Toes tap, knees piston, eyes dance about the room—the air hangs heavy with uneasiness and distraction. The students can barely contain themselves, all but bursting to talk and move and burn off pent up energy. Even when the classroom is quiet, the enveloping tension … Read more
Friendship drama. The very words can make you shudder. Tears, jealousy, hurt feelings, histrionics, he said-she said . . . Although it’s the last thing you ever want to deal with, you simply can’t ignore it. Because it will dominate the lives of whoever … Read more
You can’t teach your students to respect you. Oh sure, you can try. Many teachers do. They harp on it, do read alouds about it, and even role-play it. But in the end, students can’t be persuaded or talked into respecting you. No, in … Read more
Glaring, threatening, yelling, scolding, browbeating, pressuring, overbearing . . . few teachers would admit to using intimidation as a classroom management method, even to themselves. But many do. Perhaps not all the time, mind you. Perhaps only in weak moments or in short bursts … Read more
So you’ve got this great lesson. You’re excited, worked up, really feeling it. Everything is groovy, near perfect. You’re telling this cool story and your students are rapt—leaning forward, eyeballs glued to your every move. It’s a special moment. And so much fun. This … Read more
There is a compulsion among teachers to react too quickly to misbehavior. As soon as it shows up on their radar, they’re on it in a flash, making judgments and decisions before fully understanding what it is. Teachers with this compulsion tend to take … Read more
Your temperament has a strong impact on student behavior. If you have a tendency to become tense, stressed, or uptight around your students, then they’re far more likely to misbehave. Because a tightly wound teacher translates to a tension-filled classroom—the kind of tension visitors … Read more
We know about the public cases, those gossiped about so offhandedly—the homeless student, the one whose mother is in jail, the two with drug dealing fathers no longer around. But what of the others? What of the secrets hidden and locked away, keys all … Read more