The lie isn’t that childhood trauma doesn’t exist. Of course it does. Some of our students have been abused and neglected. Others have witnessed violence, criminality, drug use, and indescribable family strife. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Adverse childhood experiences can have … Read more
Misbehavior tends to increase as we edge closer to holiday break. It’s a phenomenon as old as Santa and just as predictable. But it isn’t inevitable. There are strategies that allow you to avoid the rise in rambunctiousness, excitable voices, and impulsively bad behavior. … Read more
They’re needy and urgent. They follow you around and pull on your hem. They ask a zillion questions and expect your personalized attention. It doesn’t occur to them that you have other students, which drives you mad and stresses your willpower to the brink. … Read more
Things happen. Interruptions fall from the sky. Events and incidents out of your control invade your well-ordered peace like the hordes of Cimbri. A fire alarm. A student yelling outside your classroom. A schedule change. A recess downpour. Colleagues you count on drop the … Read more
Your temperament will transfer to your students like Covid in a college dorm. Thus, your calmness from opening bell to dismissal is critical. That isn’t to say that you can’t be enthusiastic about your subject matter or that you shouldn’t emote, playact, and express … Read more
There is a simple way to improve classroom culture that works fast but actually moves the needle. To be clear, by improving culture, I’m referring to raising levels of . . . Respect Politeness Empathy Responsibility Work Habits The strategy I’m going to share … Read more
Once in a great while, especially in the first few weeks of the school year, your students may test you to see if you really, really do mean what you say. Or sometimes there is bad luck involved . . . A fire drill. … Read more
What if while on vacation a coconut fell from a tree, bonked you on the head, and took away your ability to get annoyed at your students? You’d never lecture again. You’d never sigh, glare, or shake your head in frustration. You’d never scold … Read more