspectives and cultures in
my teaching. But I also hold my kids to high standards, no matter their
color or culture. I know the discussors here did not mean it that way, but
I fear that others in the world may do so...and may use it as an excuse
for poor performance.
Also: has anyone ever felt like a total failure??? Lately, I have been having
a tough time...an extremely tough time, with my 7th graders. Their behaviour
has been so off and disrespectful and I've come down hard on them. I know
they "don't like" me right now. I don't like them right now....and
I don't myself as a teacher when I'm around them right now.
I've tried assertive discipline...I've tried a lot of things... ugh. I feel
like a poor teacher. I know I could do better in responding to the constant
behavior disruptions..I'd like to hear how others have dealt with difficult
students/classes. And how they dealt with feeling like failures.
Annie
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Ellen Berg replied with some suggestions for Annie:
Annie,
When I was at the NMSA Conference in 1999, LouAnn
Johnson (Dangerous Minds, AKA My Posse Don't Do Homework) was
a keynote speaker. She said that if children are at school, then they want
to be there although their reasons are not always the same as ours. I try
to keep that in mind even as I hear them tell me, "I'm not going to
do that," (as one charming little guy told me today) or roll their
eyes at me as I correct them for miscellaneous actions.
We all have those experiences. Seventh graders, especially, are an unpleasant,
unhappy bunch. Developmentally they are trying to pull apart from the adults
in their lives to form their own identities. On top of all of that, they're
hormones make them cranky and irrational. It is a clinically proven fact
that seventh graders completely lose their sense of humor and don't get
it back until eighth grade. (They lose it again as sophomores in high school!)
That, however, is no excuse for their behavior. You mentioned, "I don't
like myself as a teacher when I'm around them right now." That is a
cue that you are probably reacting to their behavior rather than constructively
addressing it. (I was the queen of reacting!) When you are reacting, you
are not staying calm, consistent, or even fair. I hope you are not taking
this the wrong way; many teachers make the same mistake.
Suggestions? First of all, stop taking their behavior (all of it) personally.
They act ugly for many reasons, one of which might be to see you get upset.
When you start looking at it as a symptom of something else--nothing personal--you
remove the emotion from the situation. When you are calm, you are more able
to make rational, constructive decisions. (Besides, do you *really* care
what a 13 year old says about you? :) )
Second, have you established clear routines and procedures that you adhere
to on a consistent basis? For example, how to line up to come in, how to
sit down, what to do when you enter the room, how to get their attention,
etc.? I had a nightmare sixth grade class this year (they acted like seventh!),
but once I realized I was reacting and wasn't giving them the structure
they needed, I changed. Guess what? So did they. They're still not perfect
(we had to practice walking into my room 5 times last week...they've been
inordinately wonderful since then!), but I'm not dealing with the overwhelming
backtalk that I was in the past.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY, GO BUY HARRY WONG'S THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL.
He gives very specific suggestions about how to have good classroom management.
He asserts that discipline problems are usually the result of poor/inconsistent
classroom management. I have to agree, because once I became more consistent
and explicit with my expectations, the number of problems I've had severely
decreased. Another fantastic book that focuses on discipline is Cooperative
Discipline by Linda Albert. It helps you understand the goals of behavior
and gives specific suggestions about how to attack it.
On the discipline front, one thing I do is keep a log of student behavior.
I write the name, date, behavior, and response for every discipline issue
I have. First of all, it's good documentation. Second of all, it keeps me
honest and specific once I contact the parent. Parents are quite respectful
when you whip out your book and say, "On November 10 Johnny did XYZ,
then on November 15...." and so on.
I have a lot more I could say, but this is long already. After a VERY difficult
first year (I yelled every single day, and the kids walked all over me)
I made it my mission to find out everything I possibly could about discipline
and classroom management. My second year was dramatically better, and things
have improved every year since. I'm now in my fifth year, and I have very
few real problems when I stay calm, consistent, and thoughtful.
If you would like to contact me on or off the list with specific questions,
I would be happy to help you further. Give yourself a break; we've all been
there! :)
Ellen Berg
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Annie reflected on discipline in "days gone by":
On Boston Public the other night a character said that he remembered
growing up and teachers were admired and respected. Students knew what was
not accepted in school, but today it is different. I think that is one major
reason I am feeling so frusterated, burnt out and stressed.
I hate feeling like this. I feel as if my 7th grade class treats me (and
other staff) like a joke. Some of them smirk when we give them directions.
Many of them don't care if they recive punishment or consequences...they
don't care. It has no effect on them. A problem also is that it's coming
a lot from the home. Many of the parents are the same way: being disrespectful
to me and other staff, blaming me for thier child's rude behavior and poor
school performance (when the child does no work), and modeling this disrespectful
behavior to their kids.
I am sorry I am sounding negative guys...I feel very burnt out. It's only
my 3rd year teaching!! I know some of it is that as a performing arts school,
Christmas is hectic for us. We are losing A LOT of class time due to performances
and rehersals. And our music director-who is also our principal- won't suspend
or punish the ones in the 7th grade who cause the troubles because they
are the most talented and the soloists and she needs their voices! When's
vacation?!!!
Annie
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Mary Lorenz offered a website suggestion and several excerpts from books
by William Glasser:
Another resource for the teacher who is troubled by her 7th graders is www.disciplinehelp.com.
This is a web site by the people at The Master Teacher. Two sections she
should consult are "Behavior Management: Overview and Foundations,"
and "Solutions for Handling 117 Misbehaviors." The followings
is excerpted from The Quality School and The Quality School Teacher
by William Glasser.
Your students need to know and like you.
(Adapted from: The Quality School Teacher. By William Glasser, M.D.)
Teach so that your students get to know you far better than most do now.
The better we know someone and the more we like about what we know, the
harder we will work for that person. Control theory explains that we will
work hard for those we care for (belonging), for those who respect us (power),
for those with whom we laugh (fun), for those who allow us to think and
act for ourselves (freedom), and for those who help us to make our lives
secure (survival). The more that all of these needs are satisfied in our
relationship with the manager who asks us to do the work, the harder we
will work for that manager.
During the first few months you are with your students, look for natural
occasions to tell them:
1. Who you are. Your students are interested in statistics such as
your age, your marital status, whether or not you have children and their
ages; do you have a mother, father, or grandparent in your life? Do you
live in a house or apartments? Even more they want to know your interests:
What have you done besides teach, what your favorite television programs
are, what music you listen to, what food you like best or dislike, the list
could go on and on. Children are not sophisticated. Most of them don't know
very much about the people the live with, much less anyone else.
2. What you stand for. Most interesting to all of us, and usually
totally unknown to your students about you, is what people stand for. To
form their own opinions, they need to find out what people like you think
about and why. Explain to the class, and reexplain as the situation arises,
as it often will, that most of all you believe that no one should put another
person down. Quality is achieved through harmony and respect; there is no
other way.
3. What you will ask them to do. Never surprise your students. You
are much more interested in them solving their own problems than in you
doing it for them. Tell them the purpose of school is to teach them how
to use what they have learned, and that you will expect them to be able
to show you they are able to do this.
4. What you will not ask them to do. When you are sure you are ready,
explain clearly and specifically that there are no threats, punishments
or busy work in your classroom and that you will not ask them to learn anything
that is not useful.
5. What you will do for them. As long as they come to class, you
will help them in any way you can or, if possible, in any way they want.
You are their friend, you are always on their side, it will never be you
against them. If they have any problem in their lives, you will try to help,
but most of what you help with will be limited to school. Conduct class
meetings whenever you think there is anything that needs discussing and
encourage them to speak out.
6. What you will not do for them. You will not do their work or figure
out their problems for them. You will not tell them what to do if you believe
that it is something that they could figure out for themselves. You will
spend a lot of time teaching them how to evaluate their own work. Once they
know how to do this, you will expect them to do it and to defend their evaluation
of their work against you or anyone else.
Almost all of your students will have come from an educational environment
where they always turned to the teacher to tell them how they were doing:
This is what you want to change. If they ask for your opinion, give it,
but not unless they are also willing to express their own opinions and defend
them. Explain that to be successful in life, we must evaluate ourselves
and work to improve: We cannot and should not depend on others to do this
for us.
***********
Mary also included this excerpt from Glasser:
Lab Management
Three most important things taught in the first days of school are:
1. Discipline, in this lab there are three stages related to how I will
handle discipline:
a. You and Me - First and foremost there is a problem here (your resulting
behavior was inappropriate, what caused you to react that way?). Together,
let us identify the problem and figure out how to solve it so that it does
not happen again. Between you and who ever else is involved or effected
(if it involves the whole class, then have a class meeting to reach a group
consensus on the solution). Handle the disruptive student in a way that
is not punitive yet gets the situation under control and, at the same time,
open's the student's mind to the option of beginning to work in class.
b. If together, we cannot solve it, then we will bring your parents into
the picture.
c. If the three of us cannot come up with a solution them we will involve
the school administration.
-- Let them know that you believe you are capable of working out their problems
with out getting the parents involved. "It looks like you have a problem.
How can I help you to solve it?"
-- There is no reason to get angry or be put on the defensive by one disruptive
student.
-- Never get into an argument or even a long discussion with an angry student
about the merits of his case. Above all, do not threaten. If the student
will not calm down in twenty seconds, ask him to leave class. "Since
you won't calm down I will have to ask you to leave. I hope we can get together
later and work this out, but if you are not willing to settle down, it is
better that you leave now." This way the door is kept open, and there
are no threats or hassles. The disruptive student is looking for someone
to blame in order to keep his grievance alive. But it is hard to stay angry
at a teacher who is saying, in both words and demeanor: "I want to
help you work this out. I am not looking to punish you for what you have
just done. If you have a problem, let's solve it."
-- The focus here is not to assign blame (you are not looking for whose
fault it is, just a solution). No matter what students do, stick to getting
the facts on the table: What was done was against the rules. What matters
is that you insist that there is a way to solve the problem. If they want
to stay in class, they have no choice but to follow the rules, at least
until you talk things over. If the students calms down in class, you need
to find a time to talk to him. This may be in class, between classes, before
or after school, or any time you can spare a few minutes.
-- This approach can involve having a "time-out area" in your
room. When a student becomes disruptive, they are matter of factly assigned
to the time out area and remain there until the teacher tells them it is
time to return to class. This gives the student and teacher a cooling off
period. The student has time to sit down and think through the problem to
begin to solve it. At an opportune time the teacher can go over to the area
and work to solve the problem with the student. As you counsel, be warm
and friendly. Do not make the student's problem into a big deal. Imply or
say flatly that what he is struggling with is solvable but that he has to
do something different in order to solve it. To make this point, go through
what he did in class to get removed. Ask him if what he did is against the
rules, which of course it was, and then tell him that she should be prepared
to stay in time-out until he works out a better way: There is no other choice.
The length of stay is up to him.
-- In the "time-out" area the only rule is that the students sit
quietly. They are encouraged to do their work, but if they just want to
sit, that is their privilege.
2. Procedures -- Create a student office area. This is their area.
They do not have to ask to use the items in this area, just quietly get
up and do it. (This way they do not use the stuff that is on your desk).
Place these items in it: heavy duty hole punch, stapler, staple remover,
scissors, pencil sharpener, scrap paper, tissue, a tray to turn their paper
work into, first aid kit (band aides, first aide ointment, gauze), pencils
and pens you find on the floor and desks after the class has left ((these
are available for "rent" (25 cents, to be returned when the item
is returned, place the "rent " in your pocket for safety)).
The "RENT" Concept - Nothing is given away for "free".
Not a sheet of paper or pencil, or anything, from you or another student,
period. Never charge less than a quarter and never more than 1 dollar. Do
not make change, if your charge 5 cents for a sheet of paper, and all they
have is a quarter, give them 5 sheets. This will save you endless frustrations.
In the real world they are expected to carry their own weight and have their
own stuff, this goes for your classroom also. It teaches them to be responsible
for their own learning.
3. Routines. A list of things/routines that they are expected to
take care of every day, without being told. They are just a part of being
in your classroom. Randomly/Periodically check and assign a grade for the
completion of these routines (make it a small grade, but be stringent about
that if it is not completed they will not receive credit). The importance
of routine:
-- It fosters a sense of security;
-- Routines are task oriented and predictable.
Mary Lorenz
Program Specialist for Technology Education
Texas Education Agency
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Stacy Goldberger asked:
Marsha, you mentioned a website that incorporated management techniques
encouraged by somebody named Kagan. What is this website? I am having difficulty
creating enough structure during 7th period. My own less structured style
works with my other groups, but not with this one.
Thanks, Stacy
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Marsha Ratzel replied:
http://www.kagancooplearn.com/
is the Kagan Publishing & Professional Development website. I have found
that it doesn't change what I'm doing, it changes the structure of how I
do it. I really like some of their things.