Edcouragementor

She builds a tower out of pencil cases while you are modeling how to do long division.  He pulls the pigtails of his neighbor when you turn your back for a millisecond to the board.  She makes an inappropriate joke after another student presents.  The troublemaker.  We all have one in our classes.  It’s not an overnight, fix, but here are some ways to transform that pesky troublemaker into your star student!

Minimize the Attention on the Misbehavior in the Moment

Causing trouble can stem from a student seeking attention.  By calling a student out in front of all of the other students, you are giving them the attention they crave, and possibly humiliating them.  If someone is a repeat offender, it is good to set up a private meeting with them and let them know what your behavioral expectations are.  Phrase things positively.  For instance, don’t say, “Don’t hit others.”  Instead, say, “You must keep your hands to yourself.”  Establish a signal, like making a peace sign, that is known only by you and the student.  If they forget, and break an expectation, the signal lets them know that there is a warning, and possibly a consequence.  By keeping the signal private, you draw less attention to the student, which is less embarrassing for them and keeps your class moving on track.

Catch Them Being Good

For some students, the bad behavior far exceeds the good behavior, so this can be a challenge.  Every student does something right every day though.  You can find it if you look hard enough.  It might be entering a sitting down nicely, getting started on an assignment right away, working nicely with a peer, or raising their hand.  By giving them reinforcement for these behaviors, you are giving your troublemaking student positive attention and increasing the likelihood that they will try to do these preferred behaviors (it’s a bit pavlovian, but it works- I promise!).

Work as a Team With Home

Chances are that if there is misbehavior at school that it also occurs at home as well.  As soon as a pattern of misbehavior emerges, let the parents know immediately in a factual, non-judgmental way.  Ask the parents what strategies motivate their child to follow behavioral expectations and to stay on track with good behavior.  Send home frequent updates reporting both good days and more challenging days.  By hearing the same message from home and school about following the rules, the student will receive a consistent message about the importance of good behavior.

Give Them a Job

By giving the student a role in your classroom you are giving them attention and also showing them that you value and trust them to contribute positively to your community.  What are jobs that a particular student would be good at and enjoy?  Line leader?  Date monitor?  Computer Tech?  Office Messenger?  Let the student know that the job is both a privilege and a responsibility, one that they earn through their continued good behavior.  Also, be sure to let them know frequently that you appreciate their help!

Keep Them Engaged

Student misbehavior can also stem from either lack or challenge of challenge or engagement with the material that you are covering.  Gauge your student’s level of mastery and interest with your content to see if this is a contributing factor to their acting out.  If it is, find out ways to differentiate to add rigor, extra support, or entry-points for areas of their personal interests.  When the student sees the effort that you have taken to make the class better for them, they will be more inclined to behave in your class.

What strategies have tamed the most wild, savage beat of a student in your classroom?  Help other students by telling us in the comments!

Never led a parent conference?  Led a conference but want to get more out of it?  

Here are some surefire ways to improve your parent conference experience.

Prepare in Advance

Think about the individual student before the parents arrive and what concerns might arise.  Have the student’s work ready to show to track the student’s progress.  What are examples of successes that you can share with the parents?  The more specifically you can speak about the child’s performance the more the parent can see that you are invested.  What are areas that need to be targeted for the student’s growth, or where do they struggle?  Speak about any challenges accurately, and then talk about the steps that you have been and will implement to help the student achieve success.  

Set Achievable Goals and Make an Action Plan

Where are the areas that the student needs to grow?  Are they academic?  Social?  Emotional?  Target the areas that need development and then come up with a measurable goals along with the parents.  Then make an action plan.  What needs to be done now, next week, in a month?  How can you support the child with the goals in school, and how can the parents support the goals at home?  Decide a timeframe to check-in to monitor progress.

Involve the Parents As Opportunity Makers

What can the parents do to support their child’s learning and passion in the home and after school?  Whether it’s holding the child accountable for their homework, setting up a quiet, distraction free study space, or finding enrichment opportunities for their child, there is much that a parent can do.  Regardless of a parent’s level of resources or level of education, they can find ways to make opportunities for their child.  Having this conversation will benefit the child and improve their performance in your class.

Invite the Student to Attend

Although some topics require only the parents and teacher to meet (for instance in cases of trauma), most of the time, it is wonderful to invite the student to attend the conference.  They can explain their progress and challenges, set goals, and ask for the help they need in a safe setting.  Having them present also indicates to the student that they are the person ultimately accountable for their learning, and increases their investment.

Keep It Positive

It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.  Listen carefully and take notes that you email to the parent after the conference.  Be enthusiastic when describing successes and factual when describing areas of struggle.  Always be kind and respectful of the student.  And remember that body language is important, so sit facing the parents with open posture and arms. If a parent does get defensive, be sure to defuse the situation by say, “Let’s take a step back and get on the same page about how to help your child.”

Happy conferences!  Any other tips?  Share in the comments.

Of my favorite ways to spend my free time is walking my dog.  It’s fantastic exercise, wonderful bonding time with my sweet dog, and a great way to enjoy some of our consistently beautiful weather in California.  I have my preferred route, and like to get through my walk in the amount of time in my day that I’ve set aside for our adventure.  I think my dog also enjoys our quality time, but his mission is clearly different than mine.  As soon as we get outside, he goes into sniff-patrol mode and wants to stop every five feet to explore a new enticing scent, which inevitably leads to the nearest tree (my husband says that our dog is checking his “doggy social media” during walks).  As I know that our walks and visits to nearby friend’s yards are the only outdoor time for our apartment-dwelling pooch, I want to let him have the freedom to sniff to his heart’s content, but I also know that I if I did, our walks would be interminable, and I’d never get him home, our required destination.

One day recently, when my dog was being particularly persistent about lingering to sniff a patch of grass, I realized that my situation with my dog is an apt analogy for the give and take between and teacher and her students on the journey of learning.  The teacher has her objective along the path: she wants her students to get to the endpoint of the learning target, to get them “home” so to speak.  The students, however, similar to my dog, are enjoying the journey, and along the way, their curiosity is piqued by the sights and wonders they encounter.  They are rapt, caught in the moment, wanting to linger in whatever captures their fancy at that particular moment.  This is like a when a student, inspired by the lesson, asks a question that is tangential to the topic, but not entirely relevant to the learning objective.  The teacher doesn’t want to quash the student’s curiosity, but, at the same time, realizes that entertaining a digression might drive the lesson off course.  What is a teacher to do?

The answer to this conundrum is not a simple one.  Enjoying the journey is crucial to student learning, but getting students to achieve a learning objective is equally vital.  Striking this balance is a skill honed over time with practice.  I will share my best practice from my own work: I create a curiosity board.  When a student comes up with a fascinating tangential inquiry while we are working through a class lesson, I have them write it on an index card and put it up on the curiosity board.  Then I continue the lesson and getting the student to the desired learning outcome.  If there is time remaining, I go back to the curiosity board to explore their inquiry.  That student, or others equally interested in their query, can also do independent research on that question if we do not get a chance to discuss it collectively if they finish other work early.  This practice enables me to achieve my mission of getting my students to the point of learning that I have mapped out in my curriculum and balances it with my students’ need for discovery.

So encourage your students to wonder and to enjoy learning with you, but also remember to march forward and get your class “home.”
What are your best practices for when students want to deviate from the topic at hand?  Share in the comments.

Back to School Night is a great opportunity to show your parents what a great teacher you are.  Although dealing with adults causes some teacher trepidation, take a deep breath and read on for surefire ways to wow your crowd.

Here are a few tips for making the best impression on the parents. Be Enthusiastic and Professional

Pick an outfit that is professional and comfortable (be sure to wear comfy shoes). Smile and shake each parent’s hand confidently at the door, and ask them to grab a seat; be sure to learn who their child is. Don’t forget to smile and show enthusiasm!

Create a Powerpoint
Here are five slides that I recommend that you include in a brief powerpoint to keep your evening focused and on-track.

• Introductory Slide– Some topics that you might include in this introduction are where you went to school, what you studied, or what your background that prepared you for teaching is.  Parents are always glad to hear that their child’s teacher is qualified.  
• What Students Will Be Learning in the Course– List what your major units of study will be, and explain a few of the engaging projects that you have planned for the year.  No need to go into technical education jargon.  Just speak passionately and to the point.
• Assessment– Communicate to parents how you track student growth and progress, and how you will be communicating that growth.  In addition to mandatory progress reports, school data systems, and parent teacher conferences, how will you monitor and report progress?
• Communication– Back the school night sets the tone with parents, and is a great way to open up a receptive relationship.  Let parents know that the channels of communication are always open, and that you value their insights and concerns about their child.
• Scheduling a Conference– With the prior slide in mind, set an appropriate boundary and let the parents know that Back to School night is not the appropriate time to speak about their specific child.  In my slide I write, “Let’s continue the conversation.  Please email me to find a time to speak in person or on the phone about your child’s growth.”  This sends a clear message that while you are open to this conversation, that back to school night is not the appropriate time for it.  If you set a precedent of bending the rule for one parent, all of the parents will clamor to speak to you as well.  Be friendly but firm in reestablishing the boundary.

Let the Parents Experience Your Teaching Style
After you brief slide show, you have a great opportunity to show the parents who you really are as a teacher.  Do a mini-learning activity that you already done with the students.  For instance, I would do a “show don’t tell activity” with my middle school English parents and have them change three sentence from drab to dazzling (“He was nervous” became “His palms dripped in sweat”).  A math teacher might show a mini-lesson on volume by having parents measure and calculate the volume of their arm.  A science teacher might have parents derive a genotype for a Pokemon by filling out a punnett square.  Keep is short, engaging, and rigorous, and your passion will surely shine through.

Have Student Work Displayed on the Walls/In Portfolios
Empty walls are the kiss of death on Back to School night- so avoid this at all cost!  Put up exciting projects that reveal students successes and tell the story of what is being taught in your classroom.  Avoid putting up tests or incorrect work.  Help parents find their child’s work, and be sure that every child has at least one item (if not more) represented in the classroom.

Don’t Leave Extra Time for Questions
Make your evening so jam-packed that there is no room for parents to ask questions.  That way you can maintain control of the dynamic in the room. If a parent does ask a question that you are uncertain of how to answer, I suggest saying the following, “That’s a wonderful question, and I want to answer it with a full answer.  Can I contact you in the next few days to give it the attention it deserves?”

Go Home On-time!
When the evening is scheduled to end, thank the parents for coming, and let them know that you need to go home and get a good night’s sleep to be full of energy to work with their children tomorrow.  Some principals will come on the loudspeaker and let parents know the evening is ending.  I strongly encourage this practice.

Have fun, and remember, the parents are excited to meet you!

What does it mean to be a great teacher?  Most of the time, depictions of inspirational teachers in films fail to mirror the reality of our lives as teachers and the students we interact with.  While the passion depicted for changing lives is a certainty in a great teacher, this passion alone is not enough to change lives, as we see happen so often on the silver screen.  

So when we reflect on what type of teacher we are and want to be, where should we look, and what actions should we take?  There is no one-size-fits all model for being a great teacher.  

The ideas below have helped me in my own teaching journey, and I hope that they help you too.

Think About What Impacted You As A Student

Hopefully over the course of your own educational path you have been lucky enough to have some excellent teachers.  Take a moment to consider each teacher.  Visualize that person.  What did they do that makes them stand out in your mind?  What will you emulate from their style?  What lessons did they teach, both content and social did they teach you that you can add to your own teaching toolkit?  Consider the teachers who were weaker in your memory.  What did they do that you can avoid?

Look At As Much Real Teaching In Practice As You Can

As a student teacher, you got the opportunity to work with one, maybe two, individuals as mentor teachers.  Perhaps when you were clearing your credential, you were partnered with another mentor teacher.  But there are millions of other great teachers out there!  Chances are, there are even some great educators in your building.  Ask if they’d be willing to let you observe them during a conference block, so you can learn new teaching strategies that work for your population of students.  When you are observing them, be sure to note when the students are most engaged and most in ownership of their learning process.  And if you observe a negative teacher or an unengaged class?  Use it as a learning opportunity to learn what not to do.  Any observation of another professional can only add to your professional growth.   

Prioritize How You Will Impact Your Students

What will be your main areas of emphasis to target with your students?  A teacher would have to be superhuman to be able to target every area for student growth, so think about what matters most to you.  Is having a strong command of your content area essential to you?  Or will you be primarily focused on students’ social emotional growth?  Is it most important to you to differentiate the learning process for each student?  Or is student data the key to student progress?  Will you devote your time to working on interdisciplinary or project-based lessons?  Will you spend time attending your students’ sports games, quinceaneras, and community events?  These are just a few ideas of what matters most to some teachers.  What matters most to you at the end of the day?

Make A Mission Statement

Once you have reflected on what matters most to you as a teacher, come up with a sentence or two that embodies who you aspire to be as a teacher.  Print it out on a piece of paper, and put it somewhere where you can see it in your classroom to inspire yourself.  

So, in the infamous words of teacher John Keating in the film Dead Poet’s Society, “Carpe Diem,” seize the day and figure out what will make you become truly great as a teacher.

It’s a well known fact in life that, “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

This is equally true in your interactions with parents.  The vast majority of the parents you will work with will be kind, supportive, and appropriate in their interactions with you.  That being said, you will also encounter parents who seem irrational, irate, or downright rude.  You will be tempted to say, “Excuse me, but could you please remember that when you speak to me, I am also a human being?”  Although the temptation will be great, resist it.  

Here are five strategies to avoid unpleasant parent interaction and how to move past it when it does occur to build parent allies.

Strategy 1: Be Proactive Rather than Reactive in your Communication

Most of the time, we reach out to parents when something is going wrong, really wrong.  Often times, the parent’s initial reaction is, “Well why did you wait so long to tell me that there was an issue in the classroom?”  While a perfectly honest and realistic response is that you have thirty-nine other students to support, grading, and teaching responsibilities, saying such will not help you build a positive relationship with a parent.  A great strategy instead is to be proactive and build parent communication from the get-go in your classroom.  Call or send a personal email to every parent at the beginning of the year to introduce yourself and let them know you are open to working with them this year.  As the year progresses, send positive emails home as well so that parents aren’t just hearing the negative about their child.  Even if it’s a small behavioral improvement, celebrate growth!

Strategy 2: Be Honest, and Support Areas of Need

While, as mentioned above, it’s important to send good news home to parents, it is also vital to be honest in your praise.  Most parents know the truth about their child’s cognitive and behavioral development.  Don’t exaggerate merely for the sake of trying to appease a parent in your communication.  If there is an area where a student needs help, communicate the need factually, and then say what you’ve already done to support the need.  For instance, “Jane continues to struggle with shouting out during class.  In order to help her remember not to talk over others, she has been receiving a positive behavior ticket when she remembers to raise her hand before speaking.”  Brainstorm ways with the parent to continue to support the need.  Report facts, rather than opinions, as this is less emotionally charged for parents.  

Strategy 3:  View the Parent Perspective as Essential

It’s always a good idea to ask parents about strategies for success that they’ve used at home.  Chances are that if you are seeing the behavior at school, parents also struggle with it at home.  Conversely, parents might see a side of your student that you are unaware of.  Inviting parents perspectives into the conversation serves two purposes.  First of all, you will learn more about your student: the parent perspective will help you understand how to help your students better.  Secondly, you will build a stronger relationship with the parent, which will make your life more pleasant!

Strategy 4: Focus on the Needs of the Student

When confronted with an extremely angry parent, it’s easy to lose sight that that you both care about the same thing: helping their child.  Take a deep breath and steer the conversation back on course.  You could say, “I see that this issue is clearly important to you as it impacts your child.  It’s important to me too to help your child.  Can we work together to find a way to help her/him?”  It’s good to remind the parent (and yourself) what the point of the conversation is to move forward in a productive way, and to defuse tricky conversations.

Strategy 5: Set Appropriate Professional Boundaries

While parents are clearly motivated by seeking what is in the best interest of their child, sometimes they overstep appropriate boundaries, or have unrealistic expectations.  For instance, a parent might expect you to email them back immediately during the school day.  Your first priority at that time is being present for the students, and therefore this is an unrealistic expectation.  It is realistic, however for you to respond within 48 hours to all emails.  Be clear in your expectations with parents and set clear boundaries.  If a parent is overly antagonistic in an email or in person, consider inviting in an administrator for in-person meetings and cc’ing an admin on email contact.  On the other side, also remember that the parents are not your friends, and therefore, it is inappropriate to socialize with them.  Use your best judgement, and when in doubt, check in with us in the forums to get advice from at EdCourageMentor about your specific situation.

Remember, you have the power to make parents your allies, not your enemies!
Are there any other strategies that you’ve used successfully in parent management?  Weigh in the comments below.

Most teachers enjoy spending time with children; it kind of goes along with the teaching territory.  That being said, spending time with adults periodically throughout the day is vital; it can lift your mood or even restore sanity during an especially hectic time.  Finding your spirit teaching posse, however, is easier said than done.  Finding your lunchtime crew is very much akin to that first day of high school in the cafeteria.  Remember how you entered the room, clutching your tray or brown sack lunch, palms sweaty, wondering where you belonged?  

Here are some tips to keep in mind when looking for the right fit for your teacher tribe.

Avoid Burn-outs and the Jaded

There is nothing worse than sitting with a bunch of complainers, who currently hate teaching and find much to complain about at your school. These teachers will try to suck you into their vortex of deprecation.  Be careful to avoid this scylla and charybdis of nattering nabobs of negativity and try to find folks who accentuate the positive.  This is important in both thriving and floundering schools because it will allow you to build through positivity rather than stagnate.

Find the Funny, but not the Mean-Spirited

There is nothing better than regaling your teacher pals about some of the funny exploits and antics of your students.  Heck, some of us got into teaching just so we could share these hilarious gems with our friends, both teachers and non-teachers.  Having a few good laughs at lunch can definitely brighten up your day, but there is a thin line that it is important not to cross: demeaning or tearing student down is a definite red-flag, and a sign of someone who is not going to be a supportive colleague.  Chances are if they use language that is pejorative towards students, that they tend to use that tone in general, and maybe even about you!

If You Build it, They Will Come

But what if your perfect group of like-minded people doesn’t exist yet at your school?  Create it yourself!  Enjoy adding some activity to your day?  Create a lunchtime walking group.  Are you a music aficionado?  Host lunch in your classroom and create the soundtrack.  Or are you a foodie?  Make or find some truly amazing guacamole and invite the staff to a guac lunch party in your room once a week.  Most teachers, like any human, cannot resist a tasty treat, and food is a good way to their heart and friendship.  Food has a funny way of bringing a community together.  Whatever your interest, chances are that there is at least other person at your school who shares it.  And when all else fails?  You can turn to your community here at EdCourageMentor.

What other strategies have all of you used to find teacher friends at your school and beyond?  Please share your ideas in the comments!

Humans learn best when they feel valued and that they are a member of a positive community.

Here are some easy ways to make that happen in your classroom:

Model Kindness and Engagement

Teachers are super models!  That means that your students are watching you for cues about how to act in your class, and that you can easily model positive behaviors.  If you show kindness and empathy, they will too. The same goes for showing excitement for learning: if you are actively engaged in your teaching, your enthusiasm will be infectious.  Teach like your entire body is alight with passion. Your zeal for learning will radiate outwards from you and pervade your classroom, making it a joyful place to learn.  

Allow Student Interests and Strengths Room to Shine 

When you are good at something, you feel proud.  Give your students this opportunity within your curriculum and class to develop and showcase their strengths.  If you are teaching science and you have a gifted storyteller, let her write lab reports as fantasy stories.  If you are teaching writing, and you have a talented artist, let him create a graphic novel.  Positivity and engagement will flourish.  Although you may be teaching a certain subject, remember that student engagement depends on whether students feel that the material that they are learning is relevant to their lives and interests.  Look at your learning objectives and see if you can make a real-world connection or application of their learning to bring your lessons to life.

Put Students in the Driver’s Seat

Active learners are happy learners.  Step away from the lecturn and find out what engages your students.  Classrooms with a strong culture of inquiry have been shown to have some of the happiest learners.  Let them ask questions and then chase down those answers together.  This is the learning that will stick with them!  

Make your Culture Unique (and fun!)

Students always remember the small things that a teacher does.  What traditions does your learning “tribe” have?  Do you high-five students and greet them by name when they come into your class?  Do you have a class instagram account?  Is there a student collaboration whiteboard on your wall?  Do you call your student “scholars”?  Those are just a few examples of class traditions from several teachers that I’ve known.  There is no wrong or right; find a positive way to draw your students into your class!

What do you do to create a positive class?  Let us know in the comments!