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Classroom Management Training Handbook

This Classroom Management Training Handbook: Cued to Preventing Discipline Problems, K–12 is a workbook for K–12 teachers and is meant to be used in combination with Preventing Discipline Problems, K–12: Cued to Classroom Management Training Handbook, Fourth Edition. The Handbook follows the same structure as Preventing Discipline Problems, K–12. Preventing Discipline Problems, K–12 includes references to the Handbook, signaling the reader to consult information in this Handbook.

Classroom Management Training Handbook Cued to Preventing Discipline Problems, K–12 Fourth Edition

Howard Seeman

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 16 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BT, United Kingdom Copyright © 2014 by Howard Seeman All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seeman, Howard. Classroom management training handbook / Howard Seeman. pages cm Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61048-387-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61048-388-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61048-389-6 (electronic) 1. Classroom management—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. School discipline—United States. 3. Problem children—Behavior modification. I. Title. LB3013.S43 2014 371.102'4—dc23 2014014179

™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of

American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America

Contents

For Chapter 1: Using This Book as a Handbook Training Exercises Checklist

1 1 1

For Chapter 2: Why Many Attempts Have Been Inadequate Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

3 3 6 7

For Chapter 3: You’re Not Alone Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

9 9 12 12

For Chapter 4: When Should You Call It a “Discipline Problem”? Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

13 13 19 23

For Chapter 5: From the Horse’s Mouth Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

27 27 30 30

For Chapter 6: From Outside Your Classroom Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

33 33 35 40 v

vi    CONTENTS

For Chapter 7: From the Environment of Your Classroom Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

43 43 46 48

For Chapter 8: From the Interactions Between You and Your Students 51 Teachers Share Their Growing Pains 51 Training Exercises 55 Checklist 61 For Chapter 9: From the Delivery of Your Lesson Plan Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

65 65 69 78

For Chapter 10: Dealing with Those That Are somewhat Out of Your Hands Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

79 79 83 86

For Chapter 11: Repairing Your Student-Teacher Interactions Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

91 91 99 105

For Chapter 12: Preventing Your Rules from Falling Apart and Growing Healthy Students Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

107 107 117 123

For Chapter 13: Specifics Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

125 125 131 132

CONTENTS    vii

For Chapter 14: Repairing the Delivery of Your Lesson Plan Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

135 135 140 143

For Chapter 15: The Substitute Teacher Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

145 145 148 149

For Chapter 16: Epilogue: “You Matter!” Teachers Share Their Growing Pains Training Exercises Checklist

151 151 154 155

Appendices: Useful Tools

157

Appendix A: A Questionnaire for Your Staff: “Assessing the Problems and Needs of Your Teachers Regarding Discipline Problems”

159

Appendix B: Individual Training DVD that Demonstrates the Ineffective and Effective Teacher, Cued to This Book

163

Appendix C: Legal Parameters

169

Appendix D: “Am I Going to Have a Lot of Discipline Problems?”

185

Appendix E: An Indexed Inventory of the Sources of Disruptive Behavior and Remedies

189

Appendix F: A Checklist for Student Teachers and New Teachers: “Your First Day!”

193

Appendix G: FREE Online Help For Your Education Concerns 197 Appendix: H: Using Technology in Education. Guidelines and Useful Resources

199

viii    CONTENTS

Appendix: I: Guidelines for Successful ParentTeacher Conferences

217

Appendix J: Glossaries: 1) Student-Street Language; 2) Technical Terms Used in Schools

221

About the Author

223

FOR CHAPTER 1

Using This Book as a Handbook

TRAINING EXERCISES

1.  Decide what your work responsibility is by looking down all the sections of Chapter 1 in the textbook. 2.  Choose the section of the chapter of the textbook that best fits your work responsibilities. 3.  Before you read the road map of how to proceed for your job/ work in each section, list the areas and concerns that bother you the most in your job. 4.  Follow the road map in the section that fits your job of how to read and use the textbook for your work responsibilities. CHECKLIST

Look at the areas and concerns that you listed in number 3 above, and check off in the Table of Contents of the textbook the areas relevant to your work/concerns. If you do not find your concern there, see the Index of the textbook.

1

FOR CHAPTER 2

Why Many Attempts Have Been Inadequate

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. Which points in Chapter 2 seem particularly relevant to you, or are ones that you would deem “very important”? “That 50 strategies in 1977 ‘all would be solved with proper lesson plans’ I find ludicrous. I agree that teachers get little help regarding the key source of discipline problems. What I found relevant to me and that I find intriguing is the teacher’s personality. . . . My college did not prepare me well for being in the classroom, just philosophies that aren’t meant to teach how to interact with students.” YES, I AGREE! SEE MY ARTICLE: http://classroommanagementonline.com/what.html “Highlights of what I find important: Teacher education programs do not have courses devoted to handling/preventing discipline problems; major source of discipline problems is the complex interaction between student and teacher; Prevention: educators spend much time to control disruptive behavior. Instead, discover sources of discipline problems and prevent them; Crucial factor—teacher’s personality; Many attempts to remedy the discipline problems are in the form of 3

4    FOR CHAPTER 2

judgments (teachers and advisers may picture different things or have different personalities, thus making the suggestions incongruent for them); Emphasis must be on self-discipline and helping students make responsible decisions (Keating, Barbara, “A guide to positive development”); Effective classroom management: focus on the physical environment of the classroom, developing and teaching rules and routines, getting students’ cooperation; Behavior modification system of reward and punishment (according to some literature mentioned in this chapter) show little regard for the underlying emotions (if punishments are used, they have to be educationally appropriate and fair to child); extinguishing bad behavior without showing the right behavior teaches repression and anger.” “Point 5—Area of prevention; Point 6—Teacher’s personality; Point 3—Human interaction between teacher and student—as one of the possible sources of discipline problems. Punishment, if used, is to be educationally appropriate, fair to child.” “Each person is different and handles his/her situation differently. Yes, this happens: the teacher giving advice feels like they are so intelligent and the other teacher feels inadequate. [YES] We each have our way of handling things, each of us differently. If it works for you, go for it. [YES] If it does not work, find your system. [YES] Yes, hard to change horses mid-stream with classes of children, as stated in Chapter 1, but one can talk with the class about these changes and why and follow through. Yes, for me, sometimes making the rules with the class helps. Then, everyone has ownership with the rules, not just me.” YES, BUT SOMETIMES DOES NOT WORK WELL. SOMETIMES KIDS ARE NOT FAIR, OR IT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME TO DO THIS WITH THEM, AND YOU MUST FEEL CONGRUENT WITH THESE RULES THEY MAKE. SO NOT EASY TO DO THIS. “Yes, prevention is not always enough. Yes, it is important how the teacher plays a role within the classroom management style that fits best with their personality and needs. [YES]. Yes, advice and judgments make the adviser often feel better, but the advisee feel dumber reminded me of situations last year. [YES, ADVISERS LOVE TO

WHY MANY ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN INADEQUATE    5

ADVISE FROM THEIR OWN STYLE.] I was also a little disappointed about your comments about allowing students to take part in creating the expectations and allowing them to earn rewards—can be problematic.” “Chpt. 2—very interesting—yes, teacher training programs do not ready people for the real thing and that is dealing with people—I agree that the teacher’s personality is one of the most crucial factors—at my school we have all the same rules but may have different classroom procedures—but all the rules and all the procedures in the world can’t help if the kids sense the teacher is not sure of themselves, [YES] of their subject matter, or how to connect with them—I have been a mentor teacher many times and this is good just in the fact the mentee has someone to go to that is not judgmental and can let loose with concerns/frustrations but as the book says what problem Mr. X is having in his class may not be that in Mr. Y’s—teachers need more training in dealing with human interaction than writing lesson plans [YES, YOU GOT IT. YOU MUST BE A GOOD MENTOR]—it may be a killer of a lesson but if the teacher can’t get it across.” “It is certainly true that in the classroom that we, the teachers, are the ultimate ‘arbiters’ of the classroom management situation. The principals do not ‘run’ our classrooms; they are, at best, an ‘outside resource.’ I think it is also true that there has not been enough help for the teachers. We have many different types of students that are simply ‘dumped’ into our classrooms: children with ADHD, Cystic Fibrosis, mental retardation, several emotional and behavioral problems, genetic problems . . . it runs the gamut. The teacher is basically left to ‘fend for himself/herself’ in new and challenging situations. Very little help actually comes from the school district in this regard.” I AGREE. “Teachers evidently need more preparation and education on the subject of disruptive behavior. Even for me personally, I have been through schooling for my teaching licensure and this is the first course that I have taken pertaining to classroom management and the prevention of classroom disruptions.”

6    FOR CHAPTER 2

“Advice and Judgments usually leave the adviser feeling wiser and stronger, and the advised dumber and weaker. Should this become a power-play issue? [WE AVOID ADVICE, EXCEPT SELF-ADVICE AFTER READING SOME GUIDELINES, IS BEST.] A teacher left in this state has certainly not been left in a better state to handle discipline problems (e.g., numerous yearly walk-throughs). Emphasis: The reason why we cannot avoid the crucial factor: the teacher’s personality. The need to be behind what we say. Inability to show vulnerability. Pages 27, 259, 260, 263, and 359.” YES, THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT. TRAINING EXERCISES

A. What We Need to Do and Be Careful About 1.  Read Pitfalls 1–11 in Chapter 2. 2.  As you read each, put a check next to the ones that you agree with, that has been neglected in your preparation to become a teacher. 3.  Also, put another check next to the item if you feel this is a problem in your school, with your administration, or among your staff. 4.  Circle an item that you need to pay particular attention to. 5.  Now, find fellow colleagues and share your thoughts with them about these eleven points. B. A Summary and Critique of the Literature 1.  Read each book listed in this section. 2.  Underline what you like about the approach described in each book. 3.  Jot down a list some of the approaches that you would not use, would not be your style, that are not congruent with the way you like to do things. 4.  Now look at each approach that does not feel right for you. However, understand that any new approach is always unfamiliar and takes work to try. So, consider: “Is this just my resistance to a new way, or is it really not best for me?”

WHY MANY ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN INADEQUATE    7

5.  If not sure, try it for a while. Then, of course reject it if it really does not work for you. CHECKLIST

1.  Do you have an adversarial relationship with your class? Yes, then you will need to pay special attention to the chapters about your interactions with you students regarding congruence, fairness, appropriateness, involving them in the lesson. 2.  Are you not sure when to call a behavior a “discipline problem”? Then, you will need to pay particular attention to Chapter 4. 3.  Do you know where your problems come from? What causes them? Be careful not to just always blame these causes on the students. You may inadvertently be causing them, or not preventing them. You will need to pay special attention to Part II of the book. 4.  Could it be your personality, how you are, that contributes to your problems? If so, we will work on this. Try to be open to being different, yet still being authentic. This is complicated, but the book will help here. 5.  Are you a bit resistant to trying to do things differently? Of course, we all are. Try to stay open to new ideas, and new ways of doing and seeing things. 6.  Have you gotten advice lately on your problems? Be careful, some advice only helps the advisor. 7.  When you get advice do you suspect that they are picturing things differently from what you are explaining to them? Careful, most advisors come out of their own experience, picturing their style, their kids, and they do not fully understand your situation or your style of teaching. 8.  Are you a mentor of other teachers? Then heed number 7 above.

FOR CHAPTER 3

You’re Not Alone

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Knowing I am not alone with many of these problems, helps, but also makes me feel sad. [SORRY, THANKS FOR YOUR HONESTY.] Good teachers should not have to go through all this, especially when kids in class want to learn. We often don’t know why they act out, we do not know the reasons. [YES, BUT THESE REASONS STILL NEED BOUNDARIES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR BEHAVIOR.] Administrators should not be telling teachers that they do not want to see a difficult or troubled student one more time; they should support us.” YES, BUT TEACHERS ALSO NEED TO LEARN HOW TO HANDLE SITUATIONS IN THEIR CLASSROOM BETTER, SO AS NOT TO REFER TO THE PRINCIPAL TOO OFTEN. MORE ON THIS COMING SOON. “I really related to your first example, the expectations a teacher has, then the reality that comes that then caused frustration, disillusionment, and anger.” 9

10    FOR CHAPTER 3

“Yes, teachers do not want to admit they have trouble controlling the class because it may make them look like a ‘bad’ teacher. This was helpful: that not all problems need to be considered as ‘discipline problems.’ Yes, sometimes if we understand what students think and feel, this may help prevent/handle some discipline problems. Embarrassing situations make it hard for us teachers to make the right decisions about some problems; which then can escalate.” “Wow! A lot of situations regarding math classes! Yes, I have had situations where the administration did not back the teacher, or the admin. ‘gives up’ on certain students.” YES, YOU ARE NOT ALONE WITH THIS STUFF. “Discipline problems do make for a bad teacher; at least that is what will be said behind your back when some of the incidents occur in your own classroom. These problems—laughing, joking around, defiance, an unreasonable schedule—all these lead to making teachers feel like they are not in the right profession. I have watched new teachers in action—once a new teacher didn’t notice that one student took scissors and cut strips of material out of another kid’s shirt—and I say to myself, ‘I wouldn’t want to be a new teacher for anything!’” I UNDERSTAND. “Many times, things will be ‘smooth sailing’ in teaching—until we get that “combination” of volatile students that ‘starts the ball rolling downhill.’ The anecdotes shared in Chapter 3 are typical of things that can—and do—go wrong. If you’ve seen Hillary Swank in Freedom Writers—the first several months of class were fist fights, classroom walk-outs, defiance, constant challenges to her authority, etc. This might even be an accurate portrayal of some schools in very ‘urban’ centers with heavy-duty gang problems. Perhaps some teachers in affluent school districts will never see this problematic side of the classroom. In public education, we take 100 percent of the student population. So obviously not everybody is going to come in with ‘advantages’—or be ‘up to speed or grade level’—and all the problems that these children have going on in their lives are going to be reflected—in some way, shape, or form—in your classroom.” I AGREE.

YOU’RE NOT ALONE    11

“Talking out of turn and raising the hand is one rule always broken by at least six students in a particular grade level (6th, 7th, 8th). This was easier to manage when teaching in the primary grades K–5. [WE WILL WORK ON FIXING THIS.] The classroom norms are given to the students initially (first day) for each of the four quarters. . . . Sixth graders comply much better. [YES, I UNDERSTAND.] I just lost my head (8th-grade English): The entire paragraph has been one I can relate to for several occasions. Students in two out of my five 8th-grade art classes have exhibited my talking over them.” “To know that other teachers are having difficult times in their classrooms should make me feel like I am not in the boat alone, but it just makes me sad. There are so many good teachers who have to put up with this kind of behavior every day. It makes me sad for the students who want to be in class and learn. It makes me sad for the children who are acting out, because there is a reason, we just don’t always know why.” “Reading it made me become a little anxious about teaching. It also made me glad that I didn’t pick such a young age because it seemed like their stories were a lot more difficult to handle.” “I related to: ‘Talking out of turn. I told him to stop.’ Had no right to prevent the other students from learning.” “I was almost in tears reading this chapter. Some of those situations were plucked entirely from my classroom. Like this year. It was field day and the class was working on some quiet center activities. I have a little office in my classroom with a window. I stepped in for a moment to get something; all of a sudden, two girls were hitting each other. It was a ‘right in the middle of . . .’ moment. One of the anecdotes explained how the teacher felt ‘totally incompetent’ and ‘like a failure.’ That was me this year. I even went to the union to find out if someone could come and watch me teach and objectively give me some advice without making me feel worse. But they don’t do that, and I didn’t really trust the administration to ask anyone there, because they have to do your evaluations and I felt it would prejudice their comments.”

12    FOR CHAPTER 3

I UNDERSTAND. YES, YOU ARE NOT ALONE WITH THESE SITUATIONS. TRAINING EXERCISES

1.  Read each incident in Chapter 3 that is described by these teachers. 2.  For each ask yourself: “Could this happen to me? Have I had similar experiences?” 3.  Guess as to what you would do if you were in this teacher’s place. 4.  Ask a colleague to read these twenty-three experiences, and ask them to share with you any situations that they have had. 5.  Ask your administration to copy these twenty-three situations relevant to the grade levels of your school. Distribute them to the staff and ask the staff to contribute one of their own funnytroubling situations, anonymously, back to the administration, who then can distribute these to the whole staff. This will help all faculty to feel unalone with these problems. CHECKLIST

1.  Of the twenty-three experiences, jot down the number of the experience[s] that you relate to the most. 2.  Then, write down these numbers onto the last page of the reading of this book, so you can see these when you are done, and see if you can now “solve” them better once you have studied the book.

FOR CHAPTER 4

When Should You Call It a “Discipline Problem”?

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “‘It is possible to be disrupted and it not be a discipline problem,’ said Professor Seeman. What is he talking about? I soon began to realize that most of the so-called discipline problems in my classroom were miscalls or had begun as miscalls and snowballed into discipline problems. I have tried to discipline students for looking out the window, not being on the correct page, sitting with one leg folded under, and doing math problems with a pen. I see now that the key to handling any situation successfully is to respond professionally rather than take events personally. I must ask myself, ‘Is that student bothering me or is he interfering with my teaching and with the learning taking place in my classroom?’ I have been, at times, the biggest problem in my classroom. “Before realizing the difference between a miscall and a discipline problem, I ranted and raved over rolling eyes, raised eyebrows, yawns, snickering, gestures, facial expressions, drawings, forgotten gym suits, incomplete uniforms, and incomplete homework assignments. I ran the gamut of miscalls. I said things in response to a student’s feelings. 13

14    FOR CHAPTER 4

I often acted irrationally, my behavior becoming worse than the student’s. I was the primary problem, and I was pushing the class away from me. The things that were irritating and distracting me were not, in fact, disturbing the class and should not have disrupted my teaching or the growth of the class. I have to remember that what bothers me is not necessarily a discipline problem. I often cause the disruptive behavior by insisting on total attention, complete quiet, clean desks when I am teaching a lesson, etc. I get annoyed and disrupt the class.” “I am still having difficulty in overreacting to discipline problems that are essentially miscalls. I am aware of the differences between the two, yet while an incident is occurring, I react first and then think about which kind of problem I am going to have to deal with. It takes a lot of self-control on my part to stifle my gut feeling that what is happening is only disrupting me as a person and not the class. I have found that in my daily teaching experiences, I have often been guilty of ‘jumping’ at a situation that was not really a discipline problem in the first place. . . . I can really see how I fell into that trap when my ego was hurt. . . . I will hopefully avoid making a miscall due to my damaged feelings. Anger is another area I feel that often gets me to make a miscall. Many times while I was steaming inside from some outside happening, I would literally explode at some minor little action of a kid that caught my attention. . . . During the past year, I feel I have made some progress in avoiding the pitfall of displacing my anger onto my pupils. . . . The theory that ‘we put our anger in the safest places’ definitely rings true in a school. “Before my troubles were made clear to me, I categorized nearly every classroom mishap as a discipline problem. If a child was playing with a box of crayons or leaning back in his chair, I would stop teaching immediately and make some remark—usually sarcastic—to the culprit. I took all these happenings as direct insults, assaults, and affronts on my person. More of my person reacted than did the teacher part of me—my ego suffered tremendously! . . . One that I found myself doing was the ‘I’ve got to win their feelings’ situation. It bothered me when I felt that a student was disinterested, made a face, or even yawned loudly. I would often stop and ask the student if something was wrong or I would ask him if he had enough sleep or I might call on him

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    15

and put him on the spot. Each of these actions were really counterproductive in that they would interrupt the lesson, draw class attention to the kid, and sometimes make the student feel hostile. “Last year, when I first began to teach, I made many miscalls. I thought that in order to be a good teacher I needed to follow every rule in the student’s handbook. If a child was caught chewing gum, I would immediately make him or her take it out. If a child was eating a lollipop, I would get angry and start my ‘no eating’ speech. But as the year went on, I began to realize how silly many of the rules really were. I started to ease up on many of the harsh/silly rules I implemented. For example, I explained to my students that I would allow them to chew gum as long as certain conditions were met. I would see no harm in gum chewing as long as they didn’t blow bubbles and/or crack their gum. I also began to realize that the ‘no eating’ rule in general goes perhaps too far. It’s true that if students eat certain foods, such as potato chips or sunflower seeds, it can be disrupting to the teacher and class but some foods are not. I began to realize there would be no harm if a student sat quietly and ate a lollipop, mint, or cough drop. Sometimes teachers carry some rules too far. “I also used to get angry if during a matching test a child placed lines to the correct answers instead of just corresponding letters. I learned that I used to get angry because he was making my job harder. However, I have come to realize that maybe, for some students, drawing lines instead of placing letters is easier.” “I used to really get upset if a kid was not paying attention to me in class but still staying quiet. The dialogue would go something like, ‘John, why aren’t you paying attention?’ ‘I wasn’t doin’ nothin.’ ‘John, you’re supposed to be paying attention while I’m teaching.’ ‘I was paying attention.’ ‘No, you weren’t. You were off in your own little dream world.’ ‘Hey, man, why don’t you leave me alone.’ ‘John, if you don’t pay attention, I’m going to call the dean.’ ‘I don’t care who the . . . you call.’ And so it would go. The point is, I created a discipline problem where there was no discipline problem. If I had asked John about this situation after class, there would not have been this confrontation. Also, it would not have developed into this ego thing where, in front of the class, I had no chance against John. I have found out through

16    FOR CHAPTER 4

experience, that if a kid is not being disruptive, it is not worth having a confrontation in front of an entire class. “I have trouble with, ‘They’re interfering with my getting the lesson done.’ If I get too much questioning, almost immediately I think ‘time’ and this occurs more in regents classes. I am trying to disregard that regents or curriculum ‘fever’ and evaluate questioning more carefully. Can the question be useful? I must make a decision, ‘What’s best for the class?’ not necessarily me and my speed, or that one student asking the question.” “At times, students will say, ‘I’m bored’ or ‘I hate math’ and I will feel the need to win this student over to my side. Because I have a strong need to be liked and approved of I have extra-sensitive feelers when it comes to students of this type. To insult my lesson or yawn on my message is to say that I am not worth listening to. I do like to be on the center of the stage, and when I speak I want my students to listen. This is the of ego talking. My inner self is saying, ‘Hey kids! I’m fabulous, listen to what I have to say.’ Displaced anger: I have on many occasions been guilty of this. Something in the hallways would upset me and I’d enter the class ready to kill anyone who so much as batted an eye. Now, I let my class know I’m upset and to be patient with me. In return, they are to let me know how they are feeling and I’ll take it into consideration.” “Tired of being helpful: How many times have I lost my patience when asked the same thing time and time again. Now I first reevaluate my explanations to make sure I’m being clear.” “Any little thing got me pissed. It could be a student who just wasn’t doing anything but looking out the window or someone who didn’t do their homework. I blew everything out of proportion. At first, I did this very often because I had personal problems and blamed the students for them. Student teaching took up so much of my time (writing lesson plans, making up tests, grading tests, correcting homework, etc.) that I didn’t have much time left to spend with my husband.” “I often try to discipline the student who is not doing my work even though he/she is not disrupting the class. This kind of kid really bothers

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    17

me for a few different reasons. I tend to take it as a personal insult when a kid is not paying attention. I want the kids to like me and what I’m doing and when one of them shows by his actions that he is indifferent or worse yet bored or disgusted with what I’m doing, I really feel put down. When I feel rejected by my peers, I tend to withdraw—but in the teaching situation I feel I have more power. Under the self-righteous banner of ‘it’s for her own good’ or ‘he’s just lazy’” or ‘it’s my job to teach them whether they like it or not’ I go after the indifferent ones with guns blazing. I can now see more clearly what kind of situations combined with my own lack of confidence can cause this miscall. “My ego is at stake: I would work out drills in my gym class that I thought were fantastic. I would get the class broken into groups, set them up and start them working. I’d go from one group to another and inevitably when I wasn’t looking, one group would alter my drill. I felt they were robbing me of my authority and knew more than I did. I would stop them and force them to do it my way. I realize now their drill had just as much worth as mine (if not more) and I should have made it a positive experience. If it happens again, and if the drill is good (no, even if it’s not), I’ll have the class observe the drill and have them do it. Then they can also remark on it and try to make it better.” “There isn’t one day that goes by at school where I am not interrupted by an announcement over the PA. I get so annoyed that I take it out on the class. I try to control myself by telling the class I am not annoyed with them but with the announcement. However, it’s not always easy and sometimes I take it out on them.” “Michael had a habit of sitting on one foot with one arm on the back of his chair. Throughout the school year I negatively reinforced this behavior by reprimanding him on a random schedule. I can see now after taking this course that Michael’s behavior was not a discipline problem but became one due to my efforts. Not only was I giving him attention but I was also taking away from class time. I remember that all through my Catholic schooling I was required to sit properly. Not adhering to this rule would have put me in detention. Of course I accepted this rule as a part of life but hated it just the same. I believe that imposing this behavior on Michael was satisfying an earlier need in my life to rebel.

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Knowing that this rule was unjust when administered to me, I found it acceptable in my picture of the role of a teacher. A deep-rooted part of my person took over and therefore forgot for a while what it was like to be in the fourth grade. A soldier is what I had to be, so Michael was also to become one.” “As a substitute teacher, I am quite often faced with a great deal of disruptive behavior. One reason why I perceived so much disruptive behavior was that I termed all negative behavior disruptive. On many occasions, I disrupted the class, as I scolded students for sitting in a certain manner. After having taken this class, I have been led to the realization that many of the actions which bothered me were those that my teachers never tolerated. I am now quite amazed at myself, that I am able to continue with a lesson without becoming upset. Recently, I was working on “problem solving” in my math class, and I finished showing the students how to do the work in the prescribed manner. A girl in the class said that she had done it in an easier way. “We got into a discussion about the ‘better’ approach. Because of my ego, I think that I treated her self-expression as arrogance, and thus, it really did become a discipline problem. I often find myself having the most trouble with control and miscalls when I am not feeling well, either because of lack of sleep, or because I have caught yet another childhood disease from someone in my class. I try to be open with my second grade class when I am not feeling well. Usually I try to start the day normally, but by the end of our Morning Meeting, I will find myself saying something like ‘Guys, I know this isn’t your fault, but I really don’t feel well today. Just like I try to take it easy on you when you have a headache, I would appreciate it if you would be a little extra nice to me today.’ In general, I find that this kind of honesty pays off since it helps to build a relationship in which the children recognize that I am human too and we all work together when someone needs a little extra help. I realized that they had learned my ‘signals’ even better than I had when one day I came in with my glasses on not because I was sick, but because I had lost a contact. (I have very bad eyes and am a contact lens wearer. Only when my eyes are really tired or sore will I leave the house with my glasses on.) In the middle of Morning Meeting I heard a message being very quietly and discreetly passed around. I

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    19

started to get angry that the children dared to not listen. Then I (barely) heard what they were saying. ‘Mrs. F has her glasses on. She must be feeling sick. Be nice to her today!’ “My anger turned to a smile to myself. I chose not to stop the meeting, since when I checked, everyone was paying attention before and after the message passed them. After the meeting was over I explained that I was not feeling sick, but that I had merely lost a contact lens. I made a point, however, of thanking the class for their consideration, and rewarded them with a marble in the marble jar. (See Chapter 12, section H, for a fuller explanation of the marble jar reinforcement technique.) It was a situation that could have blown way out of proportion. Instead, we all started the day in a little bit better mood than we had when we entered the room.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Definition of a Discipline Problem

Can you write out the full definition of a discipline problem without consulting page 80 for the answer? Exercise Two: Making up Examples

A. Can you give three examples of situations where only one student’s education is disrupted but not the rest of the class? 1. 2. 3. B. Can you give three examples of situations where only the teacher as “person” is disrupted but not the teacher as teacher? 1. 2. 3. C. What are five examples of responsibilities that do fall under the role responsibilities of the teacher as teacher? 1. 2.

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3. 4. 5. Exercise Three: Identifying Discipline Problems vs. Miscalls

Below you will find several descriptions of classroom situations. Read each carefully. If you think that the situation is definitely a discipline problem, place a D in the blank. If you think that the situation definitely is a miscall (if treated with disciplinary action), place an M in the blank. If you think that the situation depends on certain conditions, place a C in the blank. For each, underline the part of the description that most determined your answer. _____1. A student is doodling in her notebook instead of copying your blackboard notes. _____2. A student comes in late and places his late pass on your desk while you are writing on the blackboard. He then begins to explain why he was late. _____3. A student in the back of your room waves to another student as she passes by your classroom. _____4. You call on a student who has raised her hand. She responds, “I find this stuff boring.” _____5. You point to a sentence on the blackboard. Instead, a student shakes his head to show his irritation and looks out the window. _____6. A student in a front seat suddenly says, “Damn!” and looks at his pen and shakes it. _____7. A student’s wrist alarm goes off. The student laughs and shuts it off. _____8. You ask a question that requires careful thought. Just as you finish the question, a student shoots up his hand and says, “I know, I know, I know.” _____9. A student laughs when, for the third time, your chalk breaks. _____10. While you and the class wait until everyone has finished copying the notes on the blackboard, one student mouths something to another student who lip reads it, and nods in agreement back. _____11. A student is rearranging his entire loose leaf notebook instead of opening his book to the page you asked the class to turn to.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    21

_____12. A student gives you a doctor’s note that says she has to suck on cough drops. You say, “OK.” She sits down and proceeds to spend about five minutes opening the cellophane package, and then sucks loudly on the cough drop. _____13. A student in the last seat of row five takes out a comb, combs her bangs to one side, and puts the comb away. _____14. A student in the first row, first seat, takes out a comb, combs her pony tail a few times, and puts the comb away. _____15. A student in a front seat falls asleep while you are showing a film. _____16. During your lesson, you notice that a student has written on the corner of his notes, “This class sucks!” _____17. A student in the back of the room sneaks a note to his neighbor while you are explaining something. They notice you saw them and make believe that they weren’t doing anything. _____18. For the third day in a row, when you ask the class to open their books, you notice the same student has forgotten to bring her book to class again. _____19. A child in the third row, third seat, starts to suck her thumb while she copies notes from the blackboard. _____20. A student who is answering your question begins to slouch in his chair as he answers. _____21. You put the homework on the blackboard at the beginning of the period. You notice that two students begin to do their homework while the rest of the class listens to today’s lesson. _____22. A student puts his elbow on the desk of the student behind him. _____23. You notice that a student is cheating during one of your tests. _____24. You reprimand a student for calling out. He stops calling out, withdraws from listening to your lesson, but continues to murmur, “Big deal. So, I won’t do anything. If that’s the way she wants it. The hell with her! I try to do the work.” _____25. A student puts on sunglasses in your class. _____26. To illustrate a point, you tell the class an amusing story. At the end of it, a student raises his hand, and says, “Ah, that’s not so funny!” _____27. A child says to another child (in Kindergarten), “This story is silly; I know a better story,” while you are reading to the class.

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_____28. A child (in 1st grade) throws a ball of paper at the garbage can while you are explaining vowels and consonants. _____29. Children sitting around a table (Kindergarten) all coloring start to tickle each other. _____30. You are telling people to wait their turn, and John goes ahead of Tom who is before him (in Kindergarten). _____31. John does the above again. _____32. The class is working in their writing journals (grades 1–3). The same student gets up three times in fifteen minutes to sharpen her pencil. _____33. Your school has a buddy system for trips to the bathroom in grades K–2. The same two boys ask to go to the bathroom together twice in a row. _____34. A student in your class (grades K–3) is particularly clumsy. She stumbles in the hall and pushes another student into the wall. _____35. A student in your class (grades K–3) knocks her lunchbox against the closed doors of other classrooms as your class walks down the hall. _____36. The class is working on a math page (grade 2) illustrating the lesson you have just taught. You catch two students whispering to each other about how to tackle a certain problem. _____37. The class is taking a math test (grade 3). You catch two students whispering to each other about how to solve a certain problem. _____38. The class is broken up into groups working on culminating projects for your social studies theme unit (grades 2–6). Three students from the same group are off in the corner pretending to look at books for their research but are really discussing why they are having trouble working together. _____39. The class is broken up into groups working on culminating projects for your social studies theme unit (grades 2–6). Three students from different groups are off in the corner pretending to look at books for their research but are really discussing a fight two of them had at lunch. Exercise Four: Being Careful of the Mirror Effect

A. List the names of three students who really bug you a lot. B. For each student, list the characteristics of that student that really annoy you.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    23

Student 1. 2. 3. Characteristics 1. 2. 3. C. Place a check next to any characteristic that describes (or described) you or describes someone else significant in your life. Do any of these checks explain the intensity of your annoyance? Exercise Five: Being Careful about Cursing vs. Venting

Make a list of those “dirty” words a student might say that would cause you to reprimand and punish him or her in front of the class, even though the student might say the word accidentally and out of frustration. Exercise Six: From Miscall to Education Problem

A. Write three descriptions of classroom situations where one student’s learning has stopped, but that student’s behavior is neither disrupting the teaming of the rest of the class nor you as teacher. 1. 2. 3. B. For each situation, write out how you might handle and help this student by either referring him to a counselor, or applying some kind of motivation technique, or by depriving him or her of credit. CHECKLIST

Listed below are the fifteen typical miscalls most teachers make. For each, write the letter in the blank beside the miscall that best describes you. Write N if it is never a pitfall for you. Write S if this is one you fall into only seldom. Write O if you often fall into that miscall.

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 1. The withdrawn student____  2. The overreacted to rule____  3. The “I’ve got to win their feelings” need____  4. The “I need their attention” syndrome____  5. The “my ego is hurt” reaction____  6. “They’re interfering with my getting my lesson done” reaction____  7. Displaced anger____  8. “I’m tired of trying to understand all the time” reaction____  9. The mirror effect____ 10.  The “I need to control” reaction____ 11.  The “steam” for “smoke” mistake____ 12.  The venting for cursing mistake____ 13.  The prejudicial mistake____ 14.  Holding a grudge____ 15.  The “punishing the education problem” mistake____ A. Have you mistakenly reprimanded a withdrawn student who was not interfering with the learning of the rest of the class? B. What encouraging, non-angry ways do you use to handle withdrawn students? C. Do any of your rules go too far? Do any of these rules have over-generalized limits that are unreasonable or unenforceable? D. Have you recently reprimanded a student merely because he or she felt a certain way? E. Are you requiring students to look at you, though you really don’t need that kind of attention in order to teach them? F. Have you pressured students to get the notes down and to stop asking questions in order to “catch up”? Have you missed the opportunity to use some student comments and questions to teach the curriculum? G. Have you taken out your irritation on a student when, in actuality, your annoyance is from another source? H. Have you reprimanded a student inappropriately just because you’re tired?

WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL IT A “DISCIPLINE PROBLEM”?    25

I. Have you found yourself irritated with a student while there seems to be no rational reason for this irritation? Does the student remind you of you or anyone you know? J. Are you trying to control certain routines or students more than is really necessary in order to be a good teacher? K. Have you accidentally reprimanded the class’s enthusiasm? L. Have you mistaken venting for cursing? M. Have you reprimanded a student because of your prejudices? N. Have you reprimanded a student simply based on his past behavior rather than on any behavior that he is currently doing? O. Have you treated an individual education problem (that was not disrupting the learning of the class) with disciplinary action? P. Have you reprimanded a child who violates a routine you just explained when the child simply didn’t understand the routine (K–6)? Have you reprimanded a child (K–2) who talks to his neighbor when what you were teaching really didn’t require concentrated listening? Q.Have you yelled at your class (K–3) for behaving wildly when you gave too many directions for them to handle at once? R. Have you thought about the outside factors that may be contributing to a child’s behavior, especially when that child is suddenly behaving in a way that is not typical for that child?

FOR CHAPTER 5

From the Horse’s Mouth

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. These are examples in this chapter of the text that teachers found “rang a bell” for them: “12. had a student with this situation—was so hard on everyone 14. this is pretty common in my area 30. peer relationships are so important at this age 32. again, peer pressure 47. we need to make sure our explanations are clear to all students— we should “see” understanding in our students eyes 79. have a faculty member with this problem—have been wondering how to help her 88. a student once told me that I made him feel what he said was important—no adult made him feel that way before 106. I always apologize to the injured party—let them know that adults can make mistakes too! 119. lessons must be effective—need that “hook” to get them interested 27

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127. lessons should be as interactive as possible—lecturing and note taking are the least effective strategies 139. making the connection to what is being learned and how it is relevant or might be to our student’s lives.” “Even though I was typically a very quiet student and seldom called attention to myself, I can remember pretending to chew on my tongue in one class because the teacher flew off the handle anytime a student had any kind of food or candy in class—even unseen. It was my little rebellion because she was so hypersensitive. [YUP] I got somewhat frustrated reading about the students who complained about the teacher not helping them. Math is not an easy subject for a lot of people, and innumeracy is something most of my students think is OK. I had students that would say that I wouldn’t help them, even when I extended offers for them to come in during study hall or homeroom for extra help. [I AM SURE YOU WERE VERY THERE FOR THEM. STUDENTS SAY UNFAIR THINGS. YOU MUST DECIDE ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE GOOD, FAIR—NOT THEM.] Also, math is a topic where sometimes there simply is a right and a wrong way, so there isn’t always a ‘work around’ or easier way.” I AGREE. “I often yell and make punishments I don’t follow through with. One student said he disrupts my lessons just to see how far he could go since I was inconsistent in my warnings and punishments. Very enlightening.” “Statements most significant to me: how the teacher’s class was set up; teacher picked on particular student when they weren’t the only one; teacher put student down, made them look stupid, feel inferior, or do insulting things; teacher didn’t have passion, the rules were unfair; monotonous, boring lesson.” “Sections C and section D were chock full of interesting and significant quotes. These got my attention because I felt like I had the highest amount of control over these complaints. In particular, ‘The teacher has no gut feeling for what he teaches.’ This comment struck a chord with

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH    29

me because I feel like I sometimes lose that loving feeling for certain areas of my subject. [MANY DO. THANKS FOR YOUR HONESTY.] Also the comment, ‘She wanted us to like her, but way inside her we felt she wasn’t authentic.’ I worry that I may focus too much on being liked that I might come across as fake.” WE WILL WORK ON NOT TRYING TO BE THE TEACHER, BUT, INSTEAD, BEING YOURSELF WHILE TEACHING. MANY NEED THIS HELP. THANKS FOR MENTIONING THIS. “From home and peers: #14 ‘my father likes to drink,’ because anything that happened at home for sure will affect the student behavior. From the interactions between you and your students: because I don’t have to be mad or show them my anger because of something bad happened with me outside the school. From not being supportive enough or explained well: because the teacher needs to be clear while he/she is teaching and they have to use different techniques in teaching and they need to stop sometimes and ask if it is clear or not.” “The most important statements from the students were about them fooling around because they didn’t understand the lesson or they felt lost throughout the lesson. This maybe happens when I teach the students and they end up fooling around in class because they probably don’t understand what I’m teaching.” “62. Maybe didn’t laugh because he was instructed not to; I was always taught not to laugh at the class clown. “63. That is me. I get so stressed out about trying to teach everything the students may need to know for the test, may not have understood or read in the textbook and anticipate questions they may ask. I still get nervous, especially when dealing with high school since I’m so close to their age that I can’t laugh or think of an anecdote. I panic when students don’t understand or ask questions I don’t know the answer to, since I struggle in utilizing incidental learning opportunities, teaching material in a different way or “dumbing it down” to the lower-functioning students’ level so I tend to be stiff and monotonous. One can only have drilled in her head so much that she has no business around students and is a lousy teacher for where she’s at.

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64. That was how I was told to teach. 66. I struggle with this as well since I’m so close to their age, where is the middle ground between ‘teacherface’ and being inappropriate? 141. Not everything can be made relatable. 155. I loathed not being able to go over homework during my second internship. It was only being used for a grade and not as a teaching/learning tool. 175. An unfortunately frequent occurrence in today’s schools.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One

Might any of your students be saying/thinking any of these? Read through the comments in this chapter from students who were perhaps incited to disruption by their teacher. If the comment “could be at or about you,” put a check next to it. Exercise Two

Indentifying where you need to work on your teaching and the way you come off to your students: Which categories are the ones that you checked off in Exercise One? Notice which chapters will be particularly relevant to you. Make a short list of these chapters you might concentrate on. CHECKLIST

1.  Are some of your classroom problems coming from outside your classroom? 2.  Do I tend to blame ALL my problems on problems coming from outside my classroom? 3.  Can it be that some of my problems are coming from the way the environment of my classroom is set up? 4.  Is my class environment orderly? 5.  Is my seating arrangements best for preventing disruptive behavior? 6.  Are my procedures clear and conducive to cooperation?

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH    31

 7. Do I have adequate supplies of equipment, tools, etc.?  8. Might I be making “miscalls” sometimes?  9. Am I always congruent regarding my subject matter delivery? 10.  Am I always congruent regarding my rules? 11.  Am I always congruent regarding the way I interact with my students? 12.  Do I follow through with what I said, or warned, or promised? 13.  Am I “appropriate” all the time with my students? 14.  Am I fair to all of them, regardless of any biases I may have? 15.  Is the delivery of my lesson plan congruent? 16.  Is the delivery of my lesson plan affective enough? 17.  Is the delivery of my lesson plan actionable enough? 18.  Is the delivery of my lesson plan inductive enough? 19.  Is the delivery of my lesson plan supportive enough? 20.  Does the delivery of my lesson plan have rewards in it? 21.  Does the delivery of my lesson plan have a sense of order to it? 22.  Does the delivery of my lesson plan have momentum? 23.  Does the delivery of my lesson plan give a distribution of attention, each student to each other?

FOR CHAPTER 6

From Outside Your Classroom

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see: you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “I really need to understand today’s children! I wasn’t disrespectful to my teachers. But I didn’t have the same frustrations or exposures: cell phones, iPods, TV or computer in my room . . . exposed to sex on my computer, violence on the TV, movies or in the news, etc.” “I start to take my students problems personally. I need to change that. They need to be structured, not like 1984, God forbid, but given a taste of what is acceptable behavior. ‘Our job is to protect the learning of the other students from these real discipline problems, even if these problems are not your doing and come from outside your classroom.’ I need to revise some of my ways and tendencies in my teaching.” “I do my best to be sensitive of specific insecurities for certain students. I did have a question about the students Daryl and Tony from the scenarios. It seems that while I can clearly see how the students were discipline problems, the teacher making a comment loud enough for 33

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the whole class to hear caused the impetus behind those two specific disruptions. If I were the teacher, I would make my way to Daryl’s or Tony’s desk and privately discuss the tardiness so as to give them less of a chance to make a scene of their late arrival. [YES, THAT IS BETTER, OR AFTER CLASS. . . . MORE ON LATENESS AND HOW TO BEST HANDLE THIS LATER.] Am I off base with that observation?” NO, GOOD POINT. “There are many outside forces working against our students and ourselves every day of our lives. The teachers who hopefully are adult enough to turn them off when they walk into their classrooms and must teach their students need to get out of the way of their students. I mean, they must be ready to handle the students and not get themselves all tied up in knots about their own lives while teaching. Kids have so much to deal with now. Maybe the same as we did when we were their age just different times in history and social acceptance.” “I think the most important thing that I took from the chapter is that things just aren’t as simple as they seem on the surface. When the situations were introduced with each ‘problem child’ I immediately became angry at the kid and felt bad for the teacher. After reading on about all of the issues that adolescents were dealing with at home, I still felt upset for the teachers, but I understood where the children were coming from. Being an adolescent is hard.” YES. “This was an interesting chapter because it described many of the students in our school. Their home lives are challenging—homeless, parents working all the time, parents separated. I had a student this year whose parents were going through a divorce and his mom had a new boyfriend, so by misbehaving and by me calling his mom, he was able to get attention from her. Another student’s mom was a teacher, but stayed late at school every day, so she didn’t mind when I contacted her mom, even though she got punished at home, because she was getting attention. Eventually, I referred both students for counseling which improved the situation tremendously.” GOOD WORK AND SMART UNDERSTANDING HERE.

FROM OUTSIDE YOUR CLASSROOM    35

TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Noticing Sources of Discipline Problems That Are Coming from Outside Your Classroom

To become more sensitized to the fact that many times anger and frustration have nothing to do with you and they’re not your fault, plan one day to arrive at your classroom before the students. Then, just carefully observe each student’s bodily and facial expressions as he or she arrives. Mentally give each student an 11 if s/he looks content, or a 12 if s/he looks in a very good mood. A student who looks kind of neutral, give a 0. A student who appears somewhat depressed, give a 21. And a student who looks frustrated or angry, give a 22. Try to do this for at least the first ten arriving students. You can often tell how someone is generally feeling just by looking at them carefully. You will probably notice that many of your students are already either depressed or withdrawn (usually a sign of repressed anger or loss) or outwardly frustrated and angry upon arrival. About what percentage arrives already upset? Exercise Two: Noticing the Problems Associated with Puberty

Immediately after one of your classes (perhaps the last class of your day), sit down and make a list of students who in that class seem to be physically awkward or who seem self-conscious about their body and appearance. Which ones seem to move or present themselves as if they are trying to hide parts of their body or the way they look? Are any of them wearing a hat to conceal acne or clothes that intentionally hide their breasts? These students may be struggling with the changes in their body we discussed above. Write these students’ names down. To re-sensitize you to these problems, look at this list and try to feel what these students might be feeling from this observational standpoint. Exercise Three: Noticing the Problems Associated with Sexuality

When you have some time, walk through the halls during a change of class and notice how much is going on with your students that has to

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do with just dealing with sexual attraction. Do the girls cluster in a gossip session watching a particular boy? Do some of the girls just call out remarks in the halls to get another student to notice them? Do either the girls or the boys walk by each other with a kind of walk that hopefully will make them look good? Do some of the boys seem nervous when they pass a cluster of girls, or certain girls when they pass a cluster of boys? How many students, after they walk by each other, turn to sneak a glance at how the other looks from behind? Of course, the more you are noticed by the students, the more these reactions will be hidden. However, if you see some of these reactions, their intensity is probably much greater. These probable sexual attractions and reactions are also present in your classroom. The only thing is that there they are repressed underneath the lesson you are trying to teach. Try to remember the power and upset of sexuality (especially for adolescents) so that when it sometimes bursts through the surface of your lesson you can remember this is often beyond your control. Exercise Four: Noticing the Problems Associated with Self-Concept

During a class discussion try to observe how many students’ answers seem to be motivated by just trying to look good to their peers or how many seem reticent simply because they are afraid to look bad to their peers. How many students seem to answer questions by including their own reactions often mixed up into the factual answer? Or how many tend to talk in a distancing way, e.g., “You know, when you go to school, you sometimes feel nervous; like when one tends to . . .”? Such speaking in the third person often is a way of speaking about oneself, but in a hiding, distant way. All of the above students are likely to be experiencing worries and awkwardness with their sense of self. Try to remember that these reactions may be the effects of their struggling introspective attempt to form an identity that is acceptable to themselves, their peers, and only sometimes acceptable to you. Exercise Five: Noticing the Problems Associated with Anxiety

Start a discussion in your class that either has to do with the future, or endings, or mortality. For instance, in a history class, draw a time

FROM OUTSIDE YOUR CLASSROOM    37

line and have the students locate past events on the line, their own birth, and then have them project events for about the next seventy years on the line (past their probable life span). Or, in an English class, have them write about their future, their hoped-for career, or goals. Or have them write about endings: the loss of friends when they moved or the death of a pet. Or, in a science class, discuss the inability to understand, predict, or control things. Or discuss the vastness of the universe or the infinite complexity of the human body. Then, ask them to relate to these discussions personally. Many may only be able to share their reactions by talking in the third person: e.g., “you tend to feel” or “that reminds one of.” Some students may just joke off their reactions to these subjects. Others may just seem to withdraw. These reactions may be the awareness of finitude that has newly entered their adolescent worlds. Often this awareness produces feelings of anxiety or powerlessness. If these feelings are not handled, they often can turn into anger and frustration over the inability to control such realities. How many of your students seem to fly into a rage just because things are not controllable? Who in your classes goes into a rage when his pencil breaks or his pen won’t write? Or who gets very upset if his or her sense of order or answer is disturbed or not perfect? These reactions are not your fault, nor can you prevent these uncomfortable reactions to the brute facts of human finitude now first intruding on their vulnerable worlds. It’s understandable that the anxieties associated with these new knowledges sometimes will appear in the form of disruptive behavior. Exercise Six: Noticing the Problems That Stem from Home or Peer Relations

At an appropriate time, have your students draw their own sociogram (a social map of their life) either as a homework assignment or in class. This is easily done by asking them to draw a little square in the center of a blank page that they label “me.” Then ask them to place the males (indicated by triangles) and females (indicated by circles) on the page around their “me,” either close to them, or distant from them, according to the way these people feel in their lives. Close friends will be drawn

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close to them, or touching their “me,” distant ones far away. Have them fill in the person’s name (or initial) in each circle or triangle. Then ask them to darken the circles or triangles that are the most important to them. A sociogram of their peer life might look like this:

Then, ask them to do a sociogram of their family. It might look like this:

FROM OUTSIDE YOUR CLASSROOM    39

You may notice that in their peer relations, e.g., Sue is closest and most important, whereas Tom is very important but, maybe, too far away for needs to be fulfilled, or that Mike is too close and maybe bothersome, since he’s not so important. Or notice the sex of the people. Are sexual tensions present? Or, in their family, their mother is closest and most important. And the father is very important, even needed badly, but too absent. Or their less important grandmother is around too much for comfort. Or they don’t like their sister and feel fine that she is not close. You might even ask them to draw arrows at their “me” that indicate pressures on them:

You should collect these sociograms and study them after school. Notice the problems each student has from the pressures in their peer and family network. You may wish to discuss these maps in a general way in class by asking, e.g., “Do you notice power struggles in teenage lives?” Keep your questions general and only allow personal discussion of these if the class can handle it. Protect students from the ridicule of others. Or share your own sociogram to help them feel unalone. Or incorporate these maps into a discussion of examples of other power or social maps, e.g., political power in the United States, or Congress, or during the Civil War. Or have them draw the sociogram of the

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characters in a piece of literature, e.g., Hamlet or Animal Farm. (If you choose to discuss these personal sociograms to make curricula material relate more to your students, follow the points for teaching emotional education I give in Chapter 12, section D, and Chapter 14, section B.) Exercise Seven: Noticing the Problems That Come from Right Outside Your Classroom

Is this area a major source of disruption for you? Place an x next to each item below that seems to happen too often. ___ A. Students hang out in the halls outside your classroom. ___ B. Students bring coats and hats or other things into your room that should have been put in their proper place before arriving to your class. ___ C. Students communicate to your class through the front door or front door window. ___ D. Intruders (deans, mothers, other teachers) come into your class in the middle of your lesson. ___ E. Noise from another part of the school is bothering you or your class. ___ F. Unenforced school rules are intruding on your ability to teach. CHECKLIST

1.  Have you wrongly assumed that all the disturbances at the beginning of your class are at you, because of you? 2.  Are you getting overly angry at a student who may be feeling self-conscious or physically awkward? 3.  Are you reprimanding a student in such a way that it makes him or her very uncomfortable in front of peers, especially the opposite sex, or a girlfriend or boyfriend? 4.  Have you gotten overly annoyed with students’ answers that seem to be too much about themselves? 5.  Have you yelled too much at a student who has flared up over a worry or anxiety about the next period or the future?

FROM OUTSIDE YOUR CLASSROOM    41

 6. You have just punished this student. Do you know where he or she stands with their peers or what the home life is like? It may still have been best to do what you needed to do. However, this sociogram observation may make you smarter at handling his or her next disruptive behavior.  7. Are you being interrupted by things going on in the halls, by intruders to your classroom, loose or bad school rules?  8. Are there students in your class who act out because they are anxious and distrustful?  9. Are there students who get angry and balk at activities because they have a low frustration tolerance? 10.  Are there students who annoy you because they need you to play their “parent” too much?

FOR CHAPTER 7

From the Environment of Your Classroom

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “A. Disorder Breeds Disorder—I tend to take care of this usually. B. From the Physical Environment—I tend to take care of this usually. C. From Seating Arrangement—I need to pay more attention to this one. D. From Your Procedures—I need to pay more attention to this one. E. From Being Poorly Equipped—I tend to take care of this usually.” “B. the Physical Environment: My room is unfortunately small, my desk is huge, and the desks are in a circle. I feel bad when a larger student comes into the double horse shoe and can’t get past without shifting the desks. C. From Seating Arrangement: Because my room is small, my students can’t easily work together on projects, etc. The students are too close that innocent moves cause disruptions. There is too much interaction because the desks are so close. [SORRY ABOUT THIS.] D. From Your Procedures: I need to work on this. I am guilty of not planning a lesson with enough sense of order. I tend to “wing” things, not good. I wish I could get a Smart Board. [HELP COMING 43

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IN CHAPTER. 14.] E. From Being Poorly Equipped: I have had to buy things myself!” SORRY. “B. From the Physical Environment: My classroom is in a good location on campus in many aspects. However, there are pitfalls to its location also: next to the dumpsters and the trash truck is noisy for five minutes during seventh period; students can look to the amphitheater when the band students practice there from time to time. [SORRY, NOT SO GOOD THERE.] C. From Seating Arrangement: With the budget cut in CA, my classroom is definitely too small for some periods because the number of students could go up to the high thirties. I manage to have seating arrangement that is pleasant and easy for grouping students. However, sometimes I got more students than seats available, and it could be a problem. [SORRY ABOUT THAT.] D. From Your Procedures: My procedure of each class is communicated to students on the first day of school. I have class rules posted on student tables and on the walls. Then I follow up with that procedure by following the procedure myself in the delivery of the lesson each day so students know what to expect from them.” SOUNDS FINE. I GUESS YOU HAVE RULES AND CONSEQUENCES IN STEP FASHION? CHAPTER 12, SECTION A WE WILL DISCUSS THIS. “F. Esp. Grades K–6: I do have sixth-graders in my class. I have to think about their mental development stage when I give instructions. Directions are given three times: First and second is to convey the instruction, the third is to seek their understanding of the instruction.” SOUNDS FINE. “I review my procedures and expectations the first week of school, or after long vacations. Students are assigned to new students who come in after the initial training to assist with getting to know the procedures and expectations. Other teachers find my classroom a model for them, however, what works for me may not necessarily work for them. Students like the organization of my room; they take pride in their jobs.” YOU SOUND LIKE YOU DO VERY WELL HERE. GREAT. “A. Disorder breeds disorder: I maintain an orderly classroom environment. I teach 3rd grade generally. I do think it is true that an orderly

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environment makes you more ‘mores bound’—and that there are more rules, and you are more bound by them. This is an excellent point. [YUP.] B. From the physical Environment: One problem that I haven’t been able to effectively manage in the classroom—and it is a source of continuing frustration—is the temperature in the classroom. [SORRY ABOUT THAT.] When our school had “remodeling” done—the air conditioning situation was not addressed. We have an excellent heating system. But in the months of April, May, and June it gets hot in the classroom and there is no way to cool it down. I keep an ‘atomic’ clock in the classrooms.” “B. From the Physical Environment: Since I am unsure of where I will be teaching, I definitely need to take all of these physical environmental factors into account. Often, there are many factors that I will be unable to have much power over—for example, I cannot really control if the room is located far away or it if is near noisy areas. I am also unable to control if the lighting is bad in the classroom or if the room only has one entrance (I can buy new light bulbs or submit a work order for lighting). These I will need to pay more attention to. What I can do is make modifications in order to make these setbacks less noticeable. I can create an environment that compliments the way the room is designed (size, etc.). [YES] Also, and luckily, there are items in this list that I can control and therefore don’t need to pay as much attention to. For instance, I can control if there are papers everywhere, the temperature is not right, or if there is no chalkboard eraser etc. I fully intend to do so!” GOOD AWARENESS NOW. “C. From Seating Arrangement: Seating arrangements are tricky. If the seats are nailed to the floor and there is nothing I can do about it, then this is something I definitely need to pay more attention to. [YUP, HOPE NOT NAILED.] Personally, I have the most trouble in prearranging a seating chart that is effective. As an elementary teacher, I intend on having an assigned seating chart and fully anticipate students who sit next to certain students will get along better/worse and therefore I will be changing up the seating arrangement frequently.” OK, AND THEY CAN LOSE THEIR PREFERRED SEAT AS A PUNISHMENT, OR REWARD THEM THEIR PREFERRED SEAT AS A REWARD.

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“D. From Your Procedures: I tend to take care of the following: I am pretty good with having a clear grading system, homework policy, bathroom policy, and am well planned and orderly. I need to pay more attention to giving out handouts that have unclear directions, or immediately request too much work or seem too difficult. This tends to require a strong sense and understanding of the students and having the differentiation technique mastered. I still need some coaching with this and it is something that I plan to build and work on.” YES, YOU NEED TO REVERSE ROLES WITH THEIR LEVEL, READ IT FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW. “F. Esp. Grades K–6: I tend to take care of the following: the physical environment is organized, the outline of the day is visible, and it is easy to find materials in the classroom (labels and organized to promote student independence. [GOOD.] I need to pay more attention to making procedures and routines for each activity clear. I also need to work on making sure that students understand what will happen if they are ‘bad’ and consequently, “how to be good.” [YES] I am also somewhat nervous about not having enough art supplies, paper, and pencils etc to ‘borrow.’ My first year teaching I will probably not even have funds to be able to provide this for the students! I know a lot of times teachers have told me that they need to pay for supplies out of their pocket and this is awfully concerning!” YUP, TERRIBLE. TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Does Your Room Look Disorderly?

One day get to school about fifteen minutes earlier than you usually get there. After you’ve checked in, go to your classroom(s) before anyone has arrived. Go with paper and pencil in hand to take a few notes. Before you enter your classroom(s), try to make believe you’re a student and a student who is arriving at this room for the first time. Now enter and look at the room from this point of view. Does the room look, overall, orderly? What looks disorderly? The walls? The chalkboard? The floor? The seats? Is the room in a noisy place? Does it smell funny? How’s the lighting? Does it look like a room that has

FROM THE ENVIRONMENT OF YOUR CLASSROOM    47

some procedures and routines? Answer these questions to yourself and note any areas that need improvement. Then, place a checkmark next to the ones you can do something about fairly soon. Decide when you’ll do these. Then place an “X” next to those that seem out of your hands. Then, place a “?” next to those you’re not sure what you should do about. If you feel there’s a lot of sources of disruption from just this environment, and you feel this area needs help now, skip to Chapter 10, section D now. Exercise Two: Diagnosing Specific Environmental Sources of Disruptive Behavior

Another way to assess these environmental factors is to go back to the beginning of this chapter to section B where the list of specific sources starts from #1 and ends at source #58 (or #70, if you teach K–6). Go down the list with a pencil marking the following alongside each in the left column: 0—if it’s never for you, or not the case; 1—seldom; 2—often; 3—always.

Take a look at your overall score. Is it high? (If you marked more than about ten items with at least a “2,” that’s high.) Is this a major area you need to work on? What areas did you score the highest: the physical environment, the seating arrangement, your procedures, equipment? Begin to work on those areas with the highest score, or all those items you gave yourself a “3” on—as soon as you can. If you feel this is an immediate first-aid area for you, skip to Chapter 10, section D now. Exercise Three: Assessing Whether Changing Any of These Is within Your Power

It may be the case that even after reading some of our suggestions in Chapter 10, section D: “Working on the Environment and Procedures of Your Classroom,” you find that you are still frustrated in this area. You feel that many of these items are out of your hands completely. Sometimes, that may be true. But, sometimes it just initially feels that way. Let’s assess the situation before we tackle the problem.

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With pencil in hand, go down the list 1–58 (1–70, if you teach K–6) and place a checkmark next to the item you feel you can do something about if you put in the time and the effort. Place two checkmarks next to the ones that seem easy to fix fairly quickly. Place a “?” next to ones you’re not sure you can remedy. Place an “X” next to those that feel unchangeable, seemingly beyond your power. How many checkmarks, or double checkmarks, or ?s, or Xs do you have on your list? Make a contract with yourself to work on the double checkmarks now, and later the checkmarks. After we discuss Chapter 10, section D, I think you will find more double checkmarks, more “can fix.” (Why have you not fixed the double checkmarks until now? Answer yourself.) Exercise Four: Seeing the Room as a Student

Especially if you are an elementary school teacher, make sure that you know the impact of your room from your students’ perspective. Sit down on the floor (yes, really!) and look at the room from the height of your students. Are things posted at an adult’s eye level or a student’s? Are there things that are distracting from this perspective that you don’t see as an adult? Are there important posters or work hung up so high that they are difficult for a child to focus on? Can your students see the parts of the room you want them to see, e.g., the bulletin board, wherever you stand to teach most of the time? Are materials clearly labeled and are the labels visible from this height? Often, we set up great classrooms that look wonderful to adults who walk in, but we forget that the room is really there for the students, and that it is their perspective that counts. CHECKLIST

In the first column on the next page, list all the numbers of the items you gave only a #3 to in Exercise Two (as “always” a problem for you) and those you also gave double checkmarks in Exercise Three (as “easy to fix fairly quickly”). For example, if #36 (no “do-now” on chalkboard) you gave a #3 and a double checkmark put #36 in the first column. Next, write exactly your plan of action for that item in the next

FROM THE ENVIRONMENT OF YOUR CLASSROOM    49

column: “plan of action.” Then, decide when and about what time you will put this plan into action. Finally, if “done,” check it off. Do this for as many items as you can that you gave: #3 double checkmarks. Then do it for items: #3 checkmark, #2 double checkmarks, #2 checkmark, etc. We will discuss in Chapter 10, section D how to tackle the #3s and #2s to which you gave a “?” or “X.”

FOR CHAPTER 8

From the Interactions between You and Your Students

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Howard, I love that you used the words, ‘The teacher is full of bull.’ I agree that if a teacher doesn’t really feel what they are saying then they need to stop talking and get a ‘grip’ before going on. I agree that yelling, I am not angry with you when you are talking to a student isn’t going to make a good impression on the student or others that may be listening. Teaching is caring. They go hand in hand. [BUT, IF YOU ARE ANGRY, YOU CAN EXPRESS IT. YOU MUST BE CONGRUENTLY ANGRY IF YOU ARE ANGRY. DO NOT SUPPRESS THE ANGER. YOU WILL LEARN TO SAY IT AND HAVE A SYSTEM OF WARNING STEPS AND CONSEQUENCES.] If we don’t care about our subject or the students that we teach we should either find another subject that we do care about, or find another job.” YES. “It’s very simple; kids know when you’re giving them ‘BS.’ They know when you’re not really there for their benefit. If I’m using a visual aid and just reading what’s on the board without any feeling or 51

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motivation they tune out and may become disruptive, I’m then an incongruent teacher. I like the concept of ‘be yourself while you teach.’ When I’m passionate about what I am lecturing or demonstrating, most of the times the students seem to ‘get it.’ I have fallen in the ‘my feelings, tone, expressions, tempo, etc.’ don’t match the content or I don’t seem interested in what I’m saying the students know I don’t care.” “Here again, can relate to the topic of the section. I sometimes am guilty of being inconsistent or not following through on a threat. Usually when I’m angry and try to give a punishment that matches my anger and is usually over the top. For example ‘You’re going to the principal’s office if you call out one more time.’ He calls out one more time and I just reprimand him. A few months ago I was told I send too many students down to the office, so I became gun shy and even though I said to go to the office, I backed off. Not good, I need to give punishment when needed in a softer tone and think about the consequences more carefully to be more consistent.” “When the class shows me respect or wants to learn I’m more a congruent teacher; the opposite also holds true. When they don’t want to learn, I fall into the trap of ‘I don’t want to teach.’ And it shows.” “Don’t say what you don’t mean and mean what you say. Don’t use sarcastic remarks with students. I have been known, and not knowingly, been sarcastic. [NO GOOD.] I had to step back, talk with a good friend and coworker about it and try to change this about myself. It was difficult, because I didn’t realize that I was doing it. But, it is just one of the ways to keep fresh in my teaching approach, changing my delivery and staying focused on the students and the lessons at hand.” YOU TEND TO HAVE SUPPRESSED ANGER? YOU ARE TRYING TO BE “NICE” ALL THE TIME? BUT, YOU NEED TO EXPRESS IRRITATION. IF YOU SUPPRESS ANGER LONG, IT WILL COME OUT SARCASTIC, EVENTUALLY. “Oh my, number 4 is a tough one [Do not punish the whole class.] My own children would complain about this from their teachers. I understand how this can come about, because sometimes peer pressure is

FROM THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS    53

a wonderful teaching tool. However, it is not fair to constantly subject the children who follow the rules daily to punishment that they do not deserve. This can cause so many more problems than it will ever solve. It is like the above-mentioned party that no one gets because of Johnny’s calling out. Take the party away from Johnny not from everyone else. [YES] He goes to another room or the office while the rest of the class enjoys their reward for hard work. Fairness is such an important part of teaching.” YES, YOU WILL NEED WARNING STEPS FOR JOHNNY IN CHAPTER 12, SECTION C. “What are you most prone to? The incongruent message because I continue to play the role of the teacher with the 8th-grade class. Perhaps because I have been given the ‘heads-up’ regarding the challenge of their behavior. I do need to be myself more. [YES.] Regarding Chapter 8, section D: From Being Inappropriate: A good teacher continuously reminds his/herself that ‘By my doing this whose needs are being served?’ I am always circulating the tables and addressing the needs as I see them. I will respond when a joke is made. Perhaps I may joke without recognizing it to be a put-down. [YES, CAREFUL NO PUT-DOWNS, OR SARCASM ONTO THESE FRAGILE EGOS. THEY ARE FRAGILE, THOUGH THEY SEEM DISRESPECTFUL AT TIMES.] I sometimes catch myself trying to improve the relationship with them. Again referring to specific class I have been told by others that I use sarcasm. NO GOOD! BUT, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. MANY TEACHERS FALL INTO THIS. “Regarding Chapter 8, section E: From Being Unfair: Applying the rules and warnings unjustly with bias, or otherwise is being unfair. I have mentioned calling out by students to see me after class. I do know that I have in the past enforced with some and allowed the student with the better behavior to slide by for the first offense. This has not happened often, but I realize that one time is far too many. This is inconsistency with the initial norms. [Also] I have punished the entire class for one student’s behavior. I was being prejudicial by giving one student a pass with calling out, because she had never been given a behavioral contract. I need to recognize the bias as extreme in consistency and an unfair miscall.” ALL GOOD HONEST AWARENESSES ABOVE. YOU ARE NOT ALONE WITH THESE MISTAKES. MANY FALL INTO THESE.

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“Which are you most prone to regarding miscalls? I am mostly prone to miscalling the withdrawn student, the mirror effect, and holding a grudge. Being controlling by nature, I would have to agree that I surely fall under the ‘I need control’ reaction as well.” GOOD AWARENESS. “I have also found that I am personally prone to telling a student that he/she did a good job even though their work wasn’t as good as I know they could potentially make it. If he/she scribbled instead of took their time to color, I need to be clear with my directions so that every student understands that they need to take their time out to do a complete and thorough job. It is not fair to have one student work for 20 minutes on a paper or coloring that another student spent only 5 minutes on.” OK. “Regarding Chapter 8, section E. If I am feeling overwhelmed, I need to take the advice that I tell children every day. Breathe and count to ten. [YES AND FIND RELAXING VENTING ACTIVITIES, LISTENING FRIENDS, ETC.] I should never take out my anger or outside frustrations on the students [CORRECT] and everything outside of the classroom I intend on keeping there.” OK “Exercise One: name some of the miscalls you might fall into. I am prone to making the following miscalls: withdrawn student, ‘they’re interfering with my lesson getting done,’ the mirror effect, the ‘I need control’ reaction, and holding a grudge. GOOD AWARENESS! “I notice that many of these feelings stem from being angry or unable to control what is happening. If my personal feelings are hurt or insulted I may overlook what I need and instead focus on my feelings at the time.” “Exercise Three: Recognizing Your Incongruent Interactions. Outside of school, I would probably be dressed a lot less professionally. Perhaps in jeans and a T-shirt or sweater. [FINE.] Honestly, I don’t really know how much different I would act outside of school since I try to maintain a positive image outside of my professional employment as well. I’ve actually run into a student in the grocery store and that was fine! [GLAD, GOOD.] I was on the phone so I wouldn’t be on the phone in class!” FINE.

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“Exercise Four, F. What does this drawing say about you? As a teacher, I’m very patient, kind and organized. When it is appropriate, I enjoy having fun with students and making learning an entertaining experience. [FINE.] This text doesn’t really say much about me. . . . I have a hard time in general drawing ‘self-portraits.’ [NO PROBLEM] I don’t really like to talk about myself or ‘portray’ myself. However, I do like to be organized and fun. I like sneaking funny jokes into my lessons so that students laugh and have a sense of ‘home’ when they are in the classroom. If I can make it so that the students don’t even know that they are learning, I think that I have succeeded. I made the font pink because I’m pretty girly and enjoy feminine things like fashion and vintage clothing.” FINE, BUT TRY TO BE YOUR REAL YOU AS MUCH AS YOU CAN IN FRONT OF THEM. MORE ON THIS COMING LATER. TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Recognizing Your Feelings and Needs That May Cause You to Make Miscalls

(a) Below you will find the list of typical miscalls explained in Chapter 4, section B. Go down the list and place a check only next to those kinds of miscalls you are prone to make.  1. The withdrawn student  2. The overreacted-to rule  3. The “I’ve got to win their feelings” need  4. The “I need their attention” syndrome  5. The “my ego is hurt” reaction  6. “They’re interfering with my getting my lesson done” reaction  7. Displaced anger  8. “I’m tired of trying to be understanding all the time” reaction  9. The mirror effect 10.  The “I need to control” reaction 11.  The “steam” for “smoke” mistake 12.  The venting for cursing mistake 13.  The prejudicial mistake

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14.  Holding a grudge 15.  The punishing the education problem mistake (b) Now, for each one you are prone to make look up the feelings and needs that are associated with each one you checked. (These feelings and needs are described in section A, beginning on page 175; there you can locate each miscall by its number.) My Feelings and Needs—that may lead me to make miscalls 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  (c) What do you notice? Write a short paragraph here that describes what you notice about your personality regarding this tendency.

Exercise Two: Recognizing Your Incongruent Messages

(a) Below, make a list of the rules you try to enforce in your classroom. Rules 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  (b) Now make a list of the usual reprimands or punishments you apply when these rules are broken.

FROM THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS    57

Reprimands or Punishments 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  (c) Now, list about ten specific subject matter topics you will be teaching, or have taught, in your class.  1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.   9.  10.  (d) Are you congruent with regard to all these rules, warnings, or reprimands, and topics you teach? Do you really believe in all of these? Are these really you? Is your “heart” in them? Are you “behind” them? Do you truthfully feel what you are saying to your class? (e) Place an A next to the ones you feel a definite “yes” to. Place a B next to those you feel “I somewhat believe in this.” Place a C next to ones you have mixed feelings about. Place a D next to those which you feel like you are just mouthing what “teachers are supposed to say.” Place an F next to the ones you don’t really feel or care about or believe in. (f) How did you do? Where are you most incongruent? Write out what you noticed in a small paragraph here.

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Exercise Three: Recognizing Your Incongruent Interactions

If your students were to watch you outside of school, e.g., in a pizza parlor, what would they notice is different about the way you are compared with how you are in school? Is your language, the words you use, very different? Do you have very different gestures? Would you feel exposed if they saw how you act and dress “in your natural habitat”? Are you somewhat phony in front of your students? Have you ever said to yourself, “What would my students think if they could see me right now?” What were you doing at that moment and why would it have surprised your students? Exercise Four: Recognizing How Much Your Person Is Behind Your Teacher

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1.  Which diagram is most like how you are? 2.  Now, draw your own diagram that best represents you here. (If you are different for different classes, draw one for each class and write a quick note that explains why you think you act differently for that class.)

Exercise Five: Recognizing Your Inconsistency

Look back at your list of reprimands or punishments you listed for Exercise Two above. These are probably preceded by warnings you give the class, e.g., “If you . . . , then . . . .” Do you follow through on these? For each reprimand or punishment you listed, give a 4 to those you always follow through on; a 3 if the answer is usually; a 2 if sometimes; a 1 if seldom; a 0 if you never follow through on what you said you’d do. Which ones received 4s, which 3s, 2s, 1s, 0s? Do you believe in these warnings and their punishments? Do you just lack the nerve? Do you just need support? Are you sometimes lazy? Add up your score and figure out your average. A. An average of 4 means you’re excellent regarding consistency. B. An average of 3 is good regarding your follow-through. C. An average of 2 means your rules will probably fall apart. D. An average of 1 means your class is probably a “zoo.” E. If you averaged a 0 you’re probably on sick leave or gave up teaching. Exercise Six: Recognizing Your Inappropriateness

(a) Below, make a list of your evaluative or judgmental remarks, e.g., “That’s good!” “You’re not right,” “That’s not true,” or “That’s illogical.” There’s nothing wrong with being evaluative or judging. Part of your job is to judge things such as: statements of fact, appropriate grammar, and writing and computation ability. But some of your remarks may be both evaluative and sarcastic put-downs. List some of

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your typical evaluative remarks that you tend to make, as honestly as you can. Evaluative Remarks 1.  2.  3.  4.  Which of these remarks do serve to nurture and help educate your students? Give these a checkmark. Which ones are just your vocabulary and you’re not sure if they help the students? Give these a “?” Which ones may be expressions of your frustration and actually may be a disservice, a put-down to the students, one that lowers their sense of self-esteem? Give these an “X.” These latter ones may actually sap your students’ motivation to learn, and be damaging your relationship with them. (b) Below make a list of your typical classroom procedures. Procedures 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  Which of these procedures help to educate or manage your class? Give them a checkmark. Which ones mostly serve you and only somewhat serve the class? Give these a “?” Which only serve you? Give these an “X.” (c) Again, look at your list of reprimands and punishments you listed in Exercise Two. Which ones have educational value? Give them a checkmark. Which ones are not educational but do teach socially appropriate behavior? Give these a “?” Which are neither educational nor instructive for socially appropriate behavior? These latter may only be “pure punishments.” Give these an “X.” They may only be generating vengeful anger at you.

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Exercise Seven: Recognizing Your Unfairness

Do students often say, “You’re unfair!” or “That’s not fair!”? Well, this may mean that you should look at this area. But, it may only mean that they perceive you as unfair, or are trying to con you. If it’s the former, you may need to take some time in class and explain your rationale for what seems unfair, but is actually as fair as possible. If it’s the latter, trust your sense of fairness and don’t be duped! (a) Let’s look back at your rules, Exercise Two above. Can you orally recite a rationale for each rule that justifies it as a fair rule? You can? Well, stop now and make a little speech, as if to the class, about the rationale of each one. (b) How’d you do? Are you convinced? Would they be convinced? Do you need to practice your speech? Or is it that your rationale is hazy because you are not totally convinced the rule is fair either? Now, try the same questions on yourself with your marking system, e.g., when you give zeros, credit, penalize, etc. How fair are your evaluative procedures? CHECKLIST

Listed below are a series of statements that hopefully you can mark with a check as meaning “I don’t do that,” or “that’s not me.” If the statement may sometimes describe you, place a “?” next to it. If you do fall into the description being admonished, place an “X” next to it. Hopefully you have many checkmarks and very few Xs. Each checkmark indicates you’re probably OK with regard to accidentally initiating sources of disruption from the way you interact with your students. Miscalls

1.  I don’t need attention so much that if a student is not looking at me, I get insulted. 2.  I don’t feel upset at my powerlessness when I can’t seem to “save” all these students.

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 3. I don’t feel constantly anxious and thus always need control.  4. I don’t mind being disliked by the students sometimes, as long as they learn and follow rules for the sake of others.  5. I don’t feel that the meaning I get from teaching is the crucial and only meaning in my life.  6. I don’t find that I worry about my ego so much in front of the class.  7. I don’t feel competitive with the other instructors.  8.  I don’t believe that if they just get the notes quickly that “they’ve learned.”  9. I don’t take my anger out on the wrong people. 10.  I don’t often run out of patience about having to explain things a lot. 11.  I don’t find that I get angry at students because they remind me of me or someone else. 12.  I don’t cut off class excitement, mistakenly worried that it is a growing disruption. 13.  I don’t get insulted if a student accidentally says a four-letter word just out of frustration. 14.  I don’t think I have psychological biases around race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, body type, etc. 15.  I don’t hold grudges. When it’s over, it’s over. 16.  I don’t tend to get angry at a student who is just having an “education problem” and not bothering anyone else. Incongruent

17.  I don’t act phony in front of my class. 18.  I don’t think: “some of my rules are a little ridiculous.” 19.  I don’t think: “some of my reprimands are a little overboard.” 20.  I don’t usually say to myself: “this subject matter is generally boring and not very important.” Inconsistent

21.  I don’t get lazy and not follow through on my warnings. 22.  I don’t feel nervous about following through. 23.  I don’t say: “Why bother! It won’t help anyway.”

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Inappropriate

24.  I don’t have rules only for my sake. 25.  I don’t have classroom procedures only for my sake. 26.  I don’t tell jokes or stories I like that have little to do with their education. 27.  I don’t give pure punishment assignments; my assignments are educational. Unfair

28.  I don’t come down harder on some students than others. 29.  I don’t apply my rules differently for different students without a clear rationale. 30.  I don’t believe in: “Just because I said so!” I have rationales for what I do, that they understand. 31.  I don’t overreact; my punishments usually fit the “crime.” 32.  I don’t believe it’s a good idea to punish the whole class to get one student. For Grades K–6

33.  I don’t get angry at the general, harmless din of noise in the room. 34.  I’m not unfair and try not to choose “favorites.” 35.  I don’t mind giving a lot of attention or expressing supportive emotions. 36.  I don’t forget when I promised a student (or the class) a punishment or a reward. 37.  I don’t give too many warnings so that I never get to the punishment. 38.  I don’t apply the rules to some students and not to others (without a very rational, fair reason). 39.  I don’t feel that my students are strangers to me. I’m not afraid of getting close enough to them to be able to know them and to nurture them.

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From the Delivery of Your Lesson Plan

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “D. From Not Being Inductive Enough: Although I do some of this I would like to work more on this strategy. CHAPTER 14 WILL HELP HERE. “E. From Not Being Interactive Enough: There has been a push from my district to get the students more active—this has not always easy with middle graders but as the program is now in the elementary school the students will be used to being taught in this mode, which should help us in the middle school. Personally, I’ve always had mine up and about and, yeah, it gets noisy but if they are learning it’s OK with me! CORRECT. STEAM VS. SMOKE. MORE ON THIS IN CHAPTER 14. “G. From Mismanaged Distribution of Attention: I need to work on this—I know I can’t give everyone the attention 100 percent of the time—I try to buddy up my strong learners with my weaker ones but would like to do better at it. [MORE HELP HERE IN CHAPTER 14] “H. From Not Being Supportive Enough: I try to keep eye contact with all my students during a directed lesson and when I see a perplexed look I ask if I’m speaking ‘Greek.’” CAREFUL, SARCASM? 65

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“A. From Incongruent Content: I think that I do fine in this aspect. I teach the concepts with my excitement and I act as though I am the students wanting to know what I have to show. GOOD. “B. From Not Being Affective Enough: Some students are not motivated to learn. These are the difficult to get affectively. Many other students come to school wanting to learn, paying attention to the even little details told. ARE YOU AFFECTIVE ENOUGH, NOT EFFECTIVE? SEE BOOK HERE. “C. From Not Being Actional-Experiential Enough: Group work, students interact with each other, teacher and students’ interaction, and hands-on learning are my teaching style. Sometimes I group students in pairs, sometimes in groups of four, and for fun games that actually are review of concepts learned, I divide the class in halves to compete for points. USE MANIPULATIVES? “D. From Not Being Inductive Enough: I am very careful about this pitfall. My teaching style is usually inductive because I want students to have the basic then the next concept built with the previous concepts/ basic. FINE. “E. From Not Being Interactive Enough: At times my students are not interactive enough because they need to take notes. However, I try to get students involve in notes generation: I start with the concept of the lesson and ask them to use prior knowledge to tell something about the lesson of the day. OK, MORE HELP HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “F. From a Lack of a Felt Sense of Order, Rewards and Momentum: This is an issue from time to time. The same lesson on the same day is delivered differently in different periods, usually getting better in later periods. Perhaps the students, maybe the teacher, is the culprit. YOU? MORE IN CHAPTER 14. “G. From Mismanaged Distribution of Attention: Students’ craving for attention could be an element that teachers can harvest in class— that is, motivating their learning habit by giving them the attention they need. However, I try to call on students that raise their hand and students that do not raise their hand as well as the ones that would not say a word in class. YOU NEED CHAPTER 14 HERE. “H. From Not Being Supportive Enough: With the issue in G above, I praise student for answering the question first, then I lead student to the correct answer if his/hers is not. I also help the student to find the correct answer if it appears that the student could not. [OK, BUT

FROM THE DELIVERY OF YOUR LESSON PLAN    67

MORE IN CHAPTER 14.] I. Especially grades K–6: Sixth graders are the ones that love attention, especially when I ask them questions and they could answer correctly. They feel proud because I praise them in front of the class and call them the intelligent ones.” FINE. “C. From Not Being Actional-Experiential Enough—would like to do better; D. From Not Being Inductive Enough—would like to do better; E. From Not Being Interactive Enough—well; F. From a Lack of a Felt Sense of Order, Rewards and Momentum— would like to do better.” “B. This I could definitely use some help with. Sometimes I feel as though my lessons lack those handles that the kids can grab and I don’t find out until I do give a test and their scores aren’t what I expected. I guess I need to understand that it is the students’ learning that is important, not my lesson or what I want them to know. I feel I definitely have to have my lessons student driven, but I have no idea how to do that. In English you think this would be fun—reading literature about problems kids have that the students’ can relate to . . . but I find it difficult. HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “C. Yeah . . . this is that control thing getting in the way. No way do I want my students out of their seats. This stems from my first years as a substitute teacher. As the students gathered around the door to leave, one student used a knife and stabbed another student in the arm. OMG. I told myself I had to be in control and I would not let the students do anything that required them to be out of their seats. I have loosened up a bit on this, but I still have that image in my mind. I don’t know how to carry out lessons that allow students to be walking around the room or any such thing. I UNDERSTAND. BUT, HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “D. I like the ‘You must follow them’ idea. This really makes sense to me. I always thought it was the other way around, but now I can turn that 180 degrees. It would be fun to follow them—start out letting them tell you why a person would rather be dead than alive (boy would that get them going in the book Go Ask Alice). They would have plenty to say about that and what a great way to prevent discipline problems if you are writing their ideas on the board rather than your own. YES, HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14.

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“E. Already stated that this is an area that I definitely need to work on. I try to come up with sharing ideas without the students leaving their seats—so trading papers is easy. It’s the projects and things that I have more trouble with. HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “G. I like the idea of stop trying to be the major feeder of attention and to develop methods whereby students can give each other attention within the lesson. This is a great way to look at lesson planning. I always feel like I have to be the center of attention, but why can’t the students be? Again in English this would not be so difficult. I am not currently doing this, but I can see where it would work. HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “H. I know when this is taking place exactly because of the way the book describes it: the kids in chaos or bored out of their wits because they don’t understand the material and their attention is a gonner. I literally feel this when it happens and I do something to change the pattern. I ask one of the students to try to explain what we are doing; if two or three can’t, I have to change the way I am presenting the material and I do so immediately. I guess you could say that I am in tune with my students’ feelings and I take them into consideration as I am literally delivering a lesson. I have completely turned a lesson around because I have sensed my students were confused or turned off.” HELP COMING HERE IN CHAPTER 14. “A. From Incongruent content: In regard to ‘congruent teaching’—I like most of the subjects we teach in elementary schools. Every once in a while we hit things that involve a great deal of ‘repetitive’ teaching; and of course, it’s a little tougher to maintain an appearance of ‘lively interest’ when [I SAY TO MYSELF] you are saying to yourself, ‘don’t they get it already?’” TALK IN THE FIRST PERSON PLEASE. “A. From Incongruent Content: I think that I do a pretty good job in terms of keeping my content congruent and making the information motivational and interesting (even if I may not think that the content is particularly remarkable). GLAD. GOOD. “B. From Not Being Affective Enough: I think that not being affective enough means that there isn’t enough emotion, enough interaction, and enough connections being made. I believe that I can always improve on this aspect of teaching. There are always going to be days

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that I am going to be tired or feel sick and therefore be unenthusiastic about a particular lesson or subject. What I need to remember is that teaching is very much like acting. [YES AND NO. YOU CANNOT FAKE CONGRUENCE.] When I come into school for the day I need to act like this stuff is interesting [I HOPE YOU REALLY FEEL IT IS INTERESTING.] and if I am enthusiastic, the students will be too. CHAPTER 14 WILL HELP HERE. “C. From Not Being Actional-Experiential Enough: This section is something that I really try to put into action daily. Studies upon studies have confirmed the importance and the significance of actions and actually doing things. When students are interactively involved in their learning—through role play, simulation, reversing roles, illustrating, imitating, playing music, etc.—they retain the information. YES, CHAPTER 14 WILL HELP HERE. “D. From Not Being Inductive Enough: Inductive teaching is based on the presumption that a learner’s knowledge is built on experiences and interactions with phenomena. This way, they are leading the lesson from the start. I am excited to learn how to make lessons more inductive in Chapter 14, section D. YUP, THAT CHAPTER WILL HELP. “F. From a Lack of a Felt Sense of Order, Rewards and Momentum: This is something that I need to work on. Very often I have found that what seems perfectly logical and orderly and simple to me, may not be for my students. Moreover, it is hard to decipher when to call on a student and if this will result in a loss of momentum of the lesson. YES, CHAPTER 14 WILL HELP HERE. “I. Especially Grades K–6: Importance of emotion and drama to the lesson. Directions with too many steps or an underestimation/overestimation of the student’s developmental readiness. This is something I need to work on.” CHAPTER 14 WILL HELP HERE. TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Recognizing Sources of Disruption That Come from the Lesson Plan Delivery

Ask a friend or colleague to observe you teaching a lesson. Or observe a colleague teaching a lesson. Or, if you’re in an education workshop or class, each one of you can volunteer to teach the first ten

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minutes of a lesson. Now, with the framework below, answer questions 1–17 “yes” or “no,” as best you can. If this lesson is perfect, your answers should be the answers given at the end of the list of questions.  1. Does the teacher seem to care about the topic(s) s/he is teaching?  2. Does the lesson delivery seem to be impersonally coming from just memorized notes or just his or her head?  3. Is the lesson too cognitive? Does it lack emotional content?  4. Does the content have any, even implicit, relation to the present that is at least somewhat apparent?  5. Does the lesson only call for the students to listen, question, comment, and take notes?  6. Does the lesson keep going from a stated generalization (item in the curriculum) and then, only much later, to a relation to experience?  7. Or does the lesson sometimes begin with students’ experiences and then move toward a curriculum learning?  8. Are the students allowed in the lesson, for the sake of the lesson, to interact with each other?  9. Or are they pushed to relate mainly to the teacher and reprimanded when they interact with each other, even when it relates to the lesson? 10.  Can you feel the order of this lesson? 11.  Do you know where the teacher is going? 12.  Can you feel why s/he’s going there? 13.  Does the lesson have momentum? 14.  Does s/he slow down or stop too much? 15.  If you were a student with this teacher; would you be able to get enough attention from the teacher and your fellow students? 16.  Do you understand the lesson well enough so that, when the teacher moves on, you don’t feel left behind? 17.  If you didn’t understand something, could you easily find a way to let the teacher know this? (Answers: 1. yes 2. no 3. no 4. yes 5. no 6. no 7. yes 8. yes 9. no 10. yes 11. yes 12. yes 13. yes 14. no 15. yes 16. yes 17. yes) Where you had different answers, you can now locate the area that needs work and skip to Chapter 13 for the area you want to improve.

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1 and 2 were about incongruent content. 3 and 4 were about lacking affect. 5 is about not being actional enough. 6 and 7 were about being inductive enough. 8 and 9 were about being interactive enough. 10–14 were about a felt sense of order, reward, and momentum. 15 was about the managed distribution of attention. 16 and 17 were about whether the lesson was explained well enough and also about, in a way, all of the above. Exercise Two: Recognizing Your Incongruence Regarding the Subject Matter You Teach

Hand either lesson plan or a copy of the textbook that you use to teach to a colleague or friend. Ask that person to call out topics at random in the lesson plan or file text (try about five topics). For each topic called out to you, answer, “Why the hell should I learn this?” as if a student were to ask it as a challenge. Give an immediate answer as best and as honest as you can. How’d you do? Do you have an answer right away? Was your friend convinced by your rationale? Were you being sincere in your answer? How much do you really believe in the meaning and value of the subjects you teach? Exercise Three: Recognizing the Lack of Affect in Your Lesson Plan Delivery

Tape one of your lessons. Then, don’t listen to it for at least a week. When you do listen to it, with pencil and paper in hand, answer the following questions: 1.  Did you start the lesson’s introduction to the class with some statement of how you feel about this topic? 2.  Does your voice tone express some real care and feeling for the subject? 3.  Did you actually say many emotional or valuational words, e.g., “valuable,” “significant,” “beautiful,” etc.?

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4.  Did you support students’ emotional reactions (not just their cognitive statements) about the subject maker? If you listen to it right away, you will read into it what you would like to think your lesson said. (If you are able, you might allow a friend or colleague to observe your lesson and evaluate you on the above questions. Or, if you’re in an education workshop or class, you can take turns and do this for each other.) Exercise Four: Recognizing How Actional Your Lessons Are

Either tape one of your lessons or allow a friend or colleague to observe one of your lessons. Or, if you’re in an education workshop or class, do the following for each other: Place a check here each time: 1.  Students in your lesson are directed to take notes. 2.  Students ask you questions. 3.  Students comment on the lesson. 4.  Students explain or re-explain a part of the lesson. 5.  Students are asked to draw something, e.g., a diagram, chart, picture. 6.  Students are asked to do something that requires them to get out of their seat, e.g., to go to the chalkboard. 7.  Students are asked to vote on something. 8.  Students are asked to role-play or simulate something. The items above have been arranged from passive to most actional. Are students asked to spend most of their time in your class doing things like 1, 2, or 3? Or do they spend more time doing things like 6, 7, or 8? How actional are your lessons? Exercise Five: Recognizing How Inductive Your Lessons Are

Either tape one of your lessons or allow a friend or colleague to observe one of your lessons. Or, if you’re in an education class or workshop, do the following for each other:

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1.  Place a check here each time you make a point in your lesson by starting out with a generalization and then relating it to the students. 2.  Place a check here each time you make a point by going from your students’ reactions and experiences to a generalization. The latter style (2) is inductive. The former style (1) is deductive. How inductive are your lessons? (If you often do neither, your students probably “turn off” because they seldom feel any way to relate to the lesson.) Exercise Six: Recognizing How Interactive Your Lessons Are

Either tape one of your lessons or allow a friend or colleague to observe one of your lessons. Or, if you’re in an education class or workshop, do the following for each other:

Each time in the lesson students interact with the teacher, draw a line between the teacher and the student, as in the above diagram. If the interaction is mostly teacher to student, put the arrows mostly toward the student. If the other way, then put arrows the other way. Each time the students interact with each other, draw a line between student and student.

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After marking the above diagram throughout the whole lesson, notice if: (a) most arrows go between the students? (b) most arrows go from students to teacher? (c) most arrows go from teacher to students? The more that (a) or (b) are the case, the more interactive is the lesson. If the lesson is almost all (c), students probably feel little chance to respond. Exercise Seven: Recognizing If Your Lessons Have a Felt Sense of Order

In the middle of teaching your lesson, stop and ask a student to please summarize briefly where we are and where s/he thinks we are going. Do this once or twice each period for at least four or five periods. How often do students sense where you are and where you are going? Do your lesson deliveries have a felt sense of order? Exercise Eight: Recognizing Whether Your Lessons Have a Felt Sense of Meaning or Reward

In the middle of teaching your lesson, stop and ask a student to please summarize briefly why this topic is important. Do this once or twice each period for at least four or five periods. If the students can’t say why, ask them if they are just following you for the sake of passing the upcoming test. How many students seem to feel the significance of the topic? How many are with you only for extrinsic rewards? How many are not with you because they feel neither? Exercise Nine: Recognizing Whether Your Lesson Loses Momentum

Either tape one of your lessons or allow a friend or colleague to observe one of your lessons. Or, if you’re in an education class or workshop, do the following for each other:

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Place a check next to each of the following each time one of these things happens: 1.  You stop the (train of your) lesson for a comment or question. 2.  You follow “a side point” you want to bring in for a minute. 3.  You explain something more than twice. 4.  You reprimand a student, using class time instead of handling it, e.g., after class. If you do many of these things often, students probably “turn off,” look out the window, or get off the train of your lesson often. Exercise Ten: Recognizing How You Feed Attention in Your Lesson

Either tape one of your lessons or allow a friend or colleague to observe one of your lessons. Or, if you’re in an education class or workshop, do the following for each other: Draw an arrow: (a) from teacher to student each time the teacher gives attention; (b) from student to student, each time a student gives attention to another student as part of the lesson, e.g., students show each other their work, comment on each other’s comments, etc.

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Are you the major feeder of attention? Do you allow, and even provide, ways for students to give each other attention? Are you afraid of the latter? Are you exhausted at always trying to be the major feeder? Exercise Eleven: Recognizing If Your Lessons Are Explained Well Enough

In the middle of teaching your lesson, stop and ask, “How many students follow what I’m saying, understand this point? Raise your hand.” Then ask, “How many are not sure?” and “How many are a little lost?” Notice how many seem to feel they understand, are not sure, don’t follow your points. Also, notice how many do not raise their hands for any of these. These latter students must be feeling one of these, yet are not comfortable enough to give you feedback. That’s significant. Now, ask the ones who understand (get a volunteer) to explain to one (get a volunteer) who felt not sure, or one who felt lost. Listen to your students re-explaining what they think you said about this topic. Are they hearing you correctly? Are your lessons generally explained well enough? Do students feel free to give you feedback when they’re lost? Exercise Twelve: Using Computers and Tech in the Classroom Best:

Below are the Pitfalls you should not fall into in using technology and computers in your classroom. Put an X next to the item if you need to watch that one, or stop doing this, for each one listed (consult Chapter 9, section J. for clarification of these). The teacher: 1.  ___Starts to be the assistant to the computer program/software, instead of the computer program/software being an assistant to the teacher. 2.  ___Overuses computers to teach to the test, worries about the upcoming standardized test.

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 3. ___Uses tech to teach a restricted curriculum (pushed by standardized tests), that is only: memorizing, retrieving facts, cognitive information, but not any valuational, process, affective, emotional, aesthetic, creativity, social learning, or reasoning skills and understanding.  4. ___Does not make use of the value of using computers for logic-stepped sequential cognitive learning, empirical facts, e.g., math, geometry, knowing the chemical elements, memorizing dates, etc.  5.  ___Spends too much class time on teaching an outmoded method for retrieving information, e.g., too much time teaching the multiplication tables, when students have ease of access to a calculator.  6. ___Does not make use of software that can be geared to different competency levels and the pace of each student for some learnings, to help those who are behind, or to not bore those who are ahead.  7. ___Does not use software that can give immediate feedback to students who need more immediate feedback on some learnings.  8. ___Uses tech for students to hand in their homework, but does not develop a late policy for the timely handing in of homework.  9. ___Or the school succumbs to using the tech that big business money has supplied to your classroom, even if you feel that this tech/software is not very educational. 10.  ___Does not use blended learning (computer assisting the live teacher’s teaching) for: valuational, process, affective, emotional, aesthetic, creativity, social learning, or reasoning skills and understanding. 11.  ___Uses computers so much that students become deprived of interactive communications with each other, communications that are also nonverbal, emotional, brings in cultural diversity, tonal communication, and the live relationships with other students. 12.  ___Uses computers so much that the teacher no longer has time to be his/herself to his students, no longer time to be a role model for these students in various situations that arise in the classroom.

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13.  ___Uses computers so much that there is little time in the classroom to teach and practice good, active listening skills (which are 50 percent of communicating!) in live situations. CHECKLIST

 1. Do you believe in the importance or value of the topic(s) you are teaching?  2. Do you tell your students how you feel about the topic(s)?  3. Do you provide ways for students to share their feelings about the subject matter?  4. Do you provide ways in your lesson for students to do more than take notes, comment, and ask questions?  5. Do you allow, even urge, students to respond to each other?  6. Do you provide either verbal or other signs in your lesson that give your lesson a sense of order?  7. Do you provide clear ways for students to feel the meaning of the lesson, or at least, to get reward or credit for their work or class participation during the lesson?  8. Do you slow down, or stop too often, or digress too often in your lesson?  9. Do you give all the attention, or do you also provide ways for students to give each other attention, e.g., show and tell each other? 10.  Does your class feel free to give you feedback? 11.  Are you best and appropriately using computers/tech in your classroom? (See Exercise Twelve above) For K–6 12.  Do you give emotional content to your delivery? 13.  Are your explanations in simple small steps? 14.  Are your explanations or planned activities too long? 15.  Is your content appropriate to your students’ developmental level and learning style?

FOR CHAPTER 10

Dealing with Those That Are Somewhat Out of Your Hands

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. Ducking

“I learned to duck about a year ago, when I realized that it helps to minimize the amount of confrontations I have with my students. There was a time, however, when I would take things students said and did very personally. When a student cursed, I got very upset. When I first started teaching, I thought that students just didn’t respect me when they cursed. I finally realized that cursing is part of their vocabulary, and it has nothing to do with respect. I feel much better now that I do not take things personally.” “In retrospect, I realize that I should have let a lot of things slide. I took things too personally, which is not to say that many of the students’ comments weren’t blatantly disrespectful, but, as discussed, one cannot force respect.” 79

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“I once had an experience that, now that I look back, I should have ducked. There is a student in my class that I find obnoxious. This student left my class to sit in another teacher’s office and read yearbooks. When I confronted this student, I told her that this was inappropriate and that she would receive no credit for participating. This student then smirked at me, which drove me crazy (I think if it was from any other student I would have let it slide by). I told her to wipe the smirk off her face. Of course, this only led to a verbal match in which there was no winner.” Disturbances Right Outside Your Classroom

“Over the past year I have taught in many different classrooms. Some of the resident teachers have put paper over their classroom windows, an extremely effective solution to a difficult problem but also an extremely gloomy one. The methods that were discussed in class that I have been using are waiting outside the door until the bell rings and telling the class not to react to wavers outside the door. Both of these methods have worked well for me, and I intend to continue using them. Waiting outside is especially good because the students are encouraged to come into the room before the bell rings and to start their work immediately. Usually, I do not have to tell students to ignore wavers. I simply ignore the waver, give a stern look at the student waving back, and the waver goes away.” “Because my classes are in the same room I’m able to put assignments on the board early. I also assign students to put assignments, especially the ‘do-now’ assignment, on the board. When my students enter the classroom, they have work to start on. This gives me the freedom to stand at my classroom door and usher my students in and keep strangers out. I also lock the rear door, which prevents students from entering from the rear of the class. When the bell rings to start class, I lock the front door. This prevents students who walk the hallways from opening the door, looking in your class for friends, and calling out.” “There is a monthly meeting of the executive committee of the union chapter and the principal in which we discuss issues that concern the teachers. Discipline is one of the things we talk about. We make sug-

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gestions like: all teachers should ban Walkmen in their classrooms. In fact, there is a rule in the school that these instruments of disruption should not be allowed in the school. We’ve suggested there be assistant principals patrolling the halls especially in between classes and help keep student noise and hyperactivity down to a minimum. “We’ve requested that security guards patrol the halls during class changes. These suggestions are circulated to the faculty and sometimes discussed at faculty meetings. We’ve had a number of faculty meetings concerned with discipline, and, in fact, small committees have come up with many suggestions. For the cafeteria, we’ve suggested that there be security guards to keep a calm atmosphere (there are already plenty of teachers there, and they find the job an onerous one).” Seating Arrangement

“In reference to the seating arrangement, I found it a useful threat to promise to change a seat if talkative behavior continues. Usually it works, and at the most, all I need to do is shoot a threatening glance in a certain direction and a potential disruption is warded off.” “I use the circle and horseshoe form from time to time. For example, to discuss prevention of suicide, teenage pregnancy and if I have to use visual aids, those will be very useful.” “I prefer circles or a horseshoe—more student interaction, less pulling teeth. The students can learn from each other—also social interaction. Suddenly, fellow students become human, and they also have feelings. Also, I can sit down more of the time and see their faces. It’s hard to hide in a circle.” Procedures

“When we spoke about lateness previously, keeping an empty chair by the door was one of the procedures for dealing with late students. I have been keeping an empty seat for those who come late, and I like the effects. First, the students make almost no disturbance when they are late, and secondly, they are punished because they cannot sit in their

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regular seat. They really hate the ‘late seat.’ Last week a girl came a few seconds late and took the late seat. About ten minutes later I saw tears down her face. I gave the class something to do and asked her if she wanted to tell me why she was crying. I was shocked when she said it was because she had to sit in the late seat. I was especially shocked because her reaction almost did not fit her ‘image,’ but her feelings were genuine. I have found that even in my eighth-period class, students who were problems get there on time so that they can sit in their regular seats. “The procedure has been very effective. Another procedure is keeping the bathroom pass by the door, and the students exchange the pass for a paper with their name and date for the pass. I find that I am no longer annoyed with requests to use the bathroom. I always found it disruptive when a student asks to go to the bathroom and I called on the student because I expected a good answer to a question. “On Friday, I spend about ten minutes going through the papers and marking B for bathroom on the front of their Delaney cards. By marking the Delaney cards I can check who has been using the pass too often as I take the attendance on Monday. I feel that this is also going to work out very well. As far as items for the classroom, I have put up a calendar in each room. (It was not easy to get calendars for free.) In the three days that the calendars have been up, I must have used them a dozen times.” Equipment

“In all honesty the information rendered concerning tools overwhelmed me. I realized that I was like a plumber going to work without his tools. There have been numerous times when I was unprepared to staple some tests together, mark a paper in red ink, or remember an appointment because I was not equipped. I generally carry a plastic bag with some of the materials you mentioned. Sometimes I find the chalk falls out of a box and I’m left with crumbs. Maybe a zippered bag would make a difference. I’ll try. The magic markers or special pens, which I use for writing on transparencies or even the ordinary pens, sometimes leak and I have a mess with which to deal. I’ve never heard of 3M Postem Pads, but they look as though they might be useful. I like

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the idea of a mechanical pencil and press-on labels, hand-wipes, and an appointment book a little bigger than my UFT one. It never occurred to me to have in the drawer some machine oil.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Learning How to “Duck” Ones Not Meant at You

Below, briefly describe five incidents this past week where you got very angry at some students right on the spot. 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  It is possible that you overreacted or took one of these incidents personally when you should have ducked or at least “gone with the punch” and not have taken it so personally. To learn how to do this better and to decide if you fall into a pitfall, ask yourself these questions for each incident you described above: A. Is it possible that the student’s anger was displaced, not really meant for you, but you got it or took it personally? B. Was the incident really out of your jurisdiction? C. Is it possible that the “curse words” used by the student were really only venting a previous frustration rather than hostility directed at you? D. Is it possible that this student is generally angry at authority figures? E. Might the incident only have been short-lived, just a burst of anger and over with, had you not gotten so involved? F.  Were you trying to earn the student’s respect on the spot, by verbal preaching, rather than over a long period? G. Were you not only trying to get the student to behave but also trying to extract a feeling from him or her on the spot?

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H. Is it possible that you chose the wrong place and time for your reprimand; the student couldn’t really “hear” you at this time? If you have answered “yes” to any of these for the above incidents, it might have been better (at least at the time) to have ducked, or you probably took the incident too personally and overreacted. Check the letter or letters above (A–H) that you need to watch out for as your “sensitive spot” or tendency for poor judgment or bad timing. Exercise Two: Practicing Ducking

If you are in an education class or workshop, try this exercise. (a) Each person in the class thinks of a particular student in their imagination who is particularly angry. (b) Then, each person imagines where this student is in school and what’s happening. (c) Now, each person imagines that this student comes across a teacher during the angry incident. (d) Get one person in the class to volunteer to role-play “the teacher” in the imagined incident and one person to volunteer to role-play the student in their imagined incident. (e) Before you begin the role-play, prepare the person who will role-play “the teacher” by describing the incident to “the teacher” you are about to role-play with. (f) When you both understand the incident, begin the role play by the person playing the angry “student” speaking first. The whole class watches the role play and notices how the “teacher” handled it. Did the teacher duck? Was this a ducking situation? (You can decide by reviewing questions A–H above in Exercise One.) How well did the “teacher” do? Get a few volunteers to play “teachers” for a few volunteered imagined “students.” You’ll be able to practice your decisions about whether to duck or not and practice your ability to duck when appropriate. Exercise Three: Dealing with “Hanger-Outers”

A. Notice whether the students who hang out and disturb your third period class, for example, are sometimes the same students. Write down their names here.

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B. Now write down either the name of these students’ destination teacher, or homeroom teacher, or the name of the person who is on hall duty that period. Take your time. It may take a couple of days to fill in these names.

C. Now, write a note to or talk to one of these teachers (or all three). Follow up your warning to these hanger-outers. Thank the teacher(s) who help(s) you. If you don’t feel like going through all this bother, note this to yourself, that you’ve decided to bear the disturbances rather than bother to do the above. Exercise Four: Dealing with Students in the Halls Who Distract Students in Your Class

(A.) You need to practice going deaf, dumb, and blind to the students in the halls who try to get an audience reaction from you and your class. Instead, reprimand the students in your class who give the outsiders attention. What will you say to your students in your class about giving attention to outsiders? Write out your little speech here: (B.) What warning of punishment or loss of privilege will you apply to those in your class who feed attention to the outsiders? (C.) Have you slipped and given attention to these outsiders, e.g., by reprimanding them? Have you tried a window covering as discussed on pages 225–226? Exercise Five: Choosing a Seating Arrangement

(A.) Review Chapter 10, section D, b. Use the chart below to decide your seating arrangement. Place a checkmark in the Pros or Cons

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column for each characteristic that is significant to you for each kind of arrangement.

B. Also, each time you see that that arrangement takes work (as described there). After you have scored yourself, you should probably consider the arrangement that has the most checkmarks in the Pros column (the least in the Cons). Or you may decide to sometimes shift arrangements. CHECKLIST

Ducking

You should be able to answer “No” to as many of these as possible. 1.  Have you overly reprimanded a student who was just displacing his or her anger? 2.  Have you gone after a student out of your jurisdiction just because you took his or her actions personally? 3.  Have you taken a vented angry statement personally? 4.  Have you taken personally anger that is really general, e.g., toward all authority figures? 5.  Have you wrongly gone after an incident that would have quickly blown over had you not jumped in? 6.  Have you reprimanded a student who was just showing frustration? You took their frustration personally? 7.  Did you try “to preach” respect into a student today? 8.  Did you try to win a feeling from a student today: the behavior wasn’t enough? 9.  Did you try to scold a student at an inappropriate time?

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Disturbances Right Outside Your Classroom

You should be able to answer “Yes” to as many of these as possible.  1. Did you put a “do-now!” on the chalkboard (or use a task sheet)?  2. Did you stand outside the door sternly and usher students in?  3. Did you note the names of students who repeatedly hang out?  4. Did you find out who their destination teacher is, or homeroom teacher is, or tell the person on hall duty?  5. Have you tried a covering or shade for your front door window?  6. Have you spoken to other teachers about similar concerns about, e.g., bad or loose school rules?  7. Have you spoken to the administration about these concerns?  8. Are you expressing your concerns in concert with others?  9. Have you described these matters in terms of “needs” and “concerns” (rather than criticized the administration)? 10.  Have you listened to the administration’s problems around these concerns? 11.  Do hall duty staff walk around the hall (rather than remain stationary)? 12.  Have you suggested the rule that staff and parents not enter a classroom in progress, except for an emergency? 13.  Have you suggested the rule that no food be allowed beyond the cafeteria? 14.  Have you suggested that teachers stop being so liberal about issuing passes? 15.  Will someone keep track of these too-often-issued passes? 16.   Have you suggested “hall-sweeps” (Chapter 10, section C, 3[g])? 17.  Have you suggested a place in the school where students may be allowed to have time to just talk and vent? The Environment and Procedures of Your Classroom

You should be able to answer “Yes” to as many of these as possible. 1.  Have you tried to secure the same room for each class period? 2.  Have you tried to get rooms near each other?

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 3. Have you checked that your room(s) is not near a gym, music room, cafeteria, industrial arts class, chemistry lab, auditorium?  4. Have you checked that the room windows don’t look out on a distraction?  5. Are the lights OK?  6. Is the floor quiet enough?  7. Are the window shades OK?  8. Does it also have a back door, with a lock?  9. Is the heater or air conditioning OK? 10.  Can the windows be opened? 11.  Does your desk have a drawer that can be locked? 12.  Does the room have a closet that can be locked? 13.  Is there a private place in the room where you can reprimand a student? 14.  Are the bulletin boards and chalk boards OK? 15.  Are the walls of the room OK? 16.  Does the room have garbage cans? 17.  Is there no pencil sharpener, or can you remove it? 18.  Do you have enough chairs and desks, plus one or two? 19.  Are they non-squeaky? 20.  Does the room contain only the essential furniture? 21.  Have you decided on a seating arrangement carefully? Have you carefully decided on a seating arrangement that is congruent with your teaching style? 22.  Are you working on applying the “tips” for handling the seating arrangement of your choice (starting on p. 232)? 23.  Can your students be seen by you and they see you easily? 24.  Have you made sure that the seats are not too close together? 25.  Have you tried to have them face away from the windows as much as possible? 26.  Have you left a good traffic pattern in your seating arrangement? 27.  Have you left an empty seat near the door for latecomers? 28.  Do you put a “do-now!” on the chalkboard (or use task sheets)? 29.  Are your “do-nows!” short, e.g., “fill in the blank”? 30.  Do you use a Delaney book? 31.  Have you tried the learning names exercise (see Index of text)?

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32.  Do you list the topics covered and to be covered on the chalkboard? 33.  Do you use staples on the bulletin boards? 34.  Do you have a large calendar and clock in the room? 35.  Do you have a clear policy for going to the bathroom? 36.  Have you tried the “garbage pail” strategies, pp. 241–242? 37.  Do you communicate well with the custodians? 38.  Do you keep the room cool? 39.  Do you know where the sun comes in and have a shade for this glare? 40.  Have you arranged the furnishings for a possible private place to talk to a student (K–6)? 41.  Have you provided a place where parents can leave you notes (K–6)? 42.  Have you found a way to keep children’s attention away from looking out at the playground (K–6)? 43.  Do you have a clear policy about students who do not have a pencil? Or theirs just broke? Your Equipment

Hopefully you can obtain all the survival tools listed in Chapter 10 for grades K–5, and 6–7. Go to that section now and check off each one. Circle the item number you want to get but don’t have. Go after these items. (Place the date that you’ll try to get it next to each circled item.)

FOR CHAPTER 11

Repairing Your Student-Teacher Interactions

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. Not Making Miscalls

“Displaced anger: I have on many occasions been guilty of this. Something in the hallways (learn to duck, Pam) would upset me and I’d enter the class ready to kill anyone who so much as batted an eye. Now, I let my class know I’m upset and to be patient with me. In return, they are to let me know how they are feeling and I’ll take it into consideration.” “Tired of being helpful: How many times have I lost my patience when asked the same thing time and time again. Now I first reevaluate my explanations to make sure I’m being clear. When I make miscalls,

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it is usually due to displaced anger. A picture of myself would look like this:

“Any little thing got me pissed. It could be a student who just wasn’t doing anything but looking out the window, or someone who didn’t do their homework. I blew everything out of proportion. “At first, I did this very often because I had personal problems and blamed the students for them. Student teaching took up so much of my time (writing lesson plans, making up tests, grading tests, correcting homework, etc.) that I didn’t have much time left to spend with my husband. We got into a lot of arguments over this because he felt that I was neglecting him and his wants and needs.” Being Congruent

“At the beginning of each school year, I place a great deal of emphasis on my authority in the classroom. In so doing, I block out a great deal of my ‘person’ and exercise authority through my role as a teacher. I don’t quite understand why I’ve done this, but I have a few ideas. First, it made me feel safer with the students in class. That is to say, I defended myself from reactions by the students, by placing the teacher up in front of the firing line. I thought it deterred students from

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questioning my reasoning or reactions to classroom situations. When I was a student, I recall my feelings as being ‘Well he’s the teacher and there is nothing I can say about a situation.’ “However, there is more to being a teacher than just teaching. I will have to pull down my defenses and open up. Maybe, this is the ‘safer’ way to go. However, this poses another problem for me because I don’t open myself up like a can of beans for anyone, at least not a casual acquaintance. This is something that unfolds for me naturally over a period of time, as trust and understanding develop. Therefore, my personal interaction with students doesn’t begin on the first day. It takes time—I believe you will agree—that personal relationships cannot be achieved in forty-two minutes. However, I am considering opening up more about my feelings and personal reflections to hasten the growth of personal interaction or congruent interaction. Doing this at the start of school I hope will create an understanding more readily between myself and my students than my past experience has shown.” “As far as the curriculum goes, I have not been totally honest with myself or the kids. I know I have to try to approach the subject matter from many different viewpoints to find a way that’s congruent to me. Looking back, I can see now that the lessons in which I was congruent were always the best. I know, for example, that I should use the social studies book less and plan more interesting lessons tied to what I feel is important about the subject. I don’t have difficulty showing how I feel, but in some areas what I have been projecting is negative feelings. I also must train myself to be more flexible within the lesson.” “My first reaction to the concept of congruence in evaluating myself was that I rated myself as average. I can honestly recall many times when I did not know how I felt and other times when I knew how I felt but could not find the proper words to express it. Also, I have warned the kids about my feelings but have not actually told them what they are.” “I firmly believe that being congruent with a class in the beginning of a semester is a very difficult task, especially when you don’t know what their reaction will be. Maybe the problem here could be need for

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approval on my part. Now, I can clearly see that I have a little more difficulty expressing my feelings about their behavior than expressing my feelings on particular subject matter.” “When examining whether I ‘say what I feel and feel what I say,’ I realized that for the most part this is not true. I find that it is of great importance to think about and evaluate my true feelings on subject matter, rules, warning systems, administrative rules, and personal issues before I begin teaching. This is something I never did. Consequently, I was faced with many instances of disruptive behavior because the children did not know ‘where I was at’ regarding these areas.” “Having some students older than myself and teaching all boys presented a bit of a problem to me, and I really did hide myself under the cloak of teacher ‘99.9 percent strength’ that first semester. That pressure was really great and it took its toll—I cried often that first term after I came home from trying to banish the ‘me’ from the teacher role.” “The importance of being congruent when dealing with kids cannot be overemphasized. I have come to realize that many times when I stammer and search for the right words, it is exactly those times when I don’t really believe or feel what I’m saying. This gets the kids suspicious, and rightly so, and very often leads to discipline problems, either by individual students or the entire class. Since I am not a physically threatening teacher, it is necessary that I consistently convey to the children the kind of ‘person-teacher’ I am. As I seek to trust and be trusted by students, I must not talk down to or deceive the students in any way.” “I can speak, I can write, and most times I can understand the way that I feel. At other times, though, when I am removed from being alone with myself, I have trouble relating my feelings to others. I am afraid that other people will not accept my feelings, and even though I understand how I feel I’m not sure I accept them as being valid myself.” “Congruence is that quality that allows a teacher to express his true feelings about his subject area of teaching or in his personal relation-

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ships with his students. When I began teaching, I found that I had many problems expressing my true feelings toward a student if he was being disruptive in my class. Holding my anger inside me usually made matters worse because the student didn’t really know where I stood with regard to his behavior. At this time, however, I have very little trouble letting a student know how I feel about him or about something he had done. Also, my attitude toward teaching some topics in mathematics still gives me problems. I do not get very excited about teaching verbal problems in algebra, and I think the students detect this, and sometimes get ‘turned off.’ Congruence is a very important quality to have because it can say much about the credibility of the teacher.” “In the beginning of the year, I established some classroom rules that I became uncomfortable with after taking this course. I have changed these rules because it has become impossible for me to congruently enforce these rules. Rules such as ‘No spiral notebooks,’ ‘Math and Spelling must be done in pencil’ and ‘No candy for lunch’ seem purposeless now. I don’t have to prove who is the boss. There is no boss. Regarding school rules, I tell my feeling about them. If I genuinely agree, I say so. If I don’t, I say so, adding that they will have to follow these rules in the school, but I am willing to bend them in my classroom.” Following Through

“I have trouble being consistent about following through with punishments. This is probably because I am not congruent about them. I still tend to ‘blurt,’ and then don’t follow through. I am learning not to say, ‘If you do that again, I’ll call your mother, send you to the office, keep you after school every day for a month.’ Before I call in a third party I have to ask myself if it’s necessary.” “I find that at times I forget to give that extra homework assignment or call that parent or talk to a student during the day because I am overwhelmed by the demands and pressures of the job. Sometimes the schedule is changed, something comes up that I must do that day for my supervisor, or I have so many interruptions that the classwork does not get done and everything else is forgotten.”

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“Sometimes I just didn’t want to be bothered with calling a parent. The reason is not that I didn’t want to be bothered but that I was afraid. I was afraid of being told that I wasn’t doing a good job. I can remember one parent who couldn’t understand why his son was doing so poorly. After I explained the behavior displayed by his child every day, the father blew up at me and told me that it was my job to control his son. I wasn’t afraid during this encounter, but I was afraid of having to come in contact with this man again.” “When I threaten to take away a party or some such treat from the children, I usually don’t. If I do take it away, I find a reason to give it back to them. This leads the children to believe they can get away with minor infractions. Although I find it difficult to follow through on a threat, I must learn to carry it through. In the long run it will be better for the children and me.” “I tend not to be able to follow through on the warnings I give students when they misbehave. I tend to speak before I think things through, i.e., basically I tend to blurt! For example, a student disrupted the class from learning by talking to her neighbor. I told the student after reprimanding her twice before that if she continued to talk, I would send her to the dean. She continued to talk and I didn’t send her to the dean. After I realized what I had said to this student, I knew that I couldn’t send her to the dean because in my school we are not supposed to send this type of case to the dean; we are supposed to handle it by ourselves. If I carried through my threat, it would only come back into my lap again. What I should have said to this student is that she should see me after class where we can discuss the matter.” “I am definitely inconsistent and I know it can mess me up. It’s just that I’m lazy and so many things need more than one follow-up that I neglect doing it. If I could do it in a one-try-one-follow-up process, I could manage, but as the term progresses, I get bogged down in other stuff and don’t follow through the second or third time. The record keeping alone! This is going to be much more difficult for me to do. After all, I’m in control of expressing congruence and there’s no paperwork involved. Maybe if I can get those disciplinary steps worked

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out, I’ll be able to see the results that will encourage me to keep it up for the necessary ‘breaking-in’ period.” “This area is definitely the most difficult to be successful in. There are times the thing I tell the students is not quite the same as my follow-through. There are many reasons for this inconsistency, but my problem is mainly that I state more than I really wish to enforce. For example, I have an official class that is very noisy. I warned them that if the noise persists, I will assign seats to the class, even though I’d rather not because it makes extra work for myself. The class ignored my warning, so I repeated my warning about assigned seats and I still didn’t do it. There went my consistency. After the third or fourth warning, two days later, I forced myself to assign seats. At this point it was difficult. I am now thinking more clearly about my warnings and not biting too much to chew.” “I find that I am not a consistent person. I do not follow through on my warnings. I have been working on this concept recently. In the past, I felt some of my warnings were too harsh for the type of behavior problem the student exhibited. I also find that I have a tendency toward favoritism. Therefore, I do not always give the same to every child for the same type of behavior. I would say that I tend to blurt at least two or three times a day, an unfortunate rate. “Even though these are spontaneous responses, I sometimes feel I am waiting for an opportunity to respond. To me it is an opportunity to come up with a great line. I have this almost wholly irresistible urge to come up with that great line even though it usually goes over the heads of my students. I believe, this being the case, that it is done just to please and entertain myself, and while I am being momentarily entertained it can lead to chaos. For example, I’m writing on the board and suddenly I hear a radio blast. If I know where it’s coming from, I might wheel and throw a piece of chalk in the direction of the offending student and tell him if he doesn’t turn off the radio and put it away I’m going to turn him off and lock him away for good. I don’t even know what this means, and neither do the kids, but the words sound right and the message is clear. Now, obviously, I’m not going to lock him anywhere but that’s not really important at that instant. My kids just

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stop work and watch the show. With one blurt I have disrupted the class with no chance of following up on that blurt. Fortunately, the student will almost always put the radio away but that does not preclude his bringing it in again another day and forcing me to act again—this time, hopefully, with some sense. “Sometimes the blurt will be truly creative. At one time I would engage in ‘snapping,’ the art of putting another person down, but it led to absolute chaos. Now I might be in the middle of a discussion where most people are raising hands while one or two are calling out. They are probably not even calling out answers, just opinions or observations. Perhaps I’ll blurt to the few calling out, ‘Keep yelling out and I’ll cut your tongue out.’ They’ll look at me as if I’m crazy. Perhaps I’ll say, ‘Use your hands, you know, the things you use to swing from branch to branch.’ Or ‘What’s the matter, if you raise your hands your armpits will knock us out?’ The class falls into instant hysteria. Then I’ll say, ‘If you continue calling out, I’m going to throw you out.’ They sense immediately that since I helped to create the atmosphere of chaos I won’t throw them out. Now most times my blurts do not lead to a situation quite as chaotic as this. “But they do lead to my saying things that I know I won’t follow up on and my kids know I won’t follow up on so another barrier is down, and I am now closer to being at the mercy of my students. Though blurts might be spontaneous reactions, I feel I can still work on them by working to remain stable and consistent in my teaching without giving into certain whims of my own personality. It is one of my hardest problems.” Being Appropriate

“My main focus from now on will be on the growth of the children. There have been many times when I have talked about myself to my class for no purpose but to serve my ego. I have also cheated the class, I am certain, by doing lesson plans that have been more convenient for myself than beneficial to them. My biggest problem is saying things that are not appropriate for the situation. I enjoy being the center of attention in the class, and many times I make comical statements at the expense of some child. I must try to make appropriate statements to the children.”

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“Being professional is doing what is good for my classes and not what is convenient for myself. Many times, during the course of a working day, I am tempted to do the easy thing. Sometimes, I am not professional and succumb to my desire to rest and take it easy.” Being Fair

“I realize now that I let some students ‘get by’ for subjective reasons.” “I have a bias for students who look like other people in my family.” “For some kids, I have put missing decimal points in on test papers.” “I used to give class punishment assignments and then secretly approach some ‘goodie-goodies’ and tell them they didn’t have to do it.” “I think I tend to call on boys more often than girls.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Handling Those Feelings and Needs That Can Lead to Miscalls

(a) Make a list here of areas or responsibilities you feel a lack of pride in or areas you feel irresponsible about because you are procrastinating (in and/or out of school). Then, in the right-hand column set a deadline day you will do the item by. Area

Deadline

1.  2.  3.  4. 

1.  2.  3.  4. 

(b) To feel less powerless, stop now and make a “to-do” list for this week and prioritize the items. Get organized. Decide on a day you will

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spend after school organizing your desk and classroom. Tell a friend about these plans to feel some support. (c) To stop storing up angers, make a list here of all the irritations (in and/or out of school) you are feeling. Angers 1.  2.  3.  4.  Now plan to do one or more of the following with each anger: A. Meet a friend after school who’s a good nonjudgmental listener and just try to vent what’s bugging you. B. Do some strenuous exercise. C. Get away to a place for a while that is a complete change of environment. D. Write a nasty letter (you never mail) to a person you’re angry with. E. In a private place, make believe that your pillow is one of the people you’re angry with, and yell at it and hit it. (d) To cope with your loneliness and sense of meaninglessness, you must be with more people and share meanings with them. Write down three persons’ names here you will call this week and work on a friendship with them. Also, decide now to try two new meaningful projects this month. Friend 1.  2.  3. 

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New Project 1.  2.  3.  (e) Write down here the names of students to whom you particularly overreact. Then, in the right column try to identify if there is anyone these students reminds you of (including you). Students

Remind Me of

1.  2.  3. 

1.  2.  3. 

(f) To identify any prejudices you may have, place a checkmark next to those you are most attracted to, an X next to those not attracted to, and an N next to those you find to be neutral or “not sure” for you. Here may be the biases you need to watch in your attitudes and behavior. Blacks______; Overweight people_______; Polish people______; Whites______; Skinny people______; Germans______; Asians______; Short people______; Physically disabled______; Hispanics______; Tall people______; WASPS______; Heterosexuals______; Long-haired males______; Long-haired females______; Jews______; Homosexuals______; Protestants______; Men______; crew cuts______; Catholics______; Women______; Poor dressers______; Atheists______; Irish people______; Cute or pretty______; Muslims______; Passive students______; Write here, others __________________________ and check or X. (g) if you feel “curriculum pressure,” write out here a short note to the person (you yourself?) who is pushing and rushing you. Then, either really deliver the note, or talk to him or her about the pressures you feel.

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Exercise Two: Working on Being Congruent in Your General Interaction with Your Students

Review the congruence diagrams in Chapter 11, section B. Now draw how you are as teacher here (and/or have someone else draw you).

How incongruent are you? Why? (Review the reasons for incongruence in Chapter 8, B; Chapter 9, A; and Chapter 11, B.) Write yourself some advice here about your own ability to be congruent.

Exercise Three: Working on Being a Real Person with Your Students

Review the ways you can put your “person” into your “teacher” on p. 277. Check off at least four ways you will try this week. Write them down here, and grade yourself on how well you did at the end of the week. Ways to be more real 1.  2.  3.  4.  Grade 1.  2.  3.  4. 

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Exercise Four: Working on Being Congruent Regarding Your Rules

Describe five rules you try to enforce in your classroom with each of their warned consequences. Now give them a letter grade: (A) I believe in this very much; (B) somewhat; (C) a little; (D) not at all. Rule 1.  2.  3.  4.  5. 

Warning

Grade

Exercise Five: Working on Congruence Regarding Your Subject Matter

(a) List five topics you will teach this week. For each give a letter grade: (A) I think this is very important, I care about it; (B) I believe in the importance of this somewhat, care about it somewhat; (C) I don’t feel this is valuable, I don’t care about it; (D) I think this is useless and boring. Topic 1.  2.  3.  4.  5. 

Grade

(b) Choose a topic from above you did not give yourself an “A.” Now, try to justify it. Why learn this? Give a reason. Then, ask, “why this?” etc. Can you reach some feeling you believe in close to your “heart”?

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(c) Close your eyes and imagine you’re in the woods. It’s a beautiful day. You hear some children playing off in the distance. Go to them. They are smart, have never been to school, and have never been in the world. You can teach them one thing, only one thing. And they will listen. What would you teach them? Write it here: ________________________________________________________ This fantasy of what you would teach them may reveal where your “heart” is, what you care about. Try to attach your curriculum to this deep care within you. (d) Prepare an opening talk to your students about a curriculum topic you gave yourself a “B” on. Try to put your true feelings into this talk. Ask a friend, or a classmate, or colleague to listen to it. Now, ask them to rate you on how congruent, believable, motivating you sound. Exercise Six: Working on Following Through

Look at your list of rules and warnings you wrote down in Exercise Four above. Give the rule two checkmarks if you always tend to follow through, a single checkmark if sometimes, an “X” if seldom. Why don’t you follow through? Are you incongruent, lazy, too busy, worried about anger, hurting someone, forgetful? Exercise Seven: Working on Being Appropriate

Look at the rules and warnings you listed in Exercise Four. Give them each a letter grade: (A) this is for the students’ sake; (B) for their sake and my sake; (C) mostly for my sake, somewhat helps them; (D) for my sake, doesn’t help them. How appropriate are you? Exercise Eight: Working on Being Fair

Again, look at your rules and warnings you listed in Exercise Four. Now look at the questions about fairness listed on pp. 292–293. Can you answer “No” to each question for each of your rules? How fair are you? Which tendencies do you need to watch?

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CHECKLIST

 1. Are you making any miscalls?  2. Are you handling these situations in a more constructive way?  3. Are you being congruent about your rules and warnings?  4. Are you being congruent about the subject matter in your delivery?  5. Are you acting congruent when you generally interact with your students?  6. Would you feel uncomfortable with your students if they suddenly saw you eating a sloppy pizza at a pizza parlor?  7. Are you following through with your warnings, rewards, and punishments?  8. Are your actions and what you say “appropriate”?  9. Are your rules, warnings, rewards, and punishments “fair”? 10.  If you are mostly concerned about grades K–6, did you take the time to revise some of the suggestions in Chapter 11, section F?

FOR CHAPTER 12

Preventing Your Rules from Falling Apart and Growing Healthy Students

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Well now, since most of these are about HS I can’t really say that they pertain to me but I really liked # 7. Your first response to an infraction should be as nonverbal as possible. I like the statement that you don’t want to accidentally award ‘negative attention.’ I also liked giving the misbehavior as little attention as possible. # 8 is also good. But then they really do go hand in hand now don’t they? #9 is also good. Who wants to be the driver sitting in their car by the side of the road with the police car behind it and the lights flashing. Every other driver who passes by says, Boy I am glad that isn’t me. I want to remember to have discussions in private. I just have to remember to breathe first! Ten nice big cleansing breaths. “We have discussed this before, but I agree with 12 by letting my students know from day one what I expect and being consistent. #14 I have seen some lists or hierarchies hanging on the wall in some classrooms. This is pretty clear for the students and it goes along with as much nonverbal attention as possible. All you really have to do is look at the student with that ‘teacher look’ and then look at the 107

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list of consequences then sorta shake your head and go on. No words necessary. [WOW] #18 I just really do not like tattling and this is one that really speaks to that. I tell my students that the one who tattles is the one who is in trouble. Now if there is something that is life threatening, then I want to know about it, but privately not for the whole group to hear. So, if Johnny is pinching Julie and Julie is hurt, come and tell me, Julie, raise your hand and call me over, let me deal with Johnny. When Julie does this she will move to the highest level on the behavior chart and Johnny will be in time-out with a letter of apology to be written for homework and mom will need to sign it too. He may not really be sorry, then, but he will be after mom has to sign the letter too. “But, I really like your idea of doing these in private [GLAD] so that Johnny doesn’t get extra attention. # 20 is so true. I don’t really like to call in a third party, because it is giving up authority in my classroom to someone else and I may not like the way that third party handles the situation but I am stuck because I turned it over to them to handle. [YES] However, there are times when the principal must be called and then she/he is in charge of the situation. Fighting would be one of these situations for me.” YES GOOD UNDERSTANDINGS ABOVE, AND GLAD THESE GUIDELINES WERE USEFUL. “I learned a great deal in this course in regard to this topic. I had thought I had a good system of rules and warnings, which I realize was less than adequate. My system was verbal and was not specific enough. At times, depending upon the child, I would bend the rules. I did not have enough warning steps and those that I did have were not really clear cut. I tended to call in an outside party before it was necessary to do so.” “My problem in the warning category is that often when I get in a very pissed-off state, I jump steps and wind up putting myself in a spot. For instance, I’m in a nasty mood and Kim decides to throw a paper across the room into the basket. I snap for Kim to hold the paper until after class. A little while later Kim takes another shot. This time I might make the mistake of blurting out something like, ‘Kim, if you do that once more I’ll have you suspended for a week.’ What I am trying to say

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is that quite often I’ll get pissed and lose control temporarily and find that my warnings jump steps in a most dramatic fashion.” “Unfortunately, my first response to a misbehavior tends to be a verbal one. I tend to feed negative attention and not reward positive behavior. I do not reprimand with as little attention as possible. I tend to reprimand with a question. I tend to blurt. I tend to have large steps in my warning system. I tend to call in a third person early in my system. I tend not to let students know what is next in my warning system.” “I feel that I need to sit down and set up better rules and a better warning system for each type of infraction. Here is my new warning system for students who ‘call out’: Student Does / I Do 1.  Calls out. I look at the student and call on someone else. 2.  Calls out again. I ignore the student who calls out and call on someone else who raises his/her hand. 3.  Calls out a third time. I tell the student to see me after class, and if he does not show up he’ll lose two points off his grade. 4.  Student does not show up after class and calls out the next day in class. I tell the student that he has lost two points off his grade for not coming to see me after class yesterday, and from now on each time he calls out he will lose two more points off his grade. 5.  Raises hand. I call on the student and I tell him that I’m glad to see that he knows the right way to participate in the class discussion. “This has really been so valuable. One thing I inherited from my mother is my short temper and big mouth. I would start yelling at a kid, throw out ridiculous threats, and not understand why the kid was getting more upset and nastier. He was also winning. I could not imagine why I was not in control. I find when I use these steps I am more relaxed, the kids are more relaxed, the class doesn’t get involved, and they work. I have been much calmer, better prepared, and enjoy my classes more.”

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“I find this to be a great weakness of mine. Since I have been teaching I never had a set of warning steps, but I have begun to try them and hope to use them from now on. I have even discussed them with my principal and explained to her how helpful I have found them. In the past, I always found myself threatening or warning a child but very often that was where I stopped. I would sometimes give silly punishments like writing spelling words fifty times each. “That might work for a little while, but I find the same thing happening, so l know it wasn’t very effective. Many times when I’d give punishments I also found myself not checking them or making sure they got done, so many children would not even do them. The problem I find is to really get enough warning steps. Because of the age of my class (2nd grade) I am limited in their punishment. They are not permitted to stay after school since they cannot get home by themselves. “However, as a substitute, I now keep them in during their lunch hour. Taking away a child’s playtime proves to be very effective. I also keep in contact more with the parents of the problem kids. This really is helpful. I used to find this more of an inconvenience for me, but it’s worthwhile since it seems to be working. My principal is also aware of what I have been doing and agrees to get involved if needed. So far this hasn’t happened.” “Negative Attention: I can remember many times I put a student in the library because he was a pain in the ass. I know now he loved his punishment. I should have dealt with him in other ways, such as extra homework assignments, detention, zeros, but most importantly not to let anyone see he got attention, never reprimand him publicly. Eventually, he will burn out if I don’t feed the negative attention he thrives on.” “I do not have a systematic list of rules and warnings. This is a problem area for me that I have been giving serious thought to. I generally find myself favoring certain children. If a child I like is chewing gum, I will make a light remark about spitting it out. But if a child that ‘bugged’ me chews a piece of gum, I will be much firmer with him/her and make a big problem out of a small issue. This type of inconsistent rule-making is not fair to the class. I am working at laying down the same rules for everyone in all situations.”

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“See Me after Class! The second most interesting and important part of the course for me was dealing with ‘see me after class.’ I have never been good with words and somehow when it got to be after class, I would change what I wanted to say to something nicer. Of course, later, I would be very upset with myself for not telling it like it was. I would: 1.  Try to be logical 2.  Play a game of ‘chess’ 3.  Try to win the person’s feelings 4.  Have a discussion 5.  Put my anger into the form of a question 6.  Show inappropriate anger 7.  Blurt things out In the past several weeks I have changed to: 1.  Expressing my feelings on the problems 2.  Being very brief 3.  Stating my follow-up action “Situation 1: In the case of Joe asking me about my belly dancing I told him after class that I did take dancing lessons, that it did not have anything to do with math class, and that I would appreciate it greatly if he not mention it again. He was a little surprised at my reaction and was lost for words. He could not argue with me because I expressed how I felt.” “Although I agree that we should be very direct in telling a student after class what is incorrect about his behavior, I do not think that is enough. I agree that I should not try to change his personality or feelings about me; however, I try to give the child the opportunity to explain the reasons or rationale for his actions if he so desires. This does not result in a ‘chessboard’ discussion; instead, it represents a cooperative attempt to understand and remove the source of the misbehavior. If a child does not appear to want to discuss the problem, then I think it is correct to simply lay down your feelings, rules, and warnings about continued breaking of those rules.”

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“Calling Out: The most difficult thing that I found was not to give any recognition to those students who called out. Very often I was tempted to look at them or take their answer as they called out and raised their hand. Also, I found it personally difficult not to respond to a question right away. I still feel that students might be turned off if they cannot get their question answered.” “Obviously, I’m not as quick as I should be to observe and reward the person who stops calling out and begins to raise a hand. In the actual classroom, I probably allow questions to be asked sometimes, which interrupt my train of thought. Indeed, it seems that I need to concentrate and practice the art of being deaf, dumb, and blind to those who do call out and, yet, alert to changes that take place.” “When I tried to follow the guidelines to prevent calling out in my classes, I found it quite challenging. At the beginning of the week, I was very self-conscious because sometimes I would start to frown at students who would call out, when I should have been deaf, dumb, and blind to them. I also forgot to give a lot of attention to students who raised their hands. By Wednesday I was starting to get the hang of it, though, and the guidelines were becoming effective. The students who almost always call out started to get angry when I ignored them. “Most of them just stopped calling out and would not even raise their hand. One student started making comments such as, ‘I knew that answer,’ when I would call on someone who was raising their hand. I also remembered to look straight at the students and thank them.” “Fighting: I don’t hold students who fight. I once got in trouble because I held the kid with too much force and he claimed he was hurt by me!” “Once I broke up a fight between two seventh grade boys. (I am a female.) I guess I was lucky to come out unharmed.” “Cheating: The idea of sitting in the back of the room seems terrific. I like walking around the room better, but then I can’t get much work done during the test.”

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“If I see a cheater, I just go up to him/her and look at them and squeeze their arm. They get the idea.” “Lateness: I used to stop in the middle of my teaching, walk over to my Delaney book and alter absentees to latenesses for all students who came in late. This drove me crazy! Now, ‘a late student must enter through the back door, if there is one, and quietly sit down in his/her seat. The student is marked absent and must see the teacher after class to have the absent mark changed to a lateness; otherwise the absent mark will stay.’ I have found this policy to be quite effective in my classes. Students used to come in five to ten minutes late and would interrupt either my instructions or organization of a game. With this new policy the students come in, listen to my instructions, and wait till I have a question period before they ask what they have missed. The repetition is good for the entire class as it reinforces the given instructions. In your policy you do not recommend answering late students’ questions. However, I must answer all questions and make sure that everyone fully understands the activity so no one gets hurt.” “Homework: Regarding not accepting late homework, I wish that I had enforced this rule. The amount of late work I received on the eve of report cards was tremendous, adding stress by doubling my work, correcting papers to get grades to average marks. I penalized late work, but I actually should not have accepted it. I think that I accepted it because I feared that had I not accepted it, some students never would have done any work. I did use the policy of glancing over homework at the beginning of class and writing the names of those who didn’t have it. I like the idea of commenting on homework without grading it, except occasionally to keep students on their toes. I also like the idea that homework be used as an opening to a class lesson and excluding from discussion those who are on my list as not having done the homework.” “I have not followed the homework policy that was suggested in class; however, I have decided to modify my own homework policy. This semester I decided to accept late homework unconditionally. I still accept late homework; however, they must be handed in within three days and they are marked late. I have found that most students

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now hand homework in on time. I accept late homework because I feel my homework is good for reinforcing what has been learned. No matter when they do the homework, even though we have gone over it in class, they are still reinforcing what has been learned. I found that when I did not accept late homework, many students rarely handed in any homework. This semester, however, most of my students have handed in every homework assigned.” “The homework idea works very well. At the beginning the students were trying to hand me their homework at the end of each period, telling me that they forgot to show me at the beginning, but soon they realized that I meant what I had said. The only problem is that sometimes I forget the students who had had the assignment and I call on those who hadn’t. Then I keep looking in my grade book and time is wasted, but I am working on it.” “Some Psychological Considerations: At times, I feel that punishment is necessary to keep obnoxious students in line. I do feel that whatever punishment I give should be educational so that it reinforces my teaching. I would never look down on a student or belittle a student by giving punishments just to show authority. When I do give punishments, it is always after many warnings and never comes as a surprise. I think that never to punish students would give them every opportunity to misbehave.” “Personally, I don’t feel that I would like to give my students an opportunity to formulate their own rules. First of all, I feel that my classes should follow the rules that I feel are appropriate, not the reverse. Second, I’ve found that there is always a group of clowns in my classes, and I couldn’t imagine allowing them to make up rules. I cringe just to think of what they would allow.” “Since I started teaching in the public schools in September, I have been trying to figure out a way to make up class rules that would allow the students to participate in designing them. I feel that a good way may be to ask students to write down the rules they would like to have in different categories (homework, cheating, lateness, etc.). I would

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then look all of them over and choose the best ones or modify others. I want the rules to be congruent with the way I feel, but I also think that if students help design them, they are placing the responsibility for their behavior on themselves.” “Assertiveness: As a student in junior high school as well as high school, I was always anxious to discover what grade I had received on a test. Therefore, when I give a test to my students I feel I should return the corrected papers as soon as possible. If I’m not able to return the papers on the following day, I experience a sense of personal guilt, and I often have trouble telling or reminding my students what they have to do or should have done. As far as emotional conflicts are concerned, I find that telling a student that he can obtain a bathroom pass only during the third and seventh periods is a bit ridiculous. “However, it is one of the rules, and yet I have mixed reactions about this rule. In addition to this is another school rule that says that all homework assignments must be signed by a parent. If a child has a parent who works irregular hours and cannot sign the homework, should I penalize the student and give him a zero or an incomplete grade even if his work appears to be correct? These are some of the conflicts I’ve been confronted with, but it was not until this concept was discussed that I learned why I sometimes have trouble asserting myself. Fear of my own anger is another variable that sometimes presents a problem for me in asserting myself. I try to control my anger because there have been at least three occasions during my teaching career when I attempted to retaliate to get even for things students did to me.” “Not being able to assert myself most of the time has something to do with my fear of the kid’s anger. Referring to the homework rules, I’ll enforce them to the point of being very pushy, knowing beforehand that the kid will never hate me for something he knows is part of school requirements. On the other hand, I would be afraid of the kid’s anger if asking to go to the bathroom I say no because I sense that this is his way of getting out of the classroom. Soon after, I’ll be calling him and let him go, only to be in peace with my conscience. I could be more assertive, if sensing his play, I kept my word and let his insistence convince otherwise. Also, I want the kids to like me. One of the reasons I

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would handle the bathroom situation the way I did is I would not want the kid to feel that I am insensitive and intransigent. It is like that I am assuring their love, their support.” “I really haven’t accepted the idea that it’s all right to be angry. I associate anger with immaturity and lack of control. In my mind I’ve separated ‘emotional anger’ and ‘intellectual anger.’ I get ‘intellectually’ angry about a lot of things: racism, sexism, poverty, and I do really feel these things. The way I release the anger is by demonstrating or writing a leaflet or giving a speech. I guess I think anger is OK if it’s for the benefit of someone else—or a group of people. “Asserting myself in certain situations has been a problem that I am trying to overcome. Many times, I have not been as direct and forceful as necessary. The fear of anger and a confrontation is something that has always bothered me, and for these reasons I have developed an attitude that prevents me from asserting myself when the situation calls for it.” “My major block in being assertive is wanting to be liked by my students. I definitely want my students to like me both as a teacher and a person. But will they still like me after I let off some steam at them? I must learn to assert myself more and worry less about their reactions. The problem is that I envy the smooth, easygoing teacher who has a solution for everything and is well liked by his students. “For the most part I am liked, but I don’t want to pay a price for that. My problems with asserting myself in class have gone through stages directly related to my emotional growth. At the beginning of my teaching career, my biggest problem was that of needing the kids to approve of me, like me, etc. I was very unsure of myself both at home (it was the first year of my marriage) and at school. I was then unaware of the extent of my problem. That need continued until recently (though a touch remains), and it caused me to back off many times for the sake of being the ‘good guy.’ As I made progress in therapy and unearthed all the hidden angers of my childhood deprivations, I became terrified of expressing my anger in class because I felt it was a lit fuse to a stick of TNT. The

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last two years, I’ve had problems for other reasons. I felt a lack of accomplishment and an overwhelming sense of loneliness out of school that made me need the children more and affected my ability to assert myself. I also felt guilty over not keeping up with my professional responsibility—that of marking papers, giving tests, etc. I remedied the latter problem of guilt by sitting down with myself and devising a new system that enabled the children to help me out by marking much of their own work. This helped me feel better about me, which naturally reflected itself in the way I related to the kids.” “I have the most trouble asserting myself when I feel guilty. If the lesson that I am teaching is bad, I find it hard to force the students to behave. This is usually a result of lack of proper preparation on my part. However, I question if I should assert myself. My solution to this is to have an appropriate math game or activity handy to substitute for the lesson.” “Another area that I feel has been a weakness is over-identifying with the students. Whenever a student would complain to me about something, my tendency would be to hear the student out thoroughly, even if the complaint did not warrant my giving him as much attention as I did. I came to realize that the student seemed to be like me when I was a kid but not getting the attention that I wanted. I was, in effect, satisfying little Jeff. After speaking to you, I realized that little Jeff is no longer here, so I had to get these thoughts and tendencies out of my mind.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Rating Your Present Rules and Warnings

List here six or seven of the rules and warnings you are presently using in your classroom. In the column at the right, place the number of the guideline that is not being followed by you for the rule. (The guidelines are listed at the beginning of Chapter 12 in the text, section A.)

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Rule

Guideline Not Followed

1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  Which rules are bad ones? Which guidelines do you tend not to heed? Exercise Two: Not Giving Negative Attention

List your tendencies here where you tend to give negative attention: 1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  Now, write down here three ways you can reprimand a student in a non-audience setting. 1.  2.  3.  Exercise Three: Deciding Your Limits

Have a friend, colleague, or classmate throw demand questions at you, such as: “Can I go to the bathroom during class?” “Can I go twice in one period?” “Can you lend me a dime?” “Do I have to do the homework?” “Can I call you by your first name?” Ask them to make all their questions answerable by either: “yes,” “no,” “maybe,” or “none of your business.”

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You must answer each question as fast as you can, on the spot. However, if you take the easy road of “maybe,” you must answer, “If what?” You must state your conditions. Since teachers often can’t give rationales, you can’t justify your judgments. Just answer “yes,” “no,” “maybe” (if what?) or “none of your business.” Do this exercise with your partner. Then reverse roles: let the other person be the teacher and you be the demanding, questioning student. Where are you cloudy on your limits? Do you say “yes” more often than you mean because of fear of anger or of being disliked? Could you follow through with your “nos”? (Have your partner see if s/he can change your answer by acting angry, sad, seductive, etc.) Exercise Four: Deciding Your Warning Steps and Consequences

Try to fill in the chart below by trying this “nightmare.” Assume that (in the left column) you are “teaching and all is going well,” and the

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students (in the right column 1) are all “paying attention.” However, suddenly, in 2 “a student calls out.” What would you do at this time? Write your response in 2, the left column. Now assume that the student violates whatever warning (or whatever you did) in 2. Imagine what it is s/he does to violate you (write it out as 3 in the right column). Now, what do you do about this 3? Write your next graduated response in 3 (left column). Again, assume in 4 that s/he violates your 3. Imagine the student’s 4, write it out, and respond with your 4. And so on. Continue until you run out of power. When you finish the “nightmare,” see if your warning steps followed the guidelines discussed in this chapter, section A. Exercise Five: Preparing Your Warnings and Rules

Write down a rule in the left column. Word it as you would actually say it to the class. In the right column, list at least four steps of consequences you would use to enforce the rule. Do this for five rules. (Certainly decide a rule for calling out, lateness, talking and disturbing the class, and gum chewing.) Do your warned consequences follow the guidelines discussed in this chapter? Exercise Six: Evaluating Your Rules

Look at your rules objectively. Try to write down every single rule that you would like to see followed in your classroom. If you have a list that is so long that you can’t remember them all right away, then you will probably have trouble enforcing all of them. In addition, if there are too many for you to handle effectively, then there are certainly too many for your students to remember and follow to the letter. Try going through your list to see which of those rules are truly important to you personally. Which do you consider important because that’s how you were taught? Or because it’s always been done that way? Which ones really enhance your teaching? Versus giving you a false sense of power or control? Which rules could be combined into a more general rule that would be easier to remember and follow?

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Rule

Consequences

I.

1. 2. 3. 4.

II.

1. 2. 3. 4.

III.

1. 2. 3. 4.

IV.

1. 2. 3. 4.

V.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Exercise Seven: Clarifying Your Policies in Light of Some Psychological Considerations

These issues discussed in Chapter 12, section D are difficult and complex. Write out a short speech you believe in for each of the following issues: 1.  The Use of Empathetic Listening 2.  The Use of Rewards and Punishments

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3.  When Confronting Is Best 4.  Using Punishments 5.  Using Extrinsic Rewards 6.  Should the Students Decide the Rules? 7.  Out-of-School Suspensions 8.  In-School Suspensions Exercise Eight: Warding Off Bullying

1.  Look around your classroom at your students. Which students are off the “norm” for their peer group? Which students are overweight, underweight, are of a different race, different sexual orientation, may be considered “odd,” or too much of a “bookworm” etc. These are the students who may be targets of bullying. Let these students know in some small way that they can talk to you about any situations or incidents that feel upsetting for them. 2.  If one of these students is a victim, reread the section on: Strengthening the Victim. Which strategy might you try with them? 3.  Can you work with this student’s parents to make this student stronger? (See what parents can do in that same section on Strengthening the Victim.) 4.  Look over the forty-one Anti-Bullying School Strategies. Which ones can you do? Which ones do you want your school to advocate for? Exercise Nine: Working on Asserting Yourself and Taking Stands

Below are the “blocks” to assertiveness that weaken this ability. In the Rating Column, place 1 next to the ones that are Always your problem; 2 Often; 3 Sometimes; 4 Never. Which is your problem(s)? Blocks to Assertiveness 1.  Incongruence, thus Guilty 2.  Inappropriateness, thus Guilty 3.  Unfairness, thus guilty 4.  Guilt for other areas 5.  Conflicting feelings

Rating

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 6. Fear of other’s anger  7. Fear of your own anger  8. Low ego  9. I need the class to like me 10.  Identification with the student(s) TOTAL:_______ (The higher your Total, the stronger you are.) Notice which ones received a 1 or 2. You should read the suggestions for working on these in Chapter 12, G, and try to follow them. CHECKLIST

 1. Are you following as many of the guidelines as you can that are suggested in this chapter?  2. Which guideline do you have trouble following?  3. Are you trying to reinforce the appropriate behavior with some kind of rewards as much as possible, rather than always punish the inappropriate behavior?  4. Are your rewards and punishments systematic, and do you keep track of them?  5. Have you tried to apply some conflict resolution strategies to the conflicts in your classroom?  6. Are you applying any of the strategies suggested in this chapter to strengthen students to be less vulnerable to peer pressure?  7. Are you keeping an eye to trying to strengthen any victims that you may have in your class?  8. Are you keeping your eye out for potential bully victims?  9. Are you trying any of the strategies to reform a student you know tends to be a bully? 10.  Have you tried to consult with the parents of victims, or parents of bullies? 11.  Are you trying to “unblock” any areas that are weak for you personally that you may become more assertive? 12.  If you are mainly concerned about grades K–6, have you taken time to revise some of the suggestions in this chapter that have been advised in section H? Like: What to do before the first day? What to do the first day?

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Specifics

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “See Me After Class: Guideline that was significant to me: Do not arm wrestle with child—don’t take challenge. Tell student why he or she is here. ‘You called out, you disrupted my lesson and the learning of the rest of the class.’ Then tell student the warning or reprimand. Do not expose the victim to the hallway or to other students. This is important in elementary school as well as high school because students in the hallway or on the playground can easily distract students. Don’t say ‘look at me when I talk to you’ because it’s silly to do so. Students can’t be perfect and instead of asking them to have the correct stance when talking to you, get to the point and summarize the situation and the consequences to their behavior. What to do, ‘since you called out . . . do page 21, if you don’t do page 21 . . . I will call your parent.’ It’s important to not give a lecture on morals. Specify the behavior, and that’s it.” “The role-play exercise on See Me After Class. [WHAT DO YOU NOTICE SPECIFICALLY FOR YOURSELF?] This was a funny 125

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exercise to practice! I did it with my sister and she was pretty tough (considering she never gets reprimanded and is a great student)! I found that I did a good job on all of them because I was well prepared from watching the examples on the DVD. Some guidelines I still need to be reminded of: Don’t answer a ‘Why?!’ challenge. It is okay to explain that I understand student’s feelings, but I need to remember to explain why I cannot accept the disruptive behavior. Don’t ask, ‘Why did you do this?’ Only go after the behavior. ‘But . . . but . . .’ don’t accept the challenge and instead close the conversation. “Significant to me: The most significant is ‘to try not to win the battle with the student in front of the class,’ as for adolescents it matters a lot what other students think of him/her rather than what the teacher does. Specify the reason you asked to see the student after class and why you are annoyed. Do not arm-wrestle—in other words ignore the invitation for debate and carry on with your reprimand and warning. Specify the punishment for the infraction (if required and depending on the case). Warn with what you can actually follow through with and what is fair (educational). Teacher places his/her back to the wall so student is not facing his/her peers. Do not reprimand student’s reaction to your reprimand. [YES] The whole guideline about handling an aggressive student with a ‘do-now’ assignment while waiting for the student to be escorted out.” YES, THESE WILL ALL BE USEFUL. “Tell the student why you are ‘annoyed.’ This would tell the student that I have feelings too and his actions distracted me from teaching the other students. Give simple fair and appropriate warnings. Be and feel congruent while doing this. Although I have told a student he was a pain in the ass, I like the idea of letting the student know how his actions made me feel, i.e., angry, disappointed, frustrated, etc. ‘see me after class’ is not a discussion. You need to control the discussion, it is not a forum for the student to ‘arm wrestle’ you. I didn’t use this very often, but I will in the future. Not arm wrestling but just going on with what you expect. I like that. I also like the part about not expecting the kid to look at you. I have done that and it just makes me more upset when they don’t. I liked ‘so what, let them look at the floor.’ It is true, they are hearing you whether they are looking at you or at the floor.” YES, GOOD, YOU GOT IT.

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“[I tried it.] I noticed that when I didn’t argue with him, my husband, i.e., the ‘student’ and just told it like it was, he stopped arguing too and listened. I also didn’t expect him to make eye contact. Why, has that been so important in the past? Is it a sign of respect? I don’t know but, you know, respect for each other needs to be earned. YES, AND WHEN PEOPLE ARE BEING SCOLDED, YOU CAN’T EXPECT SMILES. “What I need not fall into: I explained ‘why’ and trying to win student’s feeling. Unconsciously, I was part of the debate.” YES, WE NEED TO RETRAIN OURSELVES AND OUR REACTIONS. “Calling out: Particularly significant guideline: Do not face the class when reprimanding the class. By facing the student or calling out one student who misbehaves, that is giving him or her negative attention. It is best not to call on the first student who raises their hand. Don’t need to call on every student every time—this prolongs the lesson and can endorse a loss of attention and therefore leads to withdrawn students. If a student changes his or her behavior, call on him/her to immediately reward this new behavior. [WHAT ARE/WERE YOUR BAD HABITS HERE?] The above guidelines were significant to me because they are guidelines that I need to personally focus on and remind myself of while appropriately responding to students who call out. I need to remember to not face the class while reprimanding them, to not call on the first student who raises their hand, and to call on the students who change their behavior. These guidelines require practice. By catching myself and being mindful of the guidelines, I hope that I can eventually create a more positive learning environment. At first I wondered about the just looking at the board and keep right on teaching approach. I don’t know if I could own that one. I think I might turn around and look at the wall on the other side of the room but I don’t think I could just talk to the board with my back to the class.” FINE. “Fight: Significant guidelines for me: Tell students that they will both be punished no matter who started it. If both students fight, both are in trouble. Don’t try and give students advice right away, wait and let them cool down. It is never a good idea to try and talk to a child who

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is angry because those feelings will transition into the next conversation. If breaking up a fight, grab and stop aggressive student (easier in elementary grades!). Planned steps of punishment—if you are caught fighting, I will call your parents. If you get caught fighting for the second time, I will start suspension procedures.” “If it couldn’t prevent a fight or strong verbal argument, I separate the boys who are arguing and read them the riot act, and give them a warning that they will go to the office the next time it happens. I watch them very closely after that. I also will talk to the students separately after class to cool them down. If it’s a fight, I try to separate the boys or call a guard who will take them down to the office (school policy) and write up a report.” “A. Separate them before they start to fight, just don’t get caught in the middle of the battle.  B. Or even weeks ago! It doesn’t matter who started it, if both fought, both are in trouble.  C. Yep.  D. I cannot start suspension procedures, I can only write them up and send the report to the office, of course, that can be the beginning of the procedures, but I do not have the power to suspend, so I don’t/won’t be even mentioning that word. I did in the past and when the kid came back and was not suspended, I lost credibility. I simply send them to the office for fighting. [FINE]   E. Yep. Sometimes talking about it is only like throwing gas on the fire.” YES. “Cheat: Significant guidelines for me: Sit in the back of the rows of desks so that students are unable to see you. When students can’t see the teacher, they are less tempted to cheat. Give out different tests (two forms). Give out test papers at the end of the day in order to prevent disruptions. I have personally found that younger grades (K–2) have been peering at one another’s papers during graded homework and tests. This reminds me of the importance of explicit instruction and

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reminding students that their work needs to be their own and if it is not, consequences will be the result.” “A. I like this one. B. I like this one a lot! C. Nope, gotta tell the truth if I expect the same from my students. D. This one is really good! I might have a tendency to make it more than ten points though. [FINE] You cheat, you don’t get a passing grade in my room. E. I even have cover sheets with their names on them that they can use from test to test, that way it becomes the norm. G. I agree with this one to an extent. When we are going over the test and I am giving the correct answers, I want the students to know that they got that question wrong, so they can write the correct answer on the test. I guess I can do that the next day, if they bring their tests back. [FINE] “I guess if I taught older students I would simply tell the class to bring the tests back the next day and we would go over the answers, but then we would still have the opportunity for arguments. Maybe give a good warning before going over the answers that if there are any disagreements during the test discussion that are not handled with respect, that I will . . . give a warning here . . . that way the students will be able to correct their tests and understand their mistakes. This is a pretty fine line to walk.” HAVE THEM WRITE DOWN THE CORRECT ANSWERS THEY THINK THEY MAY HAVE GOTTEN WRONG. THEN GIVE BACK THE TESTS. THEY WILL REMEMBER ONES THEY DOUBT. “Come in late: Suggestions that I intend to try: ‘Late seats’ Leave chair by front of back door for latecomers. Ignore them and motion them to take the late seat. Verbalize the classroom system and the responsibility of the student who is late to tell the teacher he/she was late. WOW! The illustration of the school that used the ‘hall sweep’ was really phenomenal! I can’t believe that there was such a significant change in tardiness that the Transit Authority called the school. What an amazing example.” “I didn’t have a back door, but if we were on the floor, late comers knew to sit in the back. [FINE] Only problem with this whole section, Howard, as a teacher of younger children, they are not to blame for

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their tardiness. [YES, BUT] Their parents don’t get them to school on time. Now, of course once they are at school and do not return to the room after recess or lunch then that is a different situation.” NO, STILL GIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR LATENESS! THE LITTLE ONES WILL TELL THEIR PARENTS WHAT HAPPENED, WHICH THEN MAY MAKE THE PARENTS GUILTY THEY GOT THEM THERE LATE. OR, EVEN LITTLE ONES WILL GET ANNOYED WITH THEIR PARENTS FOR BRINGING THEM LATE. DO NOT EXCUSE LATENESS. OR ALL WILL JUST KEEP COMING LATE, AND NO PRESSURE ON THE PARENT. WE NEED TO KEEP PRESSURE ON THE PARENT TO BE RESPONSIBLE. “Don’t do the homework: Suggestions I might try for students who don’t do their homework: While students are doing the ‘do-now!’ go around and check for who has not done the homework. Then, discuss the homework only allowing the students who did the homework to participate. After rules have been enforced, do not accept or give less credit for late homework. Enforce a system of three missing homework’s = five points off final grade/next test.” “You know, again this goes with my calendars on the folders, cause the kids who turn in homework stay on green, and if they do an outstanding job they may even move up to blue because it is above gradelevel work, if a students doesn’t bring in homework that day, they are on yellow. My kids got to the place where they would put themselves on yellow when they didn’t bring their homework without me even mentioning it. Self checks and student motivation. I love it! [SOUNDS GOOD.] Yep. Been there done that!” FINE. “I have done most of the Traditional No Homework ways. I would reduce their grade by ten points for every day they were late, and after the fourth day they get a zero. The administration and workload of this method really sets me back. And in some cases due to a parents call I have permitted the homework to be late but accepted and graded. Not Good. Homework grades, like tests, account for 25 percent of the marking period grade. I still want to hold students accountable for their homework since the goal of my homework is for them to learn something. If I don’t accept them late at all I think they will miss something

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and not have any incentive to turn in the homework. Maybe instead of ten points off for each day, I will now give them a one day grace period that will cost twenty points.” “Carry weapons: What a Teacher/Schools Should Do Regarding Weapons: 1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Now, waiting would be so difficult in this situation cause, they might be really waiting for your class to use the weapon. So, my question here, Could you do the same thing that you suggested when you have a student who is out of control by opening the door and standing half in half out of the room so the hall monitor comes to the door and you could discuss the situation with them with some sort of a code word that would be secret between the staff? [GOOD IDEA. FINE.] “Although this will allow the student to know that it was you that turned them in, man this one is so scary!” YOUR IDEA IS FINE. YOU JUST HAVE TO DECIDE TO DO THE LEAST PROVOKING THING. HARD DECISION. HOPE YOU NEVER HAVE TO. BEST OFTEN IS TO GO PASSIVE TO THE ANGRY WEAPON PERSON, WHO NEEDS TO FEEL POWER TO CALM DOWN. SHOW HIM RESPECT AND LISTEN TO CALM HIM—MIGHT BE THE SAFEST APPROACH. NOT CHALLENGING. “Unlike the urban school I came from, we don’t have metal detectors. Since my current school has few weapon problems, I really can’t suggest we put in metal detectors. It’s too difficult to channel 2,000 students threw a few doors with these detectors. We do have the ex-cop guards and security officer that help deter weapons in school. I feel that the students themselves are the best defense against weapons in school. When it does happen, it usually is a student who contacts someone to let them know that John has a weapon.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Working on Your “See Me after Class!”

You should role-play the exercise with a friend, colleague, or classmate. You play “the teacher,” and your partner should play a student

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who: (1) has called out too much; (2) started to fight; (3) threw something across the room; (4) cursed at you, consecutively. You must say “See me after class!” and then assume it’s the end of the period, after class. What do you say now? Your partner should try to be as unmanageable as students are sometimes. After situation (1), see if you have followed the guidelines (a)–(r) on pages 417–419. Then, try situation (2). Check the guidelines again. Try all four situations. Which guidelines reveal your pitfalls? (Reverse roles and let your partner try being “the teacher.”) Exercise Two: Handling Calling Out

If you are in an education class or workshop, get up in front of the class. In this role play, some students should call out, some raise their hands. Now teach a simple lesson on, e.g., names of cars or names of flowers. Ask, “Who knows the name of a car, a flower?” Respond to the class and try to stop the calling out. Which guidelines do you not follow (your pitfall) from those described in Chapter 13, section B, 1. Exercise Three: Handling Fighting, Cheating, Latecomers, Late Homework

Review Chapter 13, section C. Place a “c” next to each suggestion made about these problems if you feel congruent with the suggestion. Then, try the suggestion for a week. Check the suggestion periodically. If after a week, you feel this is not tryout revise it or drop it (ask others for other suggestions). CHECKLIST

1.  Have you reviewed your warnings so that you know what you need to say if you have to see a student after class? 2.  Have you practiced ignoring the “caller-outer” and only responding to those who raise their hands?

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 3. Do you know how and where to get quick help from a staff member if you need help to break up a fight?  4. Before you plan to give a test, have you reviewed the guidelines for preventing cheating?  5. Do you suspect plagiarism? Are you using the points in that section of the book to catch/stop plagiarism?  6. Have you thought through your “late policy”?  7. Have you thought through your “homework policy”?  8. Have you decided on your policies (and reviewed the schools policies) regarding hats, personal stereos, beepers, drugs, and weapons?  9. Have you decided on what you will do if you suspect a student is “high” in your class? 10.  Have you planned how you will handle students who “dis” each other in your class?

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Repairing the Delivery of Your Lesson Plan

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Well, there really isn’t just one that I would use, I found myself using one: Preface Statement, two: Share a personal experience and five: Talk to their person-student. I have used these when working with my students to let them know what we are going to be learning about to get their heads in the right place and ready to learn. I have also found that when I put myself into the lessons for my students they can actually see that I am human and not someone to be put on a pedestal. I always thought that I was not smart enough to be a teacher, that is why I went into hairdressing before going after my true calling, teaching. I always thought that teachers knew everything and there was no way I was that smart. “When I finally stopped believing that lie, and started college, I loved it! I love learning and growing. That is why I always tell my students that I was not a good student in school. I had a very difficult time learning to read and math, well, we’ve discussed that before! My students love to know this and it helps them to buckle down and try harder because they know that I understand where they are. I also like number 135

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five because I feel it is important to keep track of their understanding and comfort levels. Sometimes we just have to stop, get up, turn around, jump a little and then go on again. GOOD ABOVE. GLAD. “When I was teaching about reading, I wanted my students to understand that reading did not come easily to me. As we read through stories, I would always stop and ask questions to make sure the kids were right there with me in the story. I tried to build comprehension but also love of literature and love of reading; by modeling this for my students they could see how important it was for me and hopefully for themselves as well. YES, AND SHARE FEELINGS TOO. “Making the Lesson Affective, Method[s] I would use: #8, using journals: and again, I need more than one, Draw a picture. Now, I need the two because working with the younger students, they often tell their feelings better with pictures than with words. YES. “In writing class I tell my students to draw the picture first and then write, that way they can be really thinking about their feelings and then write about the picture. [GOOD.] Many students have a difficult time getting started writing, and drawing the picture helps their mental juices to begin to flow. We always had to put the students’ one big writing project per grading period in their portfolios. This method made those writings so much better because the students understood what to write about. YES. “Making the Lesson Actional and Experiential, Method[s] I would use: #22, Simulation. When I taught about the water cycle in science class and the elements of matter, I used dance with my kids. First the water cycle, we stood up and sang this song that has them moving their arms in a huge tall circle; they love the movement and it gets them thinking that, yes, it really is a big circle. With the properties of matter, we would first melt ice in an electric skillet with the lid on to catch the steam. They actually saw the solid ice, become the liquid water, become the steam and the steam become the liquid again. Then we acted it out with dance. They loved it, and so did I. “Science was one of my favorite subjects to teach, because, I remembered what it was like as a child when we had to study science and it was so boring! I decided I would not allow that to happen to my students and I became, Drucilla the Science Fairy! I talked with a different rather Southern/West Virginian accent and wore a lab coat, wore a different funny hat depending on the subject matter. For water cycle

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I had a snowflake hat, and carried a magic wand. The kids, staff, and I loved it! I even gave a workshop on it once in an early education seminar. Drucilla is actually my alter ego, in fact, I am typin’ in her vooice rite naow! Can you heiar it? SOUNDS VERY GOOD. “Making the Lesson More Inductive, Method(s) I would use: #30, Learning to Read Using Life-Experience Material. Oh my goodness! This is one of my favorites. I tell my students that I don’t care what they are reading as long as they are reading. Two of my best examples of this are my twin sons. They both have dyslexia, one has more difficulty than the other, but neither of them was at all successful in learning to read until I used this method at home. My guys are into super heroes and comic books were our saviors when it came to reading. They both loved them and finally learned to read because of their format. Thank goodness for comic books. One is now a pharmacy tech and the other a department manager for Loew’s. So, I guess using life experience material really helps huh? SOUNDS VERY GOOD. BUT ALSO TRY TO GO FROM THEIR LIFE TO THE LESSON. “Involving the Students: Participation Method(s) I would use: #36, Working in a horseshoe or circle; #46, The Social Barometer. [YES, GOOD ONES.] Any lesson that gets the students to be up and looking at each other, teaching each other and listening to each other if OK by me. I like both of these methods and try to arrange my classroom for this type of interaction every day. The social barometer, could be used for any subject and I use it as a review before a test. YES “Creating Lessons That Feel Orderly and Have Rewards and Momentum Method(s) I would use: #58, Write on the chalkboard a ‘Felt Goal’ Not an ‘Aim’ for the Lesson. You know, these would also help me to make sure that I understand the issues to be taught. If I can paraphrase the lesson into a Felt Goal I will know that I understand what I am going to be teaching to my students. YES “Managing the Distribution of Attention, Method[s] I would use: #81 a Class Project. Health, now, that can be a real boring subject if there ever was one! Not with this method! Then we are working on the food pyramid and healthy eating unit we do a class project that involves the school nurse, grocery flyers, and a very large pyramid drawn and measured out on chart paper beforehand.

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“First day, the school nurse comes in and talks with us about the types of foods in each food group. She brings plastic food and pictures of food to represent each section of the food pyramid. Then the next day, I distribute the grocery flyers to the students. Each table of students then becomes the detectives for a certain food group. They cut out pictures of their food from the grocery flyers and glue them onto the pyramid. They then go back to their tables and color a picture of their type of food. The pyramid and the pictures are hung in the hallway for all of the school to learn and read. We all learn a lot from this lesson. SOUNDS VERY GOOD. “H. Making the Lesson Supportive, Method(s) I would use: #91, Before you move on to the next task or content to be taught review what you just taught. #92, Compliment the students a lot. #93, Always ask for volunteers, rather than pick on students. #94, Before you require them to say their answer in front to the class let them write it privately. #96, Total Responses. YES, GOOD ONES. “OK Howard, you had to go to the Math section of my day now didn’t you! Before going on to another section of a math concept it is important to check for understanding. An exit ticket works with this. The students need to show me in any way that they can, on a piece of journal paper, the math concept that was just covered. Then during math class of course I compliment the students a lot! I do this every day all day it is amazing how they sit up straighter and listen a bit better if I use one child’s name and give a compliment, because of course we all want compliments so maybe she will say my name next. “Then when writing the problems on the board, I would not want to be forced to go to the board if I didn’t understand or know the answer to a problem so I ask for volunteers. And lastly, to make sure we all understand I would pose the question and have the students write their answers in their math journals, I would go around the class and give happy faces for the correct answer. If I have not given a happy face, rework the problem or ask a neighbor that has the answer correct to show you how they did it. SOUNDS VERY GOOD. “Discussing your analogy of keeping during a lesson, I remember that I did not do that very well when I was in charge of the 3rd-grade class I worked with. I used to try to pay close attention to each student’s

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actions, and while I was doing that, twenty other students would start doing their own thing and suddenly the whole class was out of control.” “Not actional enough—I talk too much! I have, since taking this course, asked for students to summarize, respond, react to other students’ answers or to the lesson. I have not gotten into debates and role playing, but this is an excellent way to get kids motivated and to have some mobility and freedom to speak.” “I realized during our discussion on attention flow that rarely have I asked students to come to the chalkboard this semester. My feeling had been that it takes too much time and results in too much movement. This is wrong. During the past month, I have asked students to solve problems at the board, explaining their work if possible, and have other students ask questions and comment on it. Students enjoy the recognition and usually strive to meet the challenge. It also keeps the rest of the class interested as it represents a change— seeing someone else talk math after seeing me 150 times. I have also used the suggestion of writing students’ answers and ideas on the board more often, even if they are wrong. I have used games involving teams and the like, but they take a lot out of me. The kids get very excited and I have to keep control in addition to playing referee in the game.” “One of the ways I can motivate the students is by creating learning situations that involve students relating to each other. For example, I would introduce the information about the properties of air. Then, I would ask each student to quiz each other on the properties of air. Then, I would ask someone to write the properties of air on the chalkboard. And finally, I would ask the class to determine whether these properties this student wrote on the board are correct or not. I feel that this approach takes me (teacher) off the stage and puts the students into the limelight. I feel that this approach will result in the student being ‘turned on’ to my lesson.” “As an introduction to teaching coordinates last month, I distributed maps of the United States and asked the kids to locate the place of their birth or the home of some out-of-state relative where they spent

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a vacation. Many of the kids took a very personal interest in this activity. In general, I am glad that we discussed the need to relate lessons to children’s lives.” “This past week I taught mitosis and meiosis to my Regents Biology classes. I tried very hard to think of ways to use the participation techniques mentioned in class. Although I find it extremely difficult to role-play, I decided to use this technique because I have a few ‘hams’ in my classes. After going through the stages of mitosis, I said, ‘I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a chromosome going through mitosis. Let’s think about it.’ We thought about it for a minute and I said, ‘Who can imagine being a chromosome?’ “A few students raised their hands and I chose Nadine. I asked Nadine what stage of mitosis she was in, and then I asked her to describe herself. The students thought this was great. Other students wanted to get in on the act. We were laughing so hard at one point that I thought the floor dean would come to the door. They really enjoyed role playing, but most of all it seemed to help them understand the topic. I have asked students to imagine themselves in certain situations, but this was the first time I asked them to role play. I would certainly recommend this technique.” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Delivering the Subject Matter Congruently

Prepare a preface to a particular unit of the curriculum by either expressing how you really feel about the subject matter or by sharing a relevant personal experience. Make your preface talk from your “I” personally to the student’s person. Now present this preface to either a friend or colleague or another participant in your education class or workshop. Allow them to rate your congruence. Practice these kinds of prefaces for better congruence. Exercise Two: Making Your Lesson Affective, Actional, Experiential

If you are in an education class or workshop, each participant can present a lesson plan to the rest of the group. The group gives each les-

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son a 21 point every time a full minute goes by that the lesson is only cognitive, verbal, and only the teacher is doing something. (A situation in which the students are only taking notes, also gets a 21 rating.) Each presenter tries to receive the least minus points in score in a given tenminute lesson. Exercise Three: Making the Lesson Inductive

If you are in an education course or workshop, participants should volunteer curriculum topics that are written on the chalkboard. For every three placed on the chalkboard, the class must brainstorm a way to teach one of them by starting inductively with the students’ experiences. Each time a successful inductive strategy is described, all three topics are erased, and the participants offer another three. Again, the class tries to offer a successful inductive strategy that teaches one of these by starting with the students’ experiences. Continue this exercise until most of the participants can construct at least some inductive strategies for some of the curricula. Exercise Four: Practicing Involving the Students

If you are in an education course or workshop, each participant presents a lesson to the other participants who role-play being “students.” The presenting teacher conducts the lesson for ten minutes and then closes by explaining where he or she would’ve gone with this lesson had s/he had time to continue. The “students” make a checkmark in their notes each time the lesson delivery made them want to participate. And the “students” also grade the lesson A, B, C, etc. as to whether it would encourage them to participate upon hearing the explanation of the direction of the rest of the lesson. Each presenter tries to get as many vats as possible and to get as high a grade as possible. Exercise Five: Practicing Creating Lessons That Feel Orderly and Have Rewards and Momentum

If you are in an education course or workshop, each participant presents the opening three minutes of a lesson to the others who listen

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as “students.” The listeners then report to the presenter: (a) where they think s/he was going with this introduction; (b) how they think one goes about being good in this lesson; and (c) tells whether they would have been interested in staying on the “ride” of the movement of this lesson. The presenter hopefully gets guesses that are correct for (a) and (b) for what s/he intended in the presentation and gets a high rating in terms of who would’ve liked to take the “ride” offered in the presenter’s lesson. Exercise Six: Managing the Distribution of Attention

You can either role-play this to each other if you are in an education course or workshop, or you and a friend or colleague can observe each other’s lessons. Every time you as teacher are the one who is giving the attention or approval in the lesson, you receive a 21 from the observer. Every time the students are able to give each other attention or approval in the lesson, you receive an 11 from the observer(s). The object is to deliver a lesson in which the teacher’s score is a total that is positive, on the 1 side. Exercise Seven: Explaining the Lesson Well

If you are in an education course or workshop, each participant can teach a lesson to the others as “students.” Here, the “students” give a checkmark to the teacher every time they feel the comfortable opportunity to let the teacher know where they are in the learning, or let the teacher know how well they are following him or her. The teacher teaches for ten minutes and tries to score as many checkmarks as possible indicating that the lesson provides feedback opportunities for the “students.” Exercise Eight: Using Technology in the Classroom

Review the nine pitfalls teachers fall into when using tech in the classroom in Chapter 14, section J. Which one do you tend to fall into? Review the guidelines in this Training Manual, Appendix H, B: “Guidelines for Using Technology in the Classroom.” Which guideline do you need to follow more?

REPAIRING THE DELIVERY OF YOUR LESSON PLAN    143

Review Appendix H, D: “Useful Computer Sites and Resources.” Try to incorporate some of these tech strategies and resources into your next lesson. Which ones will you try? CHECKLIST

Below you can fill in the lesson topic each day that you teach. Then, for each lesson each day you can check off whether your lesson contained the elements discussed in Chapter 14. You may notice that consistently your lesson lacks elements (E) and (I), as in the example below. Try to place these elements into your next day’s lesson.

FOR CHAPTER 15

The Substitute Teacher

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see: you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Tips that seem most useful for this job: Be nice to the school secretary. Get to class early—if possible. Memorize 2–3 student names. Call regular teacher at home to inform him/her about the day and the students who demonstrated good/poor behavior. Elementary: warm, emotively nurtutant attitude. [WHICH DO NOT FEEL RIGHT FOR YOU/YOUR TEACHERS?] None! All of these seem great/relevant/ applicable.” GLAD. “#1, Try to sub as often as you can at the same school. #2, Being nice to the school secretary is a good one to remember whether you are a sub or a teacher in a building, them and the custodian! #6, Meeting them at the door with a no nonsense attitude is a good way to start the day. I am terrible at names and to memorize one or two it is usually the difficult students that we get to know first now isn’t it?” FINE ON UNDERSTANDING HERE.

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“Tips (techniques) from 1–5 seem to be most useful as well as go to classroom before the students get there.” YES, THESE WILL HELP. “I think everything under A and B would be useful. I leave very detailed instructions for the sub. I spell it out to my students how I expect them to behave toward a sub—they know the expectations and the consequences!” FINE, IF YOU HELP THE SUB DO WHAT YOU WANT . . . GREAT. “I hated being a sub. I was unprepared for this terrible job. All of the suggestions should have been given to me when I was first a substitute. After years of suggesting, I was finally able to convince our school to have a substitute folder in everyone’s room ‘Help for Being a Substitute Teacher.’ In this, now, there is: class lists, attendance book, passes, rules/regs., problems that may arise with a certain group, etc. I had to write it, and it is now very useful. [SOUNDS GOOD.] “We even have task sheets if a lesson would be too complicated. [SOUNDS GOOD.] However, I disagree with your suggestion: ‘Often, it is best that you don’t try to teach the lesson the regular teacher leaves for the substitute.’ Nothing makes us teachers more upset than a substitute who doesn’t follow our lesson plans. I think it is wrong and subs have lost their jobs as a result of doing their own thing rather than follow the plan the teacher left. [I UNDERSTAND.] One teacher only wanted the kids to read a section of a story. The substitute didn’t do the job, and days later, the teacher struggled to catch the kids up. So I disagree with this as a teacher—I want the sub to follow what I leave.” I UNDERSTAND. MAYBE WITH SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS, THE SUB SHOULD TRY TO DO WHAT THE REG. WANTS. “After reading this chapter, the substitute teacher does put up with a lot of frustration at times. I am sure that if there is not an appropriate lesson plan provided it makes for a very difficult experience. As long as I have been teaching the substitute has been provided with a lesson plan. In the beginning of the school year, all teachers need to provide the principal or VP with emergency lesson plans. I agree that it is important for the substitute teacher to secure his/her space.

THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER    147

“We have Aesop, a system where we can readily ask for a specific substitute and also access to their phone number to give them information in advance. Notes can also be added when we enter our designated time off. It is extremely important for the substitute to get to school before the students do. I have morning duty and class morning attendance on alternate days since 8th grade are A and B days with the A day having first period planning. I provide my substitute with an emergency exit form that is posted for fire drills with protocol. The folder contains lesson plans, behavior sheets, class lists, and my full agenda for the day. A list of teachers that may be helpful and the name of the principal, VP, and school dean. Useful warm up sheets, ‘Do-Nows,’ are provided so that attendance can be taken. Word searches are great! The regular lesson is best not to teach, however, if it’s leading up to a lesson, the video to review concepts and safety may be good in preparation. My modeling of the process did follow the next day. So it was helpful. “Recently the substitute was provided with a video for printmaking. The video showed some history and the importance of safety when using the printmaking tools. Students were attentive, but not eager to write the summary of what they watched that day. The exit slip was left for all the students to fill in. I knew who I needed to especially accommodate when I returned to school. I have my copies of task sheets prepared in the sub folder.” “Useful tips: #2, Be nice to the school secretary. #5, Try to get the regular teacher’s roll book or Delaney book. “#6, Get to the classroom before the students get there. Some tips don’t feel right for me: #4, Call on the two or three students whose names you memorized and thank each one for his/her response.” YES, USEFUL ONES ABOVE. “Try to select out two or three students who don’t seem to be angry or aggressive and say hello to them and ask, What’s your name? and thank them. Try to memorize two or three students’ names.” OK. “In the elementary school, although it may be useful for the substitute to have some ‘pre-planned’ activities, most of the time it is better

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to stick with the material that is planned out by the regular teacher, especially if it is ‘self-explanatory.’ [OK, FINE, IF THE SUB CAN EASILY.] “I agree that it is best to get the students started on their tasks for the day. I would advise to follow the teacher’s lesson plan as best as possible. . . . Usually it is some kind of review work that they already know how to do; it is more practice. [As regular teacher] I always have the students turn their work into the substitute for credit. The substitute then has better control of the class. “If you don’t do the work, you get no credit. This will help the sub to keep students on task. I would also advise the sub to walk around the room and check on student progress. Sub can show students that s/he can help with how to look up information in a textbook, how the glossaries work, etc. My reservations about substitute bringing own task sheet are these: often, the sub [is, regarding copying, using duplicating machines, etc.] . . . An alternate would be to bring some 3 x 5 cards and have students fill out name, class title, period, favorite topic in the class, etc. Again, your advice about being congruent is very helpful for substitutes as well. I liked that you mentioned to briefly tell students behavior that you will and will not accept in class. This does set the tone that you are in charge today.” “I would not, personally, do any the activities or worksheets that you suggest. There are much better activities and worksheets in ‘sponge book’ activities—and quick, short games you can do with the class.” FINE. SURE, THE READER CAN GOOGLE: SPONGE ACTIVITIES, K–12. (See “Task Sheets” or suggestions for “do-nows,” bellwork in Chapter 15, section C of the Text.) TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Securing Your Place

Below, write out what you plan to say to the secretary of the school where you wish to substitute. Then, orally rehearse it a little.

THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER    149

Exercise Two: Your Opening Remarks to the Class

Below, write out what you will generally say to the class when you first meet them. Then, orally rehearse it a little. Exercise Three: Preparing Some Task Sheets

Write out two or three “task sheets” (according to the guidelines in this chapter) that you can use when you sub, and make enough copies to teach classes for one or two days. CHECKLIST

1.  Have you reread the second paragraph of this chapter to be prepared for students’ anger that will be displaced at you? 2.  Have you followed the suggestions in section A for “securing your place”? 3.  Have you prepared what you will congruently say to the class when you first see them? 4.  Do you have some good “task sheets” ready that you can use? 5.  Are you ready to use techniques 4–7 of section B? 6.  If you are going to sub in grades K–6, have you reviewed section D?

FOR CHAPTER 16

Epilogue: “You Matter!”

TEACHERS SHARE THEIR GROWING PAINS

Below are comments from teachers after they have read this chapter in the textbook. Some of these reactions and concerns I have paraphrased or edited to protect confidentiality; I have also eliminated any ways to identify the person who shared these remarks. But, these are honest reactions of teachers as they learn the concepts in the text. Thus, you will see you are not alone with these problems. MY COMMENTS to their comments ARE IN CAPS. “Reading the epilogue was encouraging and inspiring. Even though the profession of a teacher may not be appreciated as much as some hope it would, it shouldn’t be about recognition anyways. [BUT SOMETIMES WE ALL NEED THIS. I DO.] I’m not really doing this for the gratitude from our society. I am well aware that our culture has ideals that are not as morally respectable as they could be. Instead, I’m doing this for those children who are lost, who need direction, love and inspiration. As teachers, we can provide this. [YES. I DO IT BECAUSE MY PARENTS WERE NOT GOOD IN MANY WAYS, AND I WANT TO BE BETTER “PARENTS” TO THESE KIDS SO THAT THEY DO NOT SUFFER WHAT I DID.] “That is what we are here for. We can inspire a thirst for knowledge and curiosity. We can channel angry feelings into positive ones. We can provide a home for students that they would not have otherwise. Reading about the statistics of divorce, suicide, and teen pregnancy all instill the importance of our image. Teachers provide a constant when everything that surrounds a child’s life appears broken.” YES! 151

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“The closing: As teachers, we are the ‘lifeguards’ of our society. We are the protectors of the future of our society. This is an excellent analogy. It is really inspiring to hear that my work matters very much. I have put lots and lots of work into this profession, and I honestly very often get stressed and nervous for what my future could hold. [YOU WILL BE A GREAT TEACHER.] More often than not, I hear horror stories of first-year teachers or teaching in general. It is helpful to understand that the teacher who takes it easy in September is a mess by December. By working hard at the beginning of the year, I will only benefit. I am extremely eager to be enriched by the relationship between my students and myself.” YOU WILL, AND THEY WILL GET A LOT FROM YOU. “At this time it is good to read these because the states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and two others that I cannot remember are fighting for public employees’, teachers’, police officers’, fire fighters’, bus drivers’, and nurses’ employee rights. [YES.] For crying out loud, Howard, don’t people realize that we are the custodians of societies’ futures? [NOPE.] It is good to know that others remember and love us. It is good to know that some realize that we want more than the summer off! For crying out loud, don’t they realize that we work in the summer by taking classes so that we can be better equipped to teach the next year? “You know, Howard, I saw myself in some of those remembrances. The one of the 2nd-grade boy who thought he was bad. I had a student in 1st grade whose mother didn’t like him because he looked too much like his father. He was one of I think seven children. He had not been sent to kindergarten because the father thought that the mother had taken him when he was in her custody and the mother thought the father had. He was nine years old in the first grade! He was a very handsome child and only needed someone to love him. My heart broke when he came to school with bleached out sweatshirts that didn’t fit, because his mother had spilled bleach on his school clothes. I still believe that it was not an accident. I went out and got him some sweatpants and sweatshirts and socks, because the child never wore socks. I gave the clothes to the nurse and asked her to keep them in her office.

EPILOGUE: “YOU MATTER!”    153

“We made arrangements for him to change into and out of the clothes every day. I took them home on the weekend and washed them myself so that he could have nice things to wear to school. I don’t know where that child is today, but towards the end of the year, when I was finally able to get him into special needs classes, his mother came to me in tears and thanked me for caring about her son. I fought for that child more than his own mother did. I was the mom he did not have at home. The family moved away before this boy could get out of the third grade so I lost track of him, but I think of him often and pray for him. We educators give our very lives to our students and we definitely do not do it for the money. To be honest, I am sure many of us have done it for free more often than not.” YES, AND YOU ARE STILL WITH HIM, I AM SURE. GREAT. “Yes, this feels good: I do matter and it’s good to hear sometimes. I really feel good when a student ‘gets it.’ This makes my job worthwhile and helps erase most of the bad stuff that I have to deal with related to disruptive students, especially when I do not get support from the administration. I hope that of all the students I have and will teach that only one remembers the lessons of life I try to put into my lessons.” “I am impressed. I have heard teachers complain a lot about overload with too many students in their classes, no support from education authorities, pressure to have the least number of children who drop out. Some also complain about low salaries. However, these teachers are doing a great job in the midst of raising difficulties. [YES.] Sometimes, very young kids will listen more to what their teacher is saying than their parents. They would say—‘My teacher said this and that, . . . I would do the way the teacher said.’ Thus, children rely on what teachers say and do. In a way, teachers motivate children as they learn and grow. [YES.] “Sometimes I may feel worried whether those teachers are up to date with this faster growing world of business, whether what they providing children with will serve them in the future, whether their ethics are appropriate and influential to kids. Reading your epilogue reminds me of a saying I heard from an outstanding professional: ‘If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.’ [GOOD ONE.] As a parent I

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am convinced that a high-quality education and a professional ethics or attitude will be the strongest tools of the students to face the fast and growing changes of the environment they live in. Literacy and math are important, but educating active and responsible citizens is far more important.” I AGREE, AND EMOTIONAL EDUCATION. “Thank you, Howard—it is a very difficult job that we have and it hurts not getting the appreciation; we are the custodians of the future of this country and of the world. If we do not produce students who can carry on, what will happen?” [CORRECT: STATUES OF TEACHERS IN PARKS, INSTEAD OF JUST SOLDIERS.] “This section: You matter, is a warm-fuzzy that we all need to hear often. I recommend that we print out this page and hang it on our wall. Keep mementos/letters from students all over your room to remind you on bad days that there is a reason for doing this job. It really involves more than just money.” “The epilogue was very heart wrenching. I believe in this so much. I must say for myself that the teachers who most influenced me were my kindergarten teacher who took me to see The Nutcracker performance in NY because she was nurturing me when she discovered that my mother was hospitalized. [SO GLAD SHE WAS THERE FOR YOU.] Also my art teacher in high school, Mr. Tlumack, who encouraged me to become an art teacher. I would like to be half the teacher that he was to his students. We loved him!” TRAINING EXERCISES

Exercise One: Ask Your Class . . . in Order to Reinvigorate You

We can easily get burned out during the school year. You need to see that you matter from month to month or maybe every week. Try giving these brief short exercises in class for the students; but these will also give you feedback that what you are doing matters: 1.  Ask the class to write a letter to you or to one of their friends in class as if it is five years from now, that says: “When I think back,

EPILOGUE: “YOU MATTER!”    155

these things we did in class were helpful to me.” They then make a list, and then read them out loud, sharing them. 2.  Or, they do this but no names. You collect them, shuffle them, and pass them out and they read them out loud to the class, without identifying the author. 3.  Stop after a unit and have the class list five things that mattered to them (that related to their lives). Then, tell them to put them into priority-order, by placing a 1 next to mattered most; 2 mattered somewhat; 3 did not matter. Then, have the class share their 1s and tell why. Exercise Two: Have Them Notice How They Feel about Themselves from the Learnings You Gave Them

1.  Ask them to write down: What feelings have changed for you from what we learned? 2.  Ask them to write down: Is there anything you now see/understand differently in your life from what we learned? 3.  Ask them to write down: Are there any people you feel differently about (in the past or present) from what we learned? 4.  Ask them to write down: How do you feel about yourself, your abilities, since we went over this unit this week/month? (They can read their answers out loud to the class, or you can collect them, shuffle them, and pass them out and they read them out loud to the class, without identifying the author.) CHECKLIST

1.  Have I related my teachings (either before or after the lesson) to their lives? 2.  Am I feeling discouraged, burned out? 3.  Do I need to share and talk to a colleague about my feeling discouraged? 4.  Do I need to feel unalone with these feelings? 5.  Do I need to see some students alone, talk with them, to feel them as persons, to see if what I am doing matters to them? 6.  Do I need to reread this chapter in the book to remember that I do matter?

APPENDICES: USEFUL TOOLS

APPENDIX A

A Questionnaire for Your Staff “Assessing the Problems and Needs of Your Teachers Regarding Discipline Problems”

You may wish to make copies of this questionnaire to assess the problems and needs of teachers in your school. This should be done anonymously, tallied, and the results posted for teachers to learn they are not alone. Then, they can follow up with a workshop and make this book, Preventing Classroom Discipline Problems, 4th Edition, available to your staff. You can also contact the author for free consultation at: www. ClassroomManagementOnline.com. A training video/DVD is also available cued to this book. See Appendix B. QUESTIONNAIRE: PROBLEMS AND NEEDS REGARDING DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS

Please drop off this questionnaire at: _______________________ by _____________. These will all be tallied totally anonymously. Thank you. Please indicate the extent to which the following are problems for you. Always—3, Often—2, Sometimes—1, Never—0 ___ 1. Disruptive behavior ___ 2. Deciding whether I should call certain behaviors discipline problems versus letting a behavior “slide” ___ 3. Withdrawn students

159

160    APPENDIX A

_ __   4. Winning over students’ feelings ___   5. Sarcastic nonverbal reactions from students ___   6. Getting the lessons done on a time schedule ___   7. Getting students to participate in the lesson ___   8. Cursing by the students ___   9. Deciding the best seating arrangements ___ 10. Bathroom going and a proper bathroom policy ___ 11. Homework not being done ___ 12. Marking all the homework handed in ___ 13. Late homework ___ 14. My homework policy in general ___ 15. Latecomers ___ 16. Calling out ___ 17. Class clowns ___ 18. Handing out papers and materials ___ 19. Students talking to each other during the lesson ___ 20. Cheating ___ 21. Fighting among students ___ 22. Verbal put-downs among students ___ 23. Verbal wisecracks at me ___ 24. Students throwing things ___ 25. Students who wear hats ___ 26. Students with iPods ___ 27. Students with beepers ___ 28. Students with weapons ___ 29. Students who are high ___ 30. Students who carry drugs ___ 31. Students who are dealing drugs ___ 32. Keeping students motivated ___ 33. Parents coming into my class ___ 34. Confrontational students ___ 35. Students getting out of their seats ___ 36. Feeling better related to the students ___ 37. Losing my patience ___ 38. Some of my procedures (like . . .) ___ 39. Lack of equipment and materials (like . . .) ___ 40. Deciding whether to confront a student during class or let it slide until after class, or just to overlook the behavior

A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR YOUR STAFF    161

___ 41. Being completely honest with myself and the class about the subject matter ___ 42. Being honest about all rules ___ 43. Being honest in general interactions with the students ___ 44.  Following through on any warnings ___ 45. Getting support from the administration on my rewards and punishments ___ 46.  Being accused of being unfair ___ 47.  Not believing in the whole curriculum I’m teaching ___ 48.  Putting emotions into some of my lessons ___ 49.  Making my lessons relate to students’ experiences ___ 50.  Getting the students to interact with each other, besides me ___ 51. Helping the students feel a sense of direction and the goal of the lesson ___ 52.  Explaining everything very well ___ 53.  Handling students’ anger ___ 54.  Disturbances right outside my classroom ___ 55.  My rules falling apart ___ 56.  Handling the “See me after class!” ___ 57.  Deciding the proper rewards and punishments ___ 58.  Asserting myself ___ 59.  Students when I’m substituting or doing a “coverage” ___ 60.  Designing good “do-nows” or short worksheets ___ 61.  I feel as though I’m alone with these problems. ___ 62. I feel frustrated in my efforts about handling “discipline problems.” ___ 63.  I feel the problem is always the students. ___ 64.  I feel the problem is the administration. ___ 65.  I feel the problem is the parents and home life. ___ 66.  I feel the problem is the students’ peers. ___ 67.  I feel the problem is none of these. ___ 68.  I feel the problem is sometimes my own personal style. ___ 69.  I feel the problem is the environment of my classroom. ___ 70.  I feel the problem is sometimes in procedures. ___ 71.  I feel the problem is in the delivery of my lessons. ___ 72.  Bullying     73.  Other:___________________________________________

162    APPENDIX A

Please indicate the numbers of three items that are most important to you from the above list 1–73. ________; _________; _________ The administration can then post the tally of which items got the highest (most troubling) score, and list the items most chosen by the staff. Then, the video/DVD can be shown, and the staff can read the book, and search the Table of Contents and the Index of the book for help with each of these. For help with all these issues in the above questionnaire, consult the text and the Video/DVD that is cued to this questionnaire and see Appendix E. You may also contact the author of this book at: www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com. To order this book and/or the DVD go to: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/.

APPENDIX B

Individual Training DVD That Demonstrates the Ineffective and Effective Teacher, Cued to This Book 1.  Actually demonstrates the effective vs. the ineffective teacher. 2.  Is perfect for training school staff or future educators. 3.  Teaches practical skills for specific, frequent problems. 4.  Trains educators for the diagnosis and prevention of actual discipline problems. 5.  Is not “ivory tower” theory, but actually shows what to do and what not to do. 6.  Cuts down the referral of disruptive students to the dean or principal’s office. 7.  Teaches practical suggestions, by example, for handling disruptive behavior without the need for revamping the entire school’s procedures. The DVD is unique! In the scenes of various discipline problems, these enactments are spontaneously acted out by real teachers and student-teachers. Instead of following a written script, they acted out how their real disruptive students would actually behave, and what they would actually say in these classroom situations. If the teacher in the scene does something that is ineffective, what you will see is how their real students would actually respond. And, if the teacher is effective, then you’ll see how their real students would actually change their behavior and be more cooperative.

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164    APPENDIX B

Training Segments of the Video

•  Teachers and Student Teachers Share Their Real Discipline Problems and Fears •  An Overview of the Training Handbook Cued to These Video Demonstrations •  Demonstrations: (ineffective vs. effective teacher) •  When Is It a “Discipline Problem”? Some Miscalls •  Congruence: Repairing Your Rapport with the Class •  Handling the: “See Me after Class!” Correctly! •  Preventing Students from Calling Out •  Preventing Your Rules from Falling Apart •  Closing: Teachers, You Matter! (Live-action, color, 46 minutes—can be shown in 10-minute segments) The DVD has been successfully used in over three hundred public and private schools across the United States; teacher education courses in many U.S. universities; Canadian public schools and universities in five provinces; and international schools in Japan, Ghana, Mexico, Malaysia, Greece, Singapore, Switzerland, Iceland, Kuwait, and many other countries. Reviews

“This video is a powerful change agent! . . . enables teachers to feel less alone and more empowered to prevent and constructively respond to discipline problems! Rich . . . far reaching and practical.”—Susan G. Roth, EdD, chief school psychologist; Governor’s Committee on Children’s Planning for New Jersey; senior coordinating supervisor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied Professional Psychology “Essential truths, invaluable for new or experienced teachers; priceless keys to rewarding teaching, beautifully demonstrated! . . . a guide to successful discipline-free teaching, no matter what your style.”— Carmen H. Mason, teacher trainer for the New York City Board of Education. Teacher of the Year, 1993, and New York City high school teacher of English for twenty-one years “Excellent examples of troublesome situations, skillfully demonstrated . . . provides very practical discussion and learning for very real

INDIVIDUAL TRAINING DVD    165

classroom problems.”—Ronald Manyin, director of student teachers, 1985, City University of New York “Every parent should see this video and have this book to evaluate their child’s teacher and help their child’s emotional development.”— Steve and Linda Wilhelm, parents of four children, New York City “A comprehensive treatment of classroom discipline . . . not about controlling children, but rather about humanistic education with ample regard for practical solutions to disruptive behavior.”—Journal of Staff Development “Seeman has created a text that can be used as a self-help guide or training manual for preventing and solving discipline problems.”— Educational Leadership “All the suggestions . . . are skillfully presented and can easily be executed. . . . I thoroughly recommend this book to every teacher. In reading and practicing what Seeman is telling us (and showing us) to do, we will reduce the number of discipline problems in schools.”—The Journal of Educational Thought “Well received! . . . Both the book and the video are recommended to all schools in Saskatchewan, Canada, that need help with emotional and behavior disorders. Also, recommended to the College of Education, University of Regina, Canada.”—Gail Saunders, coordinator of materials evaluation and acquisition, Saskatchewan Department of Education, Canada To order this DVD cued to the book, e-mail the author, Prof. Howard Seeman, at: www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com. School discounts are available. GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING USING THIS DVD

1.  Post the announcement (see the next pages) of the showing of the video for your staff to see. 2.  About one week prior to the showing of the video, distribute the questionnaire for your staff (Appendix A) so that they may anonymously fill it out and hand it in (e.g., to a box with a slot). 3.  Tally the results of the questionnaire and post it to be read just before the showing of the video.

166    APPENDIX B

 4. Show the video (46 min.) without stopping it.  5. At the end of the showing, take comments and questions, but do not attempt to answer these concerns here. Just allow your staff to vent their concerns so that they can hear that each of them is not alone.  6. Before the viewing audience leaves, distribute “Am I Going to Have a Lot of Discipline Problems?” A Pretest (Appendix D).  7. Now, make available (in the faculty lounge or library) several copies of this book so that your staff can look through the book for their particular concerns that were prompted by the video, the questionnaire, and the pretest. Also, with the DVD, teachers can work privately at their own computers on specific skills they may need.  8. About one week after the distribution of the pretest, post the answers, which are all: No!  9. This will prompt a very useful discussion among your staff and refer them to the particular chapters that they got “wrong.” 10.  Each teacher can read their own concern and chapter and work on these problems by using the exercises and checklists in the Training Manual that comes with this text. 11.  Show the video once more; this time stop it after each section for staff discussion. 12.  Let them know that they can also borrow this DVD for their individual use. 13.  For further workshops, and in-service training for your staff with the DVD and this book, I recommend that each person read their area for their job title in Chapter 1 of this text. In Chapter 1, you will find a “road map” for each of these education responsibilities: •  Education Majors and Student Teachers •  New Teachers and Veteran Teachers •  Instructors and Consultants •  School Psychologists and Guidance Counselors •  Administrators •  Supervisors of Student Teachers •  Instructors of Education Courses •  Parents (for a PTA meeting)

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To work with your school staff, post this notice below: ANNOUNCEMENT A VIDEO ON: PREVENTING CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS WILL BE SHOWN ON:________________ AT:___________ IN:___________________ Your attendance is required. Thank you, ________________________.

APPENDIX C

Legal Parameters

Here we shall discuss the legal parameters of issues that pertain to classroom management school-wide in these sections:  1. Search and Seizure  2. Locker Searches  3. Metal Detectors  4. Weapons in Schools  5. Corporal Punishment  6. Suspensions  7. Disabled Students  8. Student Records  9. Gangs 10.  Dress Codes 11.  Freedom of Speech 12.  Graffiti, Vandalism, and Arson 13.  Police in Schools? 14.  Conclusions 15.  Resources The first point to make here is that in the United States (and usually in democracies of a republic of states or provinces), each state, within the U.S. Constitution, can determine its own local education policies. The cities of each state, and boards of education in these cities, all come under that individual state’s regulations. However, federal funding, and

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how the courts interpret the law vs. students’ rights under the Constitution have sometimes taken away, and sometimes given the administrators of schools more or less power. 1. Search and Seizure

The issues involved here are unfortunately in opposition: students’ rights to privacy vs. school administrators’ needs to find ways to ensure the safety of a school. How much should the Fourth Amendment1 be invoked regarding the rights of students? The courts have been flexible in accommodating the Fourth Amendment to the special situation presented by the public schools, where school officials have both a right and a duty to provide a safe environment conducive to education.2 For example, in a case that has set the standard on this issue (New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 83 L. Ed.2d 720, 105 S. Ct. 733, 740 [1985]) The court noted that: “against the child’s interest of privacy must be set the substantial interest of teachers and administrators in maintaining discipline in the classroom and on school grounds. . . . Accordingly, we have recognized that maintaining security and order in the schools requires a certain degree of flexibility in school disciplinary procedures.” These kinds of decisions have created a key criterion for search and seizures in schools: students are entitled to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The legality of a search of a student should depend simply on the reasonableness, under all the circumstances of the search. (T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 341; 105 S. Ct. at 742.) Considering this criterion, the following policies are probably best regarding this issue:3 1.  The administrators of a school and the school board should write up a search and seizure policy that spells out the criterion of the T.L.O. case regarding reasonableness. It should clearly state that the following kinds of decisions should be made in determining whether a search should be conducted: a. Whether a student’s conduct creates a reasonable suspicion that a regulation or law has been violated. b. Whether the measures contemplated for the search are reasonably related to the search objectives and not excessively

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intrusive or harsh in light of the suspected infraction and the age and sex of the student. 2.  Administrators and faculty should receive in-service training regarding the school’s search and seizure policy. 3.  When contemplating a search of a student’s person, belongings, or locker, a teacher or school administrator should consult with an objective third party (preferably another administrator or teacher). These professionals should discuss whether a search is reasonable,4 given the immediate situation and the methods by which the search will be conducted. All searches should be conducted by at least two faculty members of the same sex as the student being searched. 4.  Notes detailing the method and nature of the search should be made during or immediately after the search. 5.  The school board should publish a notice to all students that student lockers are school property and that school authorities may search student lockers with or without cause. Some factors that might be considered in determining whether reasonable suspicion to search exists include the child’s age, history and record in school; the prevalence and seriousness of the problem in the school to which the search was directed; the exigencies in making a search without delay, and further investigation; also, the probative value and reliability of the information used as a justification for the search; and the particular teacher or school official’s experience with the student.5 Also, the more that law enforcement officers are involved the more likely “probable cause” must be evident.6 2. Locker Searches

School lockers are generally the property of the school and therefore many courts have found that schools have a right to control and search them. In fact, the courts in these cases often do not even consider an inspection of a student’s locker to be a “search” within the Fourth Amendment, especially if it is written in a public statement that: “school lockers are school property.”7 In these kinds of searches, school officials do not even need “reasonable” suspicion. (There are

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states, however, such as Massachusetts, that recognize that students do have some reasonable expectation of privacy in their school lockers and therefore provide some protection against unreasonable searches.)8 As a result of such policies regarding lockers, students may be more likely to keep weapons on their persons than in their lockers, especially when they are aware of the possibility of “suspicionless” locker searches. Or, the end result may be that with this policy regarding lockers and the use of metal detectors, more weapons may be kept out of school, since there are fewer places to hide them.9 3. Metal Detectors

There are few problems in using metal detectors in schools as attempts to keep a school safer. But, they are an expensive technology, and at times, ineffective (see Chapter 13, section B, 12, “Students Who Carry Weapons”) 452. However, regarding their legality, funds for their use and installation in schools are provided by federal law (Public Law 103-227, 108 Stat 204) which, thus, lends an approval to their use. And school administrators usually need only to show that there is a need for such a measure to justify their installation.10 4. Weapons in Schools

In an effort to prevent guns from being brought onto school grounds, Congress enacted the “Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.” It required every local educational agency to have some kind of policy and procedure for the expulsion of any student (for a minimum of one year) who was determined to have brought a weapon to school. It also criminalized the possession of a firearm. This Act, however, was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Lopez v. United States (1994) on the grounds that mere possession of a firearm did not implicate interstate commerce and therefore, Congress had exceeded its powers in enacting the law. However, in 1996, Congress reenacted the Act with linguistic changes designed to address the concerns of the Supreme Court ruling of 1994. It is now a law on the books and it has yet to be challenged before the Supreme Court, and has been upheld by lower federal courts

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(Prof. Kate Greene, Univ. of S. MI). However, some cases that have invoked this 1996 act are still (1997) in appeal, however mostly regarding whether the item in question should be considered a “weapon.”11 (For examples of what may count as a “weapon,” see Chapter 13, section B, 12.) As a result, many states have expanded their guidelines to prohibit the possession of many types of weapons at school, including: •  Brass or metal knuckles •  Knives and razor blades •  Bats, clubs, or other bludgeon-type implements •  Darts and other throwing weapons •  Tasers and stun guns •  Any weapon intended to propel objects Basically, weapons and especially firearms are never allowed in school unless it is authorized, for example if an armed police officer is scheduled to make a presentation on campus. Many states have laws that hold parents liable for criminal acts performed by their children while at school. This is particularly true if the parent knew about the dangerous situation but failed to take measures to prevent injuries or damages. Thus, a parent can be guilty of a criminal misdemeanor such as “contributing to the delinquency of a minor.” Parental liability for a child exists until the child reaches the age of majority (usually eighteen years of age). Similarly, according to Law Library Managing Editor, Ken LaMance (personal interview, February 9, 2011), teachers can be held liable for failing to report a crime such as student violence or possession of a weapon at school.  5. Corporal Punishment

Each year, hundreds of thousands of students are subjected to corporal punishment in public schools. Despite the many problems associated with the hitting or paddling of students, corporal punishment is a legal form of school discipline in twenty states, according a joint statement by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch: “Corporal Punishment in Schools and Its Effect on Academic Success,” at a Hearing

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Before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, April 15, 2010. At the time, these states still had corporal punishment legal in schools: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico [April 7, 2011, New Mexico declared it illegal], North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Of these, thirteen states have reported that corporal punishment was inflicted on over one thousand students: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas; and eight states reported its use against at least ten thousand students: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. According to Susan H. Bitensky, writing in the New York Times, “Hitting Children: Should It Be Outlawed?” (April 6, 2011), currently twenty-nine nations outlaw all corporal punishment of children, and more than another 100 do so in the schools. The United States is basically on the same trajectory, though at a much slower pace. 6. Out of School Suspensions

The courts have decided that, under the Fourteenth Amendment, no student may be denied entitlement to an education without some fair procedure of due process.12 However, the courts have never required, e.g., hearings in connection with short (less than ten days) suspensions. Also, the courts generally have decided that suspensions need not be “strictly” by rules of evidence, as it is with cases in outside schools.13 However, the courts have not upheld suspensions for, e.g., truancy, poor academic behavior, smoking cigarettes, etc. (For more details on a generally court sanctioned, “proper” suspension policy, see Chapter 12, section B, 7 on suspension policy.) In New York State, the governor once introduced legislation authorizing teachers and principals to remove disruptive students from the classroom for up to ten days without formal hearings.14 (But such legislation never was passed.) For a suspension to be warranted, usually there needs to be behavior that is considered “violent” or dangerous to others (not merely disruptive), and to be defined with other behav-

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iors on a “Code of Conduct” developed in collaboration with student, teacher, administrator and parent organizations. The West Virginia State Legislature recently enacted the Safe Schools Act, which specifically mandates suspension for no less than twelve consecutive months for possession of a deadly weapon, assaulting a school employee, or attempting to sell illegal drugs.15 7. Disabled Students

School districts should proceed carefully when contemplating discipline of a student who is deemed to have a disability. A disabled student has distinct and special rights with respect to discipline and what kinds of proceedings can be imposed (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: IDEA, 200 U.S.C., 400, et. seq.). Sometimes these students are called 504 students. This law (at: http://www.slc.sevier.org/iepv504.htm) recognizes that students with disabilities, whether receiving special education or receiving only reasonable accommodation, should not be removed from school for infractions that are manifestations of their disabilities. However, if you can argue that the behavior was not caused by the disability, then, one can usually discipline the student via the more usual conduct rubrics. The Supreme Court has provided a threshold standard for the administration of discipline to a student with a disability. Any exclusion from school of a student with a disability for more than ten days is considered “a change in the placement of that student.” This means that students with disabilities may neither be suspended nor otherwise excluded from school for over ten days without complying with special requirements in the above act, e.g., placement procedures, parental agreement, and the disallowance of punishment for conduct that is a manifestation of the child’s disability.16 However, the courts have found legal basis for stipulating that students with disabilities can be treated in the same manner as students without disabilities for short-term suspensions and other typical disciplinary measures. For example, one can petition the court to temporarily change the student’s placement when: the individual presents a continuing threat of disruption; uses drugs or alcohol; or is carrying a weapon in school.17 Also, Congress reauthorized and amended IDEA in

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1997, specifically addressing the issue of discipline. While maintaining the IDEA’s core principle of providing disabled students with a free and appropriate education, the 1997 IDEA enables school officials, inter alia, to suspend a disabled student who violates school rules for up to ten days without providing alternate educational services.18 8. Student Records

In general, The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of eighteen or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.” •  Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies. Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. . . . Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31): •  School officials with legitimate educational interest; •  Other schools to which a student is transferring; •  Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; •  Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; •  Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school; •  Accrediting organizations;

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•  To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; •  Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; •  And State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law. Schools may disclose, without consent, “directory” information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. . . . For additional information, one can call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327). 9. Gangs

An upswing in school and community gang activity began appearing in many school communities around the 2003–2004 school year, and today we currently see a clear upward trend in gang activity in many communities across the nation. Unfortunately, many of the gang prevention, intervention, and enforcement efforts in place in communities back in the 1990s have been disbanded, dismantled, and dissolved due to a lack of funding and community support, so many communities are starting fresh in dealing with gang problems. Some school districts are adopting a variety of methods designed to eliminate or restrict gang activity, and these methods are being upheld by the courts. For example, the prohibition of wearing certain jewelry, as an attempt to ban gang activities, was sustained in an Illinois court. The court asserted that the school had convincingly enunciated a rationale with regard to such jewelry which directly related to the safety and well-being of its students.19 And, in California, the prohibition of wearing gang-related apparel was authorized by the legislature (Jan. 1, 1995),20 and its Supreme Court also ruled (Jan. 31, 1996) that cities can prohibit suspected gang members from standing together on streets, wearing beepers, etc.21 (See also 12 below.) However, the main emphasis needs to be on proven prevention programs that change children’s behavior by getting them involved in community and school-based programs that essentially keep them out of gangs.22 (For further reading about preventing gangs and gang violence, I suggest Arturo Hernandez’s Peace in the Streets: Breaking the Cycle of Gang Violence, Child Welfare League of America, 1998.)

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10. Dress Codes

As of April 2011, no state had legislatively mandated the wearing of school uniforms. Most dress codes and uniform policies are developed at the district or school level; twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws—with varying degrees of detail and interpretation—that address school dress. Some state statutes affect only dress codes with no mention of uniforms; others address dress codes and uniform policies separately; others include uniforms within dress codes. For example: Arizona Uniforms: District boards have the discretionary power to require students to wear uniforms. Arkansas Dress Codes: District boards may, if they choose, form a parent/student advisory committee to determine whether a student dress code should be enacted. If so, the issue will be brought to the voters in the district for approval. California Dress Codes: Districts may establish a reasonable dress code, as part of their school safety plan, that prohibits pupils from wearing gang-related apparel. Uniforms: Districts may also require students to wear uniforms. Parents must be informed six months before the uniform policy takes effect. The policy must provide an opt-out clause and ensure that no student will undergo sanctions for not participating.2 However, there is an increasing body of opinion that: “Many educators believe that school dress significantly influences pupil behavior.” Apparel that relates to gang membership (as discussed above) is only one instance. The courts are beginning to support educators regarding dress codes in general. For example, the courts have sustained rules by schools to prohibit the wearing of immodest clothing that impacts upon relationships between student and student, and student and teacher. Similarly, the prohibition of the wearing of certain buttons was sustained by a court that found that some buttons did relate to boisterous conduct and the undermining of school authority. To eliminate clothing-related school problems, the California legislature has also authorized schools to adopt the wearing of school uniforms.24 However,

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in many cases the courts have not sustained the schools’ prohibitions: with regard to, e.g., wearing certain pants, pantsuits, dungarees, etc. where it was judged that such were not disruptive to school discipline or detrimental to morals.25 President Clinton agreed with educators, “that school dress significantly influences pupil behavior.” For example: “We must continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that introduce school uniforms” (President Clinton’s State of the Union Address, February 4, 1997.) And, on February 24, 1996, President Clinton instructed the Secretary of Education to issue a Manual on School Uniforms to the nation’s 16,000 school districts on how they can legally enforce the use of such uniforms. Here is a sample of some useful “dress codes” that some schools do try to heed (From a letter to parents at: MS 104, Baruch Middle School, NYC., April 2001.) The following are not permitted: a)  Short shorts, micro miniskirts. b) Clothing that reveals midriffs, navels, backs, cleavage, underwear, bra straps. c)  Spaghetti strap tank tops. d)  Clothing that is transparent, skin tight. e)  No heavy chains, safety pins, jewelry containing spikes. f)  Hats, sunglasses, gang affiliation symbols. g) Clothing with offensive sayings, ethnic slurs, suggestive—profane symbols. Again, here there may be a fight and a need for balance between freedom/liberty and safety needs. 11. Freedom of Speech

The U.S. Constitution allows you the freedom to speak, write, and meet freely with others. In other words, the government cannot censor you. The First Amendment also gives students the right to freely express themselves at a public school. (Because private and parochial schools don’t receive taxpayer money, these schools can place greater

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restrictions on a student’s right to free speech.) The U.S. Supreme Court has said public school officials can’t censor you or your children unless officials have a “reasonable expectation” that your expression will cause a material and substantial disruption of school activities, or invade the rights of others. But there are some limits to a student’s right to express himself or herself. For example, a student can’t stage a sit-in protest that blocks the school’s entrance or use obscene language that would be offensive to some students hearing it. Some public school officials have tried to punish students who make provocative political comments or joke about school violence, claiming the student has made a terrorist threat. But to be considered a threat, the comments must: •  Be intended to be seen as a threat by other people •  Be so clear and convincing so as to cause someone else to believe you intend to carry out your threat •  Cause other students to reasonably fear for their safety26 The courts have upheld the rights of students to express their opinions, even on controversial subjects (Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Comm. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 21 L. Ed.2d 731,89 S. Ct. 733 [1969]). The only way to bar students from these rights is to show that the students’ activities would materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school (Id., 393 U.S. at 513; 21 l. Ed.2d at 742). Thus, for example, it has been ruled that freedom of speech (and the freedom to distribute literature on school grounds) does not extend to the privilege of cursing one’s teachers and school administrators, nor can a student, e.g., post a cartoon that is deemed to be offensive to other students,27 or obscene, or libelous.28 However, these questions remain difficult to answer: Do the speech rights of students increase as they get older? Do high school students have the right to speak in ways that elementary school students do not? Do university and graduate school students have the right to speak in ways that might be punished if they were students in a high school?29 And what about Internet postings about one’s school? Might the following ruling be the standard? An Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a middle school student’s MySpace posts (criticizing the principal’s

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school policies) were free speech. The judge ruled that it was wrong to have placed this female student on probation. The court said that even profanity-filled postings were political speech, her right to free speech.30 12. Graffiti, Vandalism, and Arson

Gangs use graffiti to claim territory. To restrict gang activity, schools who budget funds to immediately eradicate graffiti, have been supported by the courts. And, the courts have also deemed vandalism and arson as acts that justify schools’ policies of mandatory suspension.31 13. Police in Schools?

Many schools have resorted to having uniformed police officers (School Resource Officers, SROs) in schools. Fifty-two percent of teachers in New York City surveyed reported their school has an armed police officer on school grounds.32 However: “Aggressive policing is stripping thousands of New York City students of their dignity and disrupting their ability to learn,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. “We all want safe schools for our children, but the current misguided system promotes neither safety nor learning. Despite mounting evidence of systemic misconduct by police personnel in the schools, the NYPD refuses to even acknowledge any problems with its school policing practices. We are confident that the courts will compel much-needed reform.” One lawsuit in NYC schools “maintains that inadequately trained and poorly supervised police personnel engage in aggressive behavior toward students when no criminal activity is taking place and when there is no threat to health and safety. The police confront and arrest students over minor disciplinary infractions such as talking back, being late for class or having a cell phone in school. The lawsuit documents numerous incidents in which students engaged in non-criminal conduct were handcuffed, arrested and physically assaulted by police personnel at school.”33 SROs “may not have a clear understanding of their role within the larger educational context or the rights and needs of the children they are intended to serve; they may inadvertently, and indeed counterproductively, create an adversarial environment that pushes students,

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particularly at-risk students, out of school rather than engaging them in a positive educational environment.”34 14. Conclusions

Presently, it seems as though our society is generally opting on the side of safety and violence prevention in our schools as opposed to an over concern for students’ rights (although the ACLU continues to fight for the latter). For example, regarding school safety and weapons in schools, with relaxed rules on student searches, combined with low-intrusive detector searches and zero-tolerance policies, schools have more legal support to, e.g., curtail weapons in schools and, therefore, eliminate some of the more dangerous crimes. (However, easy access to guns, usually from the home, is still a huge problem that is difficult for schools to control.)35 However, several state legislatures (e.g., California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania) have enacted laws making parents responsible for the actions of their children.36 Also, in the Anti-Crime Bill of 1994 there are substantial grants to be used for alternative punishment for young offenders, e.g., requiring young offenders to reimburse the victims of their crimes, weekend incarceration, community service, and programs to deal with serious substance abuse and gang-related crime. Also provided are funds to state and local governments which have a law or policy that (1) punishes any student caught with a firearm with the loss of driver’s license privileges and suspension from school; and (2) bans guns and other weapons within one hundred yards of a school. The bill also provided funds for new “drug courts” to be established by state and local governments, and public and private organizations. There are also provisions here for substantial funding for after-school programs for youth, offering education, tutoring, job preparation, athletics, culture, and arts and crafts. 14. Resources

a) The Education Law Association 300 College Park; Dayton, OH, 45469-2280 phone: (937) 229-3589 b)  The National Council on Crime Prevention at: http://www. weprevent.org

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c) The National School Safety Center (NSSC) 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 290 Westlake Village, CA 91362 d) The National Report on School Violence (800) 274-6737 at: http://www.bpinews.com or e-mail at: [email protected] (includes information on innovative programs, contact persons, phone numbers, etc.) e) For individual help with legal issues on a specific legal education/ school concern, contact: Taylor Nichols at: tnichols@kippaustin. org 512-501-4969, ext. 101. (Mention you were referred by this book.) NOTES   1.  “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”  2. Horton v. Goose Creek Indep. Sch. Dist., 690 F.2d 470 (5th Cir. 1982); ruling denied, 693 F.2d 524 (5th Cir. 1982).   3.  Reed, B. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools (Cleveland, OH: National Organization on Legal Problems of Education, 1994), pp. 30–31.  4. Regarding “reasonable”: a search must be justified at its inception; that is, the school official must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated, or is violating, either the law, or the rules of the school. And, such a search must be limited and related in scope to the circumstance which gave rise to the inference that a school rule or the law was being violated in the first place. (T.L.O., 469 U.S. AT 342, 105 s. Ct. at 473.)   5.  Craig Wood and Mark Chestnut, “Violence in U.S. Schools: The Problems and Some Responses.” West’s Education-Law Quarterly 4, no. 3 (July 1995): 417–18.  6. Ibid., 420.  7. Eugene Bjorklun, “School Locker Searches and the Fourth Amendment,” West’s Education-Law Quarterly 4, no. 1 (January 1995): 8.  9. Ibid., 420. 10.  Ibid., 420–21. 11. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 49.

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12.  The Civil Rights Act, 42, U.S.C. section 1983. 13. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 41. 14.  The New York State Teacher, March 1995, p. 6. 15.  Joan Henderson and Billie Friedland, “Attitudes toward Suspension, a Wake-Up Call: Rural Educators” (ERIC no. ED 394749), 1996. 16. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 44. 17.  Gail Sorensen, “Discipline of Students with Disabilities: An Update” (A Legal-Memorandum) (Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals, June 1995), ERIC no. ED384192. 18.  Lauren Zykorie, “Reauthorizing Discipline for the Disabled Student,” Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal (Fall 2003). 19. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 71. 20.  Ibid. 53. 21.  New York Times, February 1, 1997, 6. 22.  “Best to Prevent the Need for Gang Membership” New York Times, July 19, 2007. 23. “Dress Codes and School-Uniform Policies,” April 2011, Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management. 24. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 71. 25.  Ibid. 53, 55–56. 26. Jennifer King, “Understanding Your Rights to Free Speech at School,” Lawyers.com, October 13, 2009, http://www.lawyers.com/our-blog/ archives/129-Understanding-Your-Rights-to-Free-Speech-at-School.html. 27.  Ibid., 59. 28.  Willis Furtwingler and William Konnert, “Legal Parameters,” chapter 9 in Improving School Discipline: An Administrators Guide (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1982), 202. 29. Exploring Constitutional Law at: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html 30.  Associated Press, April 10, 2007. 31. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 62. 32.  “Discipline Problems, Unruly Behavior Seriously Threatening Student Achievement,” Public Agenda, press release, May 11, 2004. 33. “ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Abusive Police Practices in New York City Schools,” ACLU, March 31, 2010, http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/ aclu-lawsuit-challenges-abusive-police-practices-new-york-city-schools. 34. Don Parker-Burgard, “ACLU Says Police Officers in Schools Need Guidelines,” District Administration, October 2009, http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=2150 35.  Wood and Chestnut, “Violence in U.S. Schools,” 427. 36. Day, Legal Issues Surrounding Safe Schools, 77.

APPENDIX D

“Am I Going to Have a Lot of Discipline Problems?”

A PRETEST FOR DIAGNOSIS AND PREVENTION

This is an assessment questionnaire for new and beginning teachers. It is also a good test to take for experienced teachers who want to make sure they are not falling into some bad pitfalls as they start the new semester. It is a fact that often the average new teacher goes through almost five years of trial and error trying to learn how to manage a class to best eliminate many discipline problems. Some teachers, during this time, just give up and quit teaching. Among these teachers are often potentially good teachers, people who really care about students, but, because of the stress in this area of the job, just give up. It shouldn’t take five years to better manage disruptive behavior, and we shouldn’t lose these caring, ill-prepared teachers. By answering the questions below, you will be helped to find out where your weaknesses and pitfalls may be beforehand. This can save you from a lot of unnecessary years of upset, save many responsible students’ learning from many disruptions, and help all of us keep you, a caring potentially effective educator. Directions

(a) Below, answer Yes or No as honestly as you can. (b) After you answer the questions, consult the upside-down answers at the end of the questionnaire. (c) Then, read the chapter and section that refers to your pitfall or potential weakness (the answers you got wrong). 185

Yes? No?   1. I think that if I am myself, and often very honest with the class, that this openness can cause discipline problems.   2. I should try to do and say what other good teachers have said and done.   3. If I feel disrupted by a student, I should not let that behavior slide.   4. I should “go after” students who withdraw, e.g., fall asleep in my class . . .   5. It’s important for me to be a good teacher, which includes trying to “win” students’ feelings, not just get their correct behavior, so that they have the correct feelings about school.   6. If a student from outside my class is disrupting my class by waving at one of my students through the classroom door window, I should first “go after” the student outside my door.   7. It’s best to have my class sit in rows, rather than in a circle.   8. It’s fine if I usually don’t express much emotion in my class; it’s more important that I get across the ideas presented in the lesson.   9. It’s always important that I have everyone’s attention. 10. It’s very important that I stop students’ digressions and “off-the-lesson questions” to get the lesson plan done. 11. Exercising control in almost all situations is very important. 12. I shouldn’t really be “myself” with a class. Instead, I should try to be the “teacher.” 13. Keeping track of things is not as important as being able to explain abstract ideas. 14. It’s okay if I don’t believe in the entire curriculum that I’m teaching, as long as I can convince my students to study the material. 15. It’s best if I can often go from the curriculum, then to examples of how the curriculum relates to students’ lives. 16. It’s better if the students (in the lesson) interact with me (the teacher) than each other. 17. I know some good rules that I can implement used by a good teacher I once had. 18. I remember some effective lectures to give students who violate my rules (that my past teachers used to give me). 19. I have no problem calling a parent as soon as a child violates one of my rules. 20. If I am reprimanding a student, and the student says: “I won’t do it, big deal!” I should know how to give the next punishment (for such an attitude). 21. I know how to reprimand students who call out. 22. I know how to go after students during a test who are cheating. 23. It’s important for me to not smile or laugh when a student in my class is being funny as a “class clown.” 24. I know how to break up a fight between two students by myself. 25. I know how to speak supportively to a student who might have a crush on me. 26. If I’m a substitute teacher, I can usually follow the lesson left for me by the regular teacher. 27. It’s OK for me to let elementary school students rely on their parents somewhat to help them enter the class in the morning, e.g., hang up their coats, since it will help them and me to have them ready for work in the morning.

Chapter and Section 8B, 11B 8B, 11B 4 4

4

6C, 10C 7C, 10D, 2 9B, 14B 4B 4B, 9D, 14D 4B 8B, 11B 8C, 11C 9A, 14A 9D, 14D 9E, G, 14E, G 8B, 11B, 12A 8B, 11B, 12A 12A 12A 13B, 1 13B, 3 8B, 11B 13B, 2 13B, 6 15B, C, D

10F, 1

The better answers are all No! If you answered Yes, to any of these, read chapter and section indicated for the question you answered Yes to, so that you might rethink your teaching methods and attitudes in that area. Answers “AM I GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS?”    187

APPENDIX E

An Indexed Inventory of the Sources of Disruptive Behavior and Remedies

*Chapter/Section Source of Disruptive Behavior 4A You make a miscall. 4B-1 You reprimand a withdrawn student. 4B-2 You overreact to a rule. 4B-3 You try to win students’ feelings. 4B-4 You need their attention inappropriately. 4B-5 You reprimand a student because your ego is hurt. 4B-6 You reprimand students because they’re interfering with your getting your lesson done. 4B-7 You displace your anger. 4B-8 You are tired of trying to be understanding all the time. 4B-9 You reprimand because of the “mirror effect.” 4B-10 You need to control, inappropriately. 4B-11 You mistake “steam” for “smoke.” 4B-12 You mistake “venting” for “cursing.” 4B-13 You make a prejudicial mistake. 4B-14 You hold a grudge. 4B-15 You punish an education problem. 6A Students cope with physical and sexual maturation. 6A Students cope with the development of self-identity. 6A Students cope with realizations of mortality and finitude. 6A Students cope with anxiety about the future. 6A Students attempt to develop a system of ideas. 6B Problems are from home. *The reader can also consult the Index of the text. 189

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6B Students need peer-group support. 6C Problems are from right outside your classroom. 7A Disorder breeds disorder in the physical environment. 7B-1 Each class period is not in the same room. 7B-2 You get to your classroom after the students get there. 7B-3 The classroom is located too near a noisy area. 7B-4 The windows face a distraction. 7B-5 The lighting in your classroom is bad. 7B-6 The floor is noisy. 7B-7 There are papers all over the floor 7B-8 The room is too warm. 7B-9 The sun is glaring into the windows. 7B-10 The room has only one entrance-way door. 7B-11 The front entrance-way door has a window. 7B-12 There is no place in your classroom for privacy. 7B-13 There’s either no chalkboard or eraser or chalk. 7B-14 There are no bulletin boards. 7B-15 The bulletin boards and walls are a mess. 7B-16 The bulletin boards are distracting. 7B-17 There’s no garbage can, or it’s in “basketball” range. 7B-18 The pencil sharpener is unusable in class. 7B-19 There aren’t enough chairs and desks. 7B-20 The desks and chairs squeak or are broken. 7B-21 The room is cluttered with nonessential furniture. 7B-22 The desks or chairs squeak or are broken and/or filthy. 7C-23 The seats are in sloppy rows. 7C-24 The seats are in rows that inhibit student interaction. 7C-25 The seating arrangement promotes an adversary relationship. 7C-26 The seating arrangement makes you the major feeder of attention. 7C-27 You and the students are too far from each other. 7C-28 The students are sitting too close to each other. 7C-29 The seating arrangement has a poor traffic pattern. 7C-30 The seats face too much toward the door or windows. 7C-31 The seating arrangement promotes too much interaction. 7C-33 The students keep taking different seats. 7C-34 There are no empty seats near the door for latecomers.

AN INDEXED INVENTORY OF THE SOURCES OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR AND REMEDIES    191

7D-35 The seating arrangement is not congruent with your teaching style 7D-36 You don’t put a “do-now!” assignment on the chalkboard. 7D-36 You don’t use task sheets. 7D-37 You don’t post rules or routines. 7D-38 There aren’t predictable routines in your style. 7D-39 You don’t demarcate time, use a calendar, or list topics covered or to be covered 7D-40 You haven’t written a lesson plan with a felt sense of order. 7D-41 You ask for their attention while you give out papers. 7D-42 Your handouts are unclear or too difficult. 7D-43 You have a poor policy for latecomers. 7D-44 You have a poor homework policy. 7D-45 You have an unclear grading system. 7D-46 You have a poor policy for going to the bathroom. 7D-47 You haven’t found methods that help you save time. 7D-48 You don’t have good procedures for keeping track of warnings or rewards. 7E-49 You don’t carry a piece of chalk and/or an eraser with you. 7E-50 You don’t have a piece of colored chalk. 7E-51 You don’t use newsprint, or cards 7E-52 You don’t use or have a large calendar for class. 7E-53 You don’t carry the “little tools of survival” in a pencil case. 7E-54 You don’t use an appointment book. 7E-55 You have not charged your cell phone each night before school. 7E-56 You don’t use a Delaney book. 7E-57 You have not prepared any manipulatives. 7E-58 You don’t have access to a computer to help you design educational materials. 8A You have some needs and feelings that lead to miscalls. 8B You tend to be incongruent in some areas. 8C You tend not to follow through. 8D You tend to be inappropriate 8E You tend to be unfair. 9 and 14A You have a lesson delivery that has incongruent content. 9 and 14B You have a lesson delivery that is not affective enough.

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9 and 14C You have a lesson delivery that is not actional or experiential enough. 9 and 14D You have a lesson delivery that is not inductive enough. 9 and 14E You have a lesson delivery where students don’t participate enough 9 and 14F You have a lesson delivery that lacks a felt sense of order, rewards, or momentum. 9 and 14G You have a lesson delivery that mismanages the distribution of attention. 9 and 14H You have a lesson delivery that is not explained well enough. 12A Your rules fall apart. 12B You handle the “See me after class!” wrong. 12C You are confused about rewards, punishments, and suspensions. 12D 12E 12F 12G You have trouble asserting yourself and taking stands. 13B-1 You mishandle students who call out. 13B-2 You mishandle fighting. 13B-3 You mishandle cheating. 13B-4 You mishandle latecomers. 13B-5 You mishandle homework.

APPENDIX F

A Checklist for Student Teachers and New Teachers “Your First Day!”

CHECKLIST

A few days (or a week) before you start your student-teaching experience (or your first teaching job), it’ll be helpful to prepare many areas. First, you should observe the class as much as possible with your supervisor’s help. Then, you might consider these: 1.  Have you reviewed the definitions of a “discipline problem” and “miscall” (Chapter 4, section A)? 2.  Which typical miscalls might you fall into making? 3.  Have you resensitized yourself to remembering the developmental problems of your students (Chapter 6)? 4.  Have you looked into how you might prevent disruptions from coming into your classroom from the outside (Chapters 6, section C, and 10, section B)? 5.  Have you decided on your seating plan(s) (Chapters 7, section C, and 10, section C)? 6.  Have you decided what procedures you will institute for the many tasks you will have to carry out (Chapters 7, section D, and 10, section C)? 7.  Have you obtained all of the survival tools and equipment that you will need (Chapters 7, section E, and 10, section D)? 8.  Have you decided how you feel and what you will say about your rules and subject matter (and how you will generally interact with your students) so you will deliver these congruently (Chapters 8, section B, 11, section B, 12, section A, and 13, section A)? 193

194    APPENDIX F

 9.  Have you reviewed how important it is to: follow through (Chapters 8, section C, and 11, section C); be appropriate (Chapters 8, section D, and 11, section D); be fair (Chapters 8, section E, and 11, section E)? 10.  Have you reviewed Chapter 9 and selected, planned, and practiced some of the methods you might use to enhance the delivery of your lesson plan? 11.  Have you reviewed the technical terms in Appendix G? 12.  Have you set up a weekly time to meet with your cooperating teacher to plan and discuss your progress, the progress of students, and any difficulties you are having YOUR FIRST DAY!

Reread Chapter 3, 1. on pp. 58–59, the list of uncertainties and fears of student teachers. Locate which listed question is your personal worry. Below are some general guidelines for each concern listed. (Hopefully, you knew the answer from having read it already in this book.) For items 1, 10, 11, 16, 17, 24, 27: These generally have to do with being congruent. Figure out how you feel about things, and plan to talk to the students about these honestly as both a teacher and real person. Being congruent will not conflict with your enforcing rules and teaching; it will actually add credibility to them. For items 2, 3, 4, 13, 25, and all of 30: These generally have to do with clearly formulating fair rules and routines for your classes that are congruent for you, and making sure that you can and do follow through with your warnings, rewards and punishments for each of these rules (see Chapter 12A, B, and C). For items 19, 28, 29: These will require that you be for the other person while you are yourself at the same time. You will need to do and say what the cooperating teacher, principal, and parent need, while you also say and do what you believe in. You should be able to find a middle ground that is also honest for you. If you feel that to be for the other will involve you in being untrue to yourself, try to express your feelings to these people as tactfully as you can, before you push “your way.” (For more help with this concern, review Chapter 11, B, 2.)

A CHECKLIST FOR STUDENT TEACHERS AND NEW TEACHERS    195

For items 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 21: All of these are just normal feelings and anxieties. Most beginning teachers worry about these. If you can follow many of the guidelines in this book, you’ll be fine. For items 9, 12, 20: These generally involve using methods for an effective lesson plan delivery. See Chapter 14. For item 22 Read Chapter 11, section E. For items 23 and 26: It is worth your time to, at least, learn to use a computer, perhaps a projector, and certainly a VCR, to be able to show educational videos. But, these are not necessary. Regarding a piano, usually you need not know how to play one, though, if you have limited time, it’s worth learning to read and play, at least, the melody line of songs.

APPENDIX G

Online Help for Your Education Concerns

•  You can contact the author of this book via an email at: www. ClassroomManagementOnline.com. •  Also, you can go to: www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com and tour all the blue links there for the services available at this site. •  Also, you can go to: http://echponline.com/. •  Also, you can go to: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/. Here you will find how to purchase, with school discounts, the DVD cued to the text that demonstrates the effective vs. the ineffective teacher and the concepts in the book; some free useful documents; and how to purchase the author’s other book, Preventing Disruptive Behavior in Colleges.

197

APPENDIX H

Using Technology in Education Guidelines and Useful Resources

A. CREATING GUIDELINES FOR USING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

How should we create guidelines for this new “method,” viz., computer technology, coming into education? Let’s decide step by step, starting simple and working our way up—about what is good for getting across “learning.” Let’s start like this: if you just read some “notes” on a subject area, would you get the full learning needed? The answer is: No. Some learning would not be attained or would be lost using just this method. What if you read these notes, and then also talked to the teacher by phone about the subject? Again, here some learnings, via these narrow communication methods, would be lost. What if you could read notes and also had a live teacher tutor you? Again, since you would not get the benefit of the reactions and sharing of the other students in a classroom, you would still be missing some learning about the subject. So, reading on the subject, having a live teacher teaching you, with other students in a live classroom . . . seems to add a lot to your learning experience. What if the teacher also used in this classroom some method-engagement techniques besides just lecturing: great questions, role playing, cooperative learning in committees, debates, visual maps/charts, etc.? What if the teacher also used methods that involved feeling, touching, tasting, smelling, moving, art, music. Of course, your learning would increase by all of these. 199

200    APPENDIX H

What if the teacher now also added computer instruction, used educational software, where you could learn sometimes at your own individual rate and competence level, keep track of your learning, have the ability to go to useful Internet sites and videos on the subject. Of course, your learning would be enhanced further. So, if our goal is to enhance learning as much as possible, as it should be, then why push toward only one method of education, e.g., a classroom dominated by computer learning. We should use as many of the above methods as possible. I put the question this way because, as we all know, there is pressure in schools to move mostly toward computer learning, and often thereby to use less of the other instructional methods. This pressure-tendency is motivated under the guise of accountability and efficiency, by the “factory model” imposed on education, and by the sheer profit motive of computer industries and makers of standardized tests. Often in this model, instead of the computer being an assistant to the teacher, the teacher becomes the assistant to the computer! No good. High-stakes testing does not teach essential skills for life: what school was supposed to be for, with the partnership of the parents. High-stakes standardized tests do not teach or assess the whole right side of the brain: emotional education, character education, values clarification, ethical decision making, listening to others, empathy skills, aesthetic appreciation, refutations of stereotypes and prejudice. They do not help students with the arts of distinguishing facts from opinions/feelings/values, recognizing fallacious thinking or deceptive advertising, asserting oneself constructively, making supportive lasting relationships, enhancing and supporting creativity and the arts, using negotiating skills; seeing other points of view, or social competence in general that can be practiced in the live classroom—instead of teaching to the test. The reader should notice that it is the lack of the above skills that are the real causes of the significant ills of our society (suicide, loneliness, drug abuse, poor supportive relationships, etc.). We are not, as a society, suffering from lack of computer efficiency and calculation. We seem to get more and more of the latter and continue suffering the former.

USING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION    201

So, in our guidelines we will need to guard against an imperialism of high-stakes standardized testing, which can motivate the overuse of computers, which then reciprocally tailors the curriculum to fit standardized testing: an infectious synergy that restricts what is taught in our schools. So, since we did not eliminate previous methods of teaching/learning when the phone was invented (we did not decide to eliminate live schools with just phone calls!), why eliminate other methods to move to computer instruction? The latter can add to our methods, but such should not be an end-all, a replacement. The other methods each bring their own kind of learning and advantages. So, as with other methods, we need to ask: “What methods are best for what kinds of learning being taught, and what learnings should we put into our curricula?” Live teachers, other in-class live students, role playing, etc. help some learnings get across better, e.g., learning to respond to nonverbal communication, listening skills, emotional learning, feeling the feelings of other students, teacher role-modeling, etc. And, sometimes, only sometimes, does computer-instructed learning enhance learning as well. So, what are the best guidelines for sometimes adding computers to educational instruction? (Not computers as replacing educational instruction.) Let’s add this new technology of computer-assisted instruction to our “tool kit” as we once added the blackboard. B. GUIDELINES FOR USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

Before we decide on the best guidelines here, we need to first decide: What is best to be taught in the curriculum in the first place? What learnings should we value to hand on to the next generation? Not everything you can put into a student is valuable. “Valuable for what?” is the priority question. The answer should be: for living life successfully, being productive in life in a meaningful way, having supportive meaningful relationships, widening empathy, consciousness about being a useful citizen for our whole species, contributing to others, to society. The time spent in the curriculum teaching a subject matter should be commensurate with these values.

202    APPENDIX H

But, you say, “Some of the curriculum you must teach does not help your students with these.” Then, try to change this, while still doing what you must do and keep your job. But also continue to work to put these values/learnings into the curriculum, as a voting member of your community and country. Meanwhile, as you teach in today’s computer-driven world, we need to ask: What are the best guidelines for using computers in the classroom? We need to divide this question up into these: 1. When is it best to use just computer learning (JCL)?

1.  JCL is useful for especially logic-stepped, sequential cognitive learning and empirical facts, e.g., math, geometry, memorization of characteristics of chemical elements, logical axioms, grammar rules, dates, mere data. 2.  However, a caution about this first guideline: Although, yes, JCL is useful for these, sometimes too much time is used up in the curriculum studying/memorizing these—when computers can store, make accessible, and retrieve these facts faster and easier. For example, it is less necessary to spend months grilling and having students memorize the multiplication tables when they can have a handy calculator right on their smartphone. (However, see guideline 29 below.) 3.  JCL is also useful when you want to instruct one student (using computer software) who is at a different competence level than the class (below or above), and/or who needs individual remediation/challenges. 4.  JCL is also useful when the student needs immediate, individual feedback that often computer software can provide (self-competition in attaining a score tracked by the computer). 5.  However, keep in mind, with JCL, sometimes the homework credit and late policies, for example, need to be revised. 6.  Regarding JCL, we need to also make sure that the influence of money-vendors, corporations, donors in business and profit . . . do not pollute the learning. They are not educators and often transfer the business model or factory model into the learning instruction; they often have criteria for success that are inap-

USING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION    203

propriate for measuring valuable learning (too much emphasis on standardized testing). Thus, similar to making sure that there is separation of church and state, we need to make sure there is separation of capitalism, sexism, racism—and education. 2. When is it best to use computer-assisted learning, sometimes called blended learning (BL), where computers are used with the other methods of instruction?

 7. When the above 1, 2, 3, and 4 are not the case, then BL should be used.  8. JCL should not dominate what happens in the classroom. The teacher should still be the main director—where BL should support and enhance the learnings designed by the teacher.  9. The teacher should guard against being the assistant to the computer’s programming. It should be the other way around: the computer can, under the direction of the teacher, be the assistant to the teacher. 10.  When BL is used this way, the teacher must actively resist (or actively design) where the computer takes the student in the learning process. For example, Microsoft should not be deciding where the student should go, what should be learned, and when. A “lazy” teacher, or one pressured too much by standardized testing, can easily fall into this pitfall track/rut. 11.  When using BL in the classroom, the teacher becomes more of a “facilitator” than just a teacher. The skills of “being a facilitator” are also needed, and hopefully we train teachers in these supplemental skills for doing BL in the classroom. But, again, here we must guard against the teacher being the assistant to the computer. For example: The teacher can facilitate Skype in the classroom (https://education.skype.com/), where students can talk to experts, other students, almost anyone in the world. 12.  BL (not JCL) should be used when the teacher needs time for live-relationship teaching: teaching affective, emotional learning (EQ not just IQ) and live interaction skills, where the students need to interact with the teacher and the other students.

204    APPENDIX H

13.  Therefore, BL (not JCL) is best for subject matter that should be enhanced by other students participating live (face-to-face); where each student can learn from the other students’ nonverbal, emotional, culturally diverse, tonal communication and live relationships with other students. Here, just seeing each other’s comments/reactions on an interactive computer program is not enough to get across the social/affective learning that is so valuable in addition to the cognitive learning. 14.  Therefore BL is best (not JCL) for subject matter that involves crucial affective, emotional learning, including sharing emotional and valuational and different viewpoints, e.g., cultural and sex-role diversity, the nonfactual aspects of social studies, the humanities, literature, art, music, sociology, anthropology, language learning, the nonfactual aspects of the natural sciences in, e.g., astronomy, physics, biology, etc. 15.  Therefore BL is best (not JCL) for subject matter that involves emotional decision making, ethical ruminations, spiritual learning, values clarification, choosing priorities, etc. with the input/ discussion of the live teacher and others. 16.  BL is also best (not JCL) where the teacher as “role model” enhances the learning, and can be a positive influence on the motivation and personal identity of the student. 17.  Therefore BL is best (not JCL) where it is better to have the presence and live listening of a caring relationship with a teacher. 18.  Therefore BL is best (not JCL) where teachers teach more than information; and if they are good teachers, they are always teaching more than mere information. Teachers teach and convey a “relationship” with the student, and his/her fellow students, and an attitude toward learning itself, and enhance the self-concepts of their students. If you think back on your own teachers who affected your lives, you will notice they left you something more important for your whole life than just information. For example, listen to these: Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States: “Martha Graham, my former dance teacher, is my very, very favorite person, one of the outstanding women of the world. As my teacher, she

USING TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION    205

helped shape my life. She gave me the ability to stand up to all the things I have had to go through with much more courage than I would ever have had without her.” Jimmy Carter, President of the United States: “My life was heavily influenced by our school superintendent, Miss Julia Coleman, who encouraged me to learn about music, art, and especially, literature. As a schoolboy who lived in an isolated farm community, my exposure to classical literature, art, and music was ensured by this superlative teacher.”. A Second Grade Teacher: “I once had a student who was the victim of an abusive home. . . . I asked him if he thought of himself as a good kid or a bad kid or as a good kid who sometimes did bad things. It brought tears to my eyes when this seven-yearold replied, ‘Oh, I know I’m a bad kid.’ There was no question in my mind that he honestly believed that, with all his heart. At the end of the year (and after a lot of hard work from both of us), I asked him the same question. He smiled, and said, ‘I know that I make bad choices about my behavior sometimes, but I’m a good kid inside now.’” A Teacher in a Private School for the Emotionally Disturbed: One morning a message from a former student came to our school’s website on the Internet. The student wrote that he was now a father and Cub Scout leader and taught his children what I had taught him: that to be of value to the community, one must first feel valued. I only teach eight students at a time. But now I realize that each of them grows up and influences others, which affects their children, families, and communities, . . . and that what I do, does matter!” Arnold Willens: On March 7, 1997 a fifty-one-year-old teacher died. He had been merely a 5th grade teacher and theater arts teacher for about seventeen years in a small public school in New York City, P.S. 41. (Oh, he also, apparently, made it a point to be at the entrance of the school at 7:30 AM every day to greet all students and staff, giving them something like: “Go! Do a great job!” The school handed out a brief letter that he had died, and unfortunately with only three

206    APPENDIX H

days notice, told the parents/staff/student that a small service would be held in the auditorium of the school for Mr. Willens on Friday 3 PM. To the shock of some (but not all) over six hundred people showed up at the auditorium (which could hold only about four hundred). So, the rest just stood in the back of the auditorium, in the halls outside, for over an hour and a half. Most of the people who came were in tears; many had flown in from as far as California! After an hour and a half, they had to end the service because present and past students, parents, and fellow teachers kept going on, and on . . . speaking about him (e.g., how he came to school to take the kids on a bird watch dressed as a cardinal), and there was no end in sight of the stories of how his work with students had changed and enriched all their lives. (For more on this, see Chapter 16: The Epilogue of the text: “You Matter.”) 19.  Thus, we must protect the teacher-input aspect of BL. We must be careful to not do too much JCL as to leave little time for the real, live relationship between students and teachers. 20.  JCL can go by each individual’s level, and give feedback well, and rewards. But sitting at a computer does not give the student: a live teacher relationship and other students interacting emotionally, with diversity, nonverbal communication, taking turns, learning to be in groups, empathy enhancement, listening skills, teaching fair argumentation in a live group. Nor does it teach the student equality among the sexes, sexual orientations, races, etc. Regarding these, at least, BL is necessary.1 In short, BL must be protected. We must be on our guard regarding JCL, we must not use the computer to fall into being just efficient, freeing up time for the teacher, and just teaching what is measurable. Sure, it is easier to track the data of learning with computers. But, here we need to be leery: learning that is not easily tracked, that is not simply data, should not be de-valued. Just because it is not easily reduced to data, does not mean it should not be taught. Do not only teach what computers teach well, and then have no time (or money) to teach music, the arts, emotional education, etc.

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3. When is it best to not use either of the above and, instead, only teach the “old-fashioned way,” where only the live teacher (LT) teaches the class?

From noticing the above, LT should be used when it is important to teach affective, emotional, social, nonmeasurable, artistic, creative, valuational, spiritual, ethical learnings and skills; where the teacher as role model is also important, and where the teacher as facilitator of student interactions/sharing is important. 21.  Since these are always important, and always happening (even if not directed and taught by the teacher), some LT should always be used in teaching. 22.  Of course, as LT is being done, there is no harm, and sometimes there is value, in using BL to back up, support, and enhance what is being taught using LT. 23.  However, while using LT, one must be on guard that the teacher does not become just the “sage on the stage.” S/he should also use engagement-methods: class participation methods, action, simulation, role-playing methods, etc. Lecturing, where the students just become note takers too much, is ineffective LT. (For learning more of these engagement methods and how to use them effectively, see Chapter 14 of the text.) 24.  Finally, the younger lower grades need more LT, to get more of the teacher relationship, besides BL, than the upper grades. Computers introduced in the lower grades too early and too much, deprive some developmental growth of the person that is the young student. (See Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Social Emotional Development and Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.) 25.  Caution: High-stakes standardized testing can narrow the curriculum (what is taught) to what can only be measured, which is mostly cognitive learning. If the pressures of standardized testing are not resisted, all that LT teaches will be left out of the teaching, or, at least there will be little time for the teacher to do live LT, what s/he does best, as outlined in 23 above.

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4. When to do the “flipped classroom”?

The “flipped classroom” means that the students do learning at home, often using computer programs, going to Internet sites, etc., to gather/absorb merely information that traditionally was given by the teacher in the classroom by lecturing and giving students notes on a particular subject—then using class time, instead, not for this passive note taking, but for teacher/student participation, action methods that supports and enhance what was gathered by computer work at home. Such a method “flips” the traditional routine of learning information in class and then applying this information in homework. OK, when might a teacher do this “flipped classroom”? 26.  Certainly anything that can be done appropriately as JCL would be fine to have the students do at home and then use class time activities to reinforce these learnings. 27.  Also, certainly anything that can be done appropriately as BL would be fine, where the computer part of the learning can be done at home, then “blended” with appropriate class activities. 28.  Also, certainly anything that can be done appropriately as LT would be fine, as long as the teacher gives them homework that reinforces what only the LT can deliver. Careful here, what the homework computer delivers needs to remain supplemental and not primary to what the LT teacher delivered live and in person in the classroom. 29.  Caution: Here, with the “flipped classroom,” the teacher needs to be especially on guard for economic class differences. It should not be the case that lower-income students, who may not have access to up-to-par computer software and fast Internet connections, become here, now, even more disadvantaged. C. TWENTY-TWO GUIDELINES FOR USING E-MAIL2

1.  The major guideline here is to guard against getting too much traffic in e-mails. 2.  Do not get into issues/arguments about a student on e-mail. Keep your e-mail communications as only a supplement to questions that are hopefully answered at the school’s or class’s website.

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 3. Try to postpone any problematic issues to the Parent/Teacher Conference hopefully not too far away; or, if necessary, you can talk by phone.  4. Discuss only one topic per e-mail, with the subject line identifying what you are talking about in your e-mail.  5. Keep folders per communication per student or parent.  6. Generally talk to the student, not the parent, especially past 2nd or 3rd grade; your goal is to help the parent wean the student, and the student wean the parent.  7. Always read over the e-mail you wrote before you send it.  8. Never forward a student or parent’s e-mail to another; resist doing blind copies. The latter increases trust and confidentiality.  9. If you are having a problem with a student or parent, try to get the backing of your administration before you send out more emails regarding the situation. 10.  Keep your e-mails as short as possible. 11.  Do not feel that you have to discuss and defend everything you are doing. Defer excessive requests to: “See your child’s homework, or the class syllabus handed out the first day, or see the school website.” 12.  Especially, do not get into defending your grading or homework or lateness policies. Defer these arguments to: “See my grading policy in the class syllabus handed out the first day, or see the school or class website.” 13.  Keep your communications with some formal distance. This is not the place to show affection, or encourage personal openness. 14.  Do not allow students to hand in drafts of homework for your pre-evaluation. This would not be fair to other students and would eventually overwhelm you if allowed for all. 15.  Do not get into e-mailing notes to students who missed the notes because they were absent. 16.  Do not accept reasons for lateness and absence on e-mail. It is too easy, and will only encourage more “excuses.” Have a clear late and absence policy handed out the first day and/or on the class website. 17.  You may allow students to ask you questions on e-mail; it may be good feedback for you of what you have not made clear.

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But, again, defer these answers to the class website and/or just answer this “good question” in class the next day. 18.  Do not respond to or allow other students or parents to talk about other students or parents on e-mail, or include any personal information. 19.  No need to respond to e-mails immediately. Do not set up that expectation in the student or the parent, or you will be pressured more and eventually overwhelmed. 20.  If you are upset in your e-mail message, do not send it right away. Draft it and wait. Look at it the next day, or at least hours after you have calmed down or have spoken to a friend about it. 21.  Keep in mind that e-mails may be accessible under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 22.  Finally, here are links to a few popular guides recommended for college professors on how to handle e-mail that, with some revision to fit your own K–12 style, may help you design your own policy (from the City University of New York Union Clarion: •  http://psc-cuny.org/clarion/how-e-mail: •  tinyurl.com/Prof-E-mail-USNews •  tinyurl.com/Prof-E-mail-Cerritos-CC •  tinyurl.com/Prof-E-mail-Wellesley •  www.wikihow.com/E-mail-a-Professor •  tinyurl.com/Prof-E-mail-Eaton D. USEFUL COMPUTER SITES AND RESOURCES

1.  More specific guidelines for using tech in the classroom: for when it is sometimes useful to use, e.g., cellphones, flip cameras, tech-polling, and how to not rely too much on texting and e-mail. See: http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/02/11/tln_barnwell_classroomtech.html?tkn=SZCFqxJEtl5I4hmhzp8cfRkmo5l foTwBc56f&cmp=clp-sb-mw. 2.  School and school district website: Many schools now use a school website where school news, forms, homework, grades, etc. can be posted. See: http://www.edline.com for just one such set of tools. Also see PowerTeacher at www.pearsonschoolsystems.

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com/products/powerteacher/. Check your school to see what they are using and what their guidelines are for using this computer communication with students and parents. 3.  How to constructively engage parents using cell phones, masstexting services that are safe and can be used for reminders, announcements, polling opinions, at: http://smartblogs. com/education/2013/02/27/4-ways-to-connect-with-parents-viatexting/ 4.  Or you can use your own teacher system: e.g., Grade Connect is a web-based course management system. Its primary feature is an online gradebook (which automatically calculates quarter grades). Grade Connect allows teachers to post assignments and announcements and e-mail students in bulk and it is free; Grade Connect, Inc. offsets the cost of running the system with sponsorships, donations, and banner advertisements. 5.  Student data notebooks: You may want to have your students use Data notebooks (or folders). These support students in becoming coproducers of their learning. They help students organize processes for learning. The notebook generally contains a student’s mission, goals, and action plans to support classroom and personal learning. Data notebooks or folders empower students to become accountable for their learning. By writing goals/objectives based on actual course or subject objectives, students have control over their pace of learning. Goals/objectives are also written by students to capture short-term gains to motivate themselves to achieve long-range goals. (For more information, go to: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/baldrige/staff/ datanotebooks.shtm.) 6.  Creating online “hangouts” for students: You can create virtual “student lounges” to allow students to collaborate and work on projects together. See: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/onlinestudent-lounge-resources-heather-wolpert-gawron. 7.  Using education blogs: http://sn.im/movingforward-bloglist is an index to education blogs, categorized by subjects and disciplines, with core and non-core subjects. This webpage created by Moving Forward is a wiki, so you can add your own favorites. Also see: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml

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 8. Help with creating tests: ClassMarker is an online-based test generator that allows teachers to create quizzes with a blend of multiple-choice true-or-false, short-answer, fill-in-the-blank, and essay questions, at: http://www.classmarker.com. Also: ExamBuilder at www.exambuilder.com.  9.  Give your students certificates: from Certificate Creator at www.certificatecreator.com/default3.htm. 10.  Using movies: helps you select movies to match subjects that you are teaching, each with a learning guide, at http://teachwithmovies.org 11.  Guidelines/tip sheets for strategies for computer class work: at http://www.lburkhart.com/elem/tip4.htm by Linda J. Burkhart 12.  Ask ERIC: [email protected] Ask any question. They will research it for you and get back to you via e-mail. 13.  The Teachnet listserv: Subscribe/Unsubscribe Form online at: http://www.teachnet.com/t2t/ To post a message, e-mail: t2t@ teachnet.com. 14.  NetTeach News: This is one of the longest-running publications on networking and K–12 education. It covers what is happening in and out of the classroom with K–12 networking, with tips, lesson plans, etc., at www.netteach.com/. 15.  U.S. Department of Education: From Goals 2010 to upcoming grants, the Department of Education (www.ed.gov) provides a collection of resources for teachers, parents, and researchers. In addition to statistics, research results, calendars of events, and links to other educational resources, users can search Department of Education documents and request them to be sent via postal mail. 16.  EdWeb: General education resources, at www.edwebproject. org/. 17.  Education World and Education Week (great online teacher newsletters with all kinds of education help) at www.educationworld.com/ and a: www.edweek.org/. 18.  For classroom management sites: www.ez2bsaved.com/class_ manage.htm or Search Google for Classroom Management. 19.   For your students: Homework help on Homework Hotline, www.homework-hotline.org/.

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20.  Problem solving for principals: A team of principals report: “How I handled” various administrative problems successfully at www.educationworld.com/a_admin/how_i_handled/how_i_ handled020.shtml. 21.  Online newsletter for middle school teachers: Full of practical articles. To subscribe send an e-mail to [email protected] with “subscribe” in the subject line. 22.  Online sites to help make learning math fun: a. http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/chat/chat162. shtml b. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson339. shtml c. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson338. shtml d. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson306. shtml e. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson293. shtml f. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson265. shtml g. http://www.education-world.com/a_tsl/archives/math.shtml h. http://mathforum.org/t2t/discuss/index.taco?start_at=61 i. http://www.brainpop.com/ 23.  Free courseware for math and math-related science: at: http:// www.shodor.org/interactivate. Includes activities, lessons/discussions, and dozens of virtual manipulables that can be used online. Also aligns the materials with many math textbooks. 24.   The Incredible Art Department at: http://www.incredibleart. org/. This is an excellent art resource for highly successful, well-researched lessons, museums, artists, and a link there to Art Talk, where art teachers go on line to discuss art education. 25.  A resource for grant writing and getting supplies: http://www. educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml 26.   Answers.com, an encyclo*diction*almanac*apedia (www.answers.com): a great place for students to begin research on any topic, with a search tool and toolkit for teachers to help with lesson planning, plagiarism discussions, etc. The site won 2006 Codie Award for Best Education Search Service.

214    APPENDIX H

27.  The Ed Index (www.pitt.edu/~edindex/): K–12 resources, publications, tutorials, teaching units, lesson plans, staff presentations, etc. Just type in what you need, and it searches for you. 28.   A Guide to Online Education Resources (www.nytimes. com/2010/04/18/education/edlife/18openbox-t.html): This New York Times guide was a top-clicked story for the ASCD SmartBrief newsletter during a recent week. The Times describes it best, not surprisingly: “Thousands of pieces of free educational material—videos and podcasts of lectures, syllabuses, entire textbooks—have been posted in the name of the open courseware movement. But how to make sense of it all? Businesses, social entrepreneurs and ‘edupunks,’ envisioning a tuition-free world untethered by classrooms, have created Web sites to help navigate the mind-boggling volume of content.” The article highlights six such sites, where you’ll find not only help for your classroom but for your personalized professional development needs. 29.  Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org: An online encyclopedia that your students can read, edit, and contribute to. Great place for them to publish their ideas and work to millions of other students, and on almost any subject. And, to do so, they have to read and learn about these subjects! Careful, it is not like an old fashioned, reliable encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Wikipedia:Criticisms) but it can be a great active learning exercise for your classes. 30.  100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers on all subject areas: These videos can provide supplementary information for the class, give inspiration, help you keep control of class and even provide a few laughs here and there, at: www.smartteaching.org/ blog/2008/08/100-best-youtube-videos-for-teachers/ 31.  Websites for teaching Spanish: a.  Ñandu: list of fabulous teaching ideas from elementary teachers around the United States. Visit http://www.cal.org/ earlylang/ and on the left you’ll see “Sign Up for Ñandu.” It has a high percentage of usable suggestions. b. http://www.spanishtown.ca/spanishforkids/grade1/monthlyvocabulary/month1activities/audio-saludos.htm c. http://www.spanishspanish.com/

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32.   Tips for creating Digital Binders: http://tweenteacher. com/2013/09/13/going-paperless-the-digital-binder/ 33.  Furthering classroom discussions using technology: “The free online platform Collaborize Classroom is a useful tool for educators seeking to beef up classroom discussions,” writes Todd Finley, an associate professor of English education. “The tool allows teachers to facilitate and track discussions while also including multimedia, audio and video in discussions,” he writes in this blog post. Finley shares some real-life examples of how Collaborize is being used in the classroom, including to create a jury simulation, to break up online lectures and to post readerresponse questions, at: Edutopia.org/Todd Finley’s blog. 34.   What Is a Flipped Classroom? http://www.knewton.com/ flipped-classroom/ 35.  The 5 Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom: http://www. edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-best-practices-andrewmiller 36.  Clickers can be useful for immediate feedback: Students see they are not alone in their responses, etc. See: Jan Hoffman, “Speak Up? Raise Your Hand? That May No Longer Be Necessary,” New York Times, March 30, 2012. 37.  Virtual-field-trips: http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/03/five-awesome-virtual-field-trips-for-students-of-all-ages 38.  Digital pictures illustrate various concepts used in Jim Burke’s classroom, including note-taking strategies, graphic strategies, discussion strategies, and teaching strategies. A second page on “note-making” (beyond “note-taking”) includes visuals of many techniques, PDF versions of handouts, and more, at: http://www.englishcompanion.com/vignettes/vignettes.html and http://www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.html NOTES 1.  BL (Blended Learning) has been shown to be more effective than just JCL or just face-to-face learning according to the Department of Education), as reported by Daphne Koller, “Death Knell for the Lecture,” New York Times, December 5, 2011.

216    APPENDIX H

2. Some of these guidelines for using e-mail above were mine but also suggested to me from my reading of: “E-mail Guidelines for Teachers,” Harrisonburg City Public Schools, 2012; and Jonathan, D. Glater, “To: Professor@ University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me,” New York Times, February 21, 2006.

APPENDIX I

Guidelines for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

Over the years, I have collected a set of suggestions from many teachers and online resources, and then edited what I feel are the best ones for making parent/teacher conferences more effective. Unfortunately, the parents that usually show up to these conferences are usually the parents of the students doing well; too often the parents of the students who need the most help—sadly do not show up. This is a tell-tale symptom: a child who has a parent with little time or resources to parent well is usually a child struggling. However, keep in mind these parents are struggling also. However, you may want to urge them, if they can find the time, to: read to their children, do homework with them, etc., besides only playing with their kids. Research show that parents who can do the former, not just the latter, help raise student academic ability and actual scores considerably. But these parents may not have time or are suffering from the fact that they also had parents who did not do this with them. So, I understand: it is impossible for you to make up for all these deficiencies. (But, some of you do “save” students.) Just do the best you can here. Only do the suggestions below that are congruent for you (see Chapter 11, section B in the text on “congruence”) and best for your school. You may already be doing many of these. A. You may want to have your students write their parents a short letter in the class—just before this parents’ day. Then, you can start off your conference with the parent reading this letter or having read the letter before they come. You can ask your stu217

218    APPENDIX I

dents to write about, e.g., things they’ve liked, favorite subjects, something that is hard, to tell their parents they appreciate their coming to this meeting, etc. Such is often a great start to the conference with the parent. B. If your students and their parents and you all have access to a computer, you can create a class website where you can post assignments, grades, projects coming up, etc. Then, when you have this parent/teacher conference, if they have all kept up checking the class website, this conference will go much better. C. On the day of this meeting, have a system for how parents see you, e.g., a sign-up sheet outside your door: with your name, class, your child is . . . , parent’s name, phone no., please print, etc. Have a table and some chairs for waiting parents outside your door. D. Some parents may not speak English well; if you can, try to have someone with you who can translate for you and them. (Do not use another student, as this will violate privacy.) Usually nonnative language parents can listen much better than they can speak, and also can read better than they can speak. So, speak slowly; they can listen/understand better when you do that. And, try to write out things for them. Then, be very patient about their ability to tell you their side of the story. E. Have on the walls or Smart Board some helpful information about your class. F. It is always best to listen to these parents first, before you talk. You may try opening with: “Hi, your son/daughter is . . . ?” “Thank you for taking the time to come here.” “How can I best use this time for you?” Parents may be coming in with upsets/ angers; if they are allowed to vent first and you show understanding, they are apt listen to you better and the meeting often goes better. Do not interrupt, even if you disagree, for now. Say: “I understand how you feel.” You can give input after they feel more understood and vent and tell you first. If they do not start talking first, come prepared with some questions, e.g., “Are you concerned about any particular area for your daughter/son?” G. You may want to review with them what you have already or recently been teaching in your classes, and what is coming up next, maybe on a hand-out sheet that you can give them?

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H. Be prepared and organized to easily access any grades, work, or evaluations about each student; some that you can actually show the parents. You may want to go over these the night before, especially regarding students who are in “trouble.” I. It is best to start out with what the student is “doing well” with first; the more the parent hears these, the more they will be able to take in what s/he needs to work on. Then: •  Focus your comments on things that can be changed. •  Limit the number of suggestions so that parents are not overwhelmed. •  Avoid jargon. J. Perhaps you may want to explain your grading system or reward/punishment/warning system? (See Chapter 12, section A in the text.) “This sheet on my classroom rules was given out in a hand-out before, early in the marking period.” Have it available to review with the parents, if necessary. If you are meeting because of a student’s lack of progress and your school is not already using something like this, you can recommend that the student be placed on a behavior sheet/homework tracker, either via your computer (http://Classroom-management-tips.suite101. com/artiCLe.cfm/CLass_homework_assignments) or a sheet you design. This helps the student (and parent) organize him or herself and then they can send it back to school with their son or daughter. Explain that this form of communication will make an ongoing useful communication between the student/teachers and his/her parents. Try to form a working-together contract with the parent. “We can work as a team here on this. This is what I will be doing. Can you support and reinforce some of this at home?” “Perhaps, we can write this out and show him/her, and have him/ her even sign it?” K. Keep in mind that almost every parent is worried: “Am I being a good parent?” Try to reassure them here that parenting is very difficult. (Share with them, if you have been or are a parent.) Reassure them: “I am sure you are doing the best that you can.” They are, if you fully understood their situation, e.g., their economic pressures, marriage difficulties, health problems, their own difficult, no-so-good parents, etc.

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L. Your main guideline should be to listen a lot. Your talking often helps less than their feeling that you listened and understood their concerns; try to not interrupt or judge them. Try to have them leave feeling understood, and that they got a chance, e.g., to vent, besides the input that you want to make. M. Also, watch the time with each parent: too much time with one parent makes all the other waiting parents angry. N. At the end: thank them again for coming and taking time out from all they have to do and handle. RESOURCES

Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot, The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other (New York: Random House, 2003). And Online: •  http://content.scholastic.com/browse/artiCLe.jsp?id=4194 •  http://www.teachingheart.net/parentteacherconference.html •  http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Tips/Parent_Teacher_Conferences/ •  http://content.scholastic.com/browse/artiCLe.jsp?id=4195 •  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rethinking-difficult-parents-allenmendler •  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-88591&q=parent+teacher+conferences%2C+suggestions

APPENDIX J

Glossaries for Student Street Language and Technical Terms Used in Schools

1.  Go here for updated definitions of the changing popular street language to better understand the current jargon of your students: http://www.urbandictionary.com/. Defined here are: e.g., A Wickham, accentool, Atty., . . . Bellagio, Brandon Routh, Battojutsu, Bluh . . . , Circlism, chum fume, comb-o-hawk, Crowny, . . . disbunk, doussy, declintonate, Dine on the vine, etc. 2.   To understand educational terms, which are also constantly changing and being updated, the best site to look up current terms and definitions is: http://www.schoolwisepress.com/smart/dict/ dict.html.

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About the Author

Howard Seeman, PhD, is professor emeritus of education, City University of New York; a life-coach (at http://www.echponline.com/bio. html); and a national/international education consultant (at www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com). His book and training video (cued to this book) are used in over fifteen countries. He taught and supervised teachers and student teachers at CUNY 1970–2000. He has published more than twenty articles in professional journals and online on education, counseling, philosophy, and psychology, and is also a published poet. He has been the invited keynote speaker at many statewide education conferences, been on several talk-radio shows, and has given more than fifty workshops and lectures throughout the United States on classroom management and emotional education. He was also a professor in Japan via CUNY from 1990 to 1992. Dr. Seeman was also a licensed English, social studies, and substitute teacher in the New York City public schools from 1965 to 1970, a camp director for many years, a codirector of a camp for emotionally disturbed children, and head of a Center for Personalized Instruction at an institute in NYC. Besides this book, he has also published Preventing Disruptive Behavior in Colleges, and has given a university-wide keynote talk on this subject. He also has a private practice as a life-coach online and in the NYC area, and extensive experience in emotional education. He is available as a life-coach and for school workshops and talks at: www.Classroom ManagementOnline.com.

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uploaded by [stormrg] 224    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Consultant to 4th Edition’s K–6 Sections: Mary-Ann L. Feller, MA, was an elementary teacher in New York City for over ten years, and was one of the first teachers in the country to be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She has presented at many staff development conferences, including the National New Standards Project. She also served as a consultant to the National Center for Reforming Education, Schools, and Teaching; the Professional Development School Project, Dist. 3, NYC; Scholastic’s Magic School Bus television show; and Super Science Red magazine.