Why does it pain teachers to hold students accountable? Why are some so quick to ignore misbehavior, look the other way, or make excuses for it? Accountability is important, right? So what’s the problem? I have a few ideas. Teachers are slow to hold … Read more
The key to effective classroom management is leverage. If your students like being part of your classroom, then you have leverage, and accountability will work the way it’s supposed to. If your students don’t like being in your classroom, then you’ll struggle with classroom … Read more
I have a technique you can start using tomorrow that will eliminate stress from your teaching life. This no-stress method is so effective, in fact, that many professional athletes use it before a competition. For them, keeping their composure can mean the difference between … Read more
It is one of the most common teacher complaints. You give a single direction to a quiet and seemingly attentive classroom, and then watch as a third of your students either don’t know what to do, or they do it incorrectly. It’s as if … Read more
This third and final part of this series is about communicating with difficult students in a way that will compel them to behave the way you want them to. But I must warn you. It’s going to be different than you’re used to and … Read more
In How To Turn Around Difficult Students (Part 1), I made the case that teachers struggle with difficult students because their compassion overrides doing what is best for the student. If you haven’t read the article, I encourage you to read it before continuing … Read more
At the start of every school year you drag your finger down your roster, hopeful you won’t see one of the few names that can send shivers down your spine. Every year, it seems, there are a handful of students that have the potential … Read more
In their book, Made To Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath describe the story of Jane Elliott. Jane was a third-grade teacher on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. Struggling to explain the tragedy to her students, Jane decided to … Read more