Points

Our classroom runs on a point system. I base it off of the Whole Brain Teaching's method of classroom management and points.  It's students vs. teacher points.  Their points are the difference between the two (e.g. If they have 5 points and I have 2 points, they have 3 points for that day). 

These points accumulate over two weeks, and then whichever two of the four classes I have that have accumulated the most points win a spin for a prize.  Prizes are things like 10 minutes free time, board game time, 5 extra points for everyone, etc.  Easy things. 

I keep track of how many times the class has won the 2-week challenges with class trains.  Each train has a different color.  If they have a "gold"/yellow car then that means they won that week. The top train is behind because that class was originally all together with the red class.  During the second week they split into two classes.

The kids are pretty motivated by the competition aspect, which is new this year. I like the little trains.  Each car represents 2 weeks.  Last week was the end of one challenge and I have yet to put those cars up.  The red and blue team won. 

Getting Organized!

Last year I was just surviving.  

It was my first year.  I was hired the week before school started and first saw my classroom (which was a dirty, disheveled mess) the Friday before.  There was nothing in the classroom besides desks with computers, which all needed to be removed to change the room from the computer lab into my classroom.  I at least got a few tables in there with mismatching chairs.  I had one small whiteboard with the promise of another big one soon.  There was one large metal cabinet with broken doors.  The teachers desk had slang written on it from past years.

The actual teacher's desk didn't really work, so I used a table for my stuff. 

Cabinet that pretty much remained open the entire year.

This is the only picture I can find of my entire classroom from last year.  It wasn't too bad, but wasn't the best.  We did what we could.  We survived and everybody learned a lot.  (At least I learned a lot!)

I had mismatched chairs all year.  I never got the extra whiteboard.  Halfway through the year someone told me that the scribbles on the teachers desk were inappropriate, so since I couldn't wash it off I covered it up with a black permanent marker.  The cabinet was never fixed.

I was surviving.  I had no idea what supplies my students needed.  The regular supplies for a classroom?  Did I really have to tell them to bring a pencil and paper to my class?

This year has started off MUCH better.  

I'm in a new classroom and actually have things that work.  There is a small whiteboard, a large whiteboard, and two chalk boards on the walls.  There are two bookshelves, and a cabinet that locks.  I have a sink.  I have places to put things.

My classroom this year (taken before students came).  I need to replace this with a more recent photo. The two whiteboards are up in the room and there's more on the walls.

And I'm much wiser on what to tell students to bring.  Bring tissues boxes!  Bring sanitation wipes!  Bring hand sanitizer!  The school does not provide any of these things so you have to tell your students to bring it.  Maybe this isn't news to someone who grew up in American public schools, but for someone like me who grew up overseas and attending an international school where this stuff and more was provided for, it was novel for me.  (I guess our tuition paid for it, but I didn't think about that growing up!)

However, physical organization is not the only thing I learned from last year.  Getting your paperwork and documentation under control is equally important.  I was not organized at all.  I had a drawer that I put most important documents and I would look in that drawer every time I needed to find something and hoped it was down there. 

This year I have a binder that has a tab for every student.

It includes the following forms:

(1) Parent-Teacher Contact Log
A very important part of this form is whether or not the parents (dad or mom: and I note down which or both) can speak English so I know if I need to get a translator.  In the "other" portion, I note if any numbers listed in their school file don't work so I don't waste my time with those.

(2) Student Behavior Log
My favorite part of this form (and an inspired part of this form) is the student signature.  This is how the form works.  Student misbehaves.  I give warnings/consequences or have a talk with the student.  When class ends and they leave I mark down whatever happened and what I did (even if it was just a warning).  The next day the student comes in, I invite them over to the big desk while the other students are working on their Bell Ringer assignment.  I have them read, or I read to them, the statement I wrote.  I ask them if they remember that happening and if they agree with it.  If they do, they sign their name.  If not, then we change the statement until we both agree (this latter part has yet to ever happen).

This student signature has two benefits.  The first is immediate.  STUDENTS KNOW YOU'RE TRACKING THEM.  Also, you've just reminded them at the beginning of the next class of the warning you gave them last class so they're much better behaved. 

The second benefit will come later, if at all.  Last year I had a problem where there was bullying in my class.  It got so bad I escorted the young man to the office after class and explained everything to the AP.  He was placed into In-School-Suspension.  A few days later his mom comes in with him and wants a conference.  I'm pulled out of class to have this conference with mom, the AP, and the student.  The student denies anything happening.  Thankfully the AP backed me up and took my side.  For some reason nowadays, in the parents' eyes, teachers are out to get their students.  If the student fails, it's the teacher's fault.  If the student gets behavior consequences, it's the teacher's fault.  So the parent in this case was much more likely to believe her son than she was to believe me.  Thus, having this student signature on this event (and also the parent contact log, since I had contacted that parent a couple of times regarding this student behavior––something this parent also 'forgot.') would have been very helpful.

(3) Student Information
This is the sheet I had them fill out on the first day of school.  It's where I was informed as to whether or not their parents spoke English or not.  I also loved seeing their favorite things and what their parents did for their living.  It was so insightful.  I'm hoping I can review their interests and goals from time to time so that I can apply them to our lessons or talk about them to build better rapport.

I already feel much more prepared to tackle the year and anything it wants to throw at me.  As a middle school teacher, I know the behavior log would be too overwhelming to many of my peer teachers who see 180 students over two days.  As a special education teacher, I only have 30 students over two days that I worry about.  Thus, my forms are much more manageable.  It's what works for me, and so far it's worked really well.

Go ahead and use anything from this post that you think may work for you.  You don't have to use the whole thing.  You can cut/paste/morph/disassemble anything to suit your needs.   Good luck!

Classroom Principle

This summer I read "Teaching with Love and Logic" by Jim Fay and David Funk.  A great book to read, and I recommend it to any teacher or parent.  My favorite thing about it was the specifics it gave and models on how to respond to certain student behaviors.  I've written a few of those down and review them often to make sure they're fresh in my mind.

One thing I loved from the book was their one rule:  

You can do anything you need to do as long as it doesn't cause a problem for yourself or others.  

It pretty much covers everything.  In our class we call it our class principle.  I have the kids repeat it at the beginning of every class and have different kids offer examples of how this rule applies to every-day interactions in the classroom (or outside the classroom).

There was a poster someone else had made for this principle, but it was bizarre with lots of colors and too many fonts.  I can't handle that.  It's chaotic.  So I created my own.  And it's beautiful and calm.  Here it is:

It's easy for the kids to understand.  It's a concept they can easily apply to other situations and environments.  It's easy to refer to when I'm explaining why a certain behavior is inappropriate for our classroom.  It's pretty much the best.   Thanks, Jim Fay and David Funk.

Apologizing, Part 2

The first apology this week came from me.  Read about it here.

The next four apologies came from four boys who thought making and throwing a paper airplane around the classroom in the middle of class would be a good idea.

I held them after class and talked to them about the choice they had made, and why it wasn't appropriate.  These are my 7th-graders.  They are good kids, and we have a good relationship.  I respect them, and they respect me.  But this is middle school and sometimes common sense is left at home.  Such was the case here.  I could tell that they weren't trying to be disruptive, but they just had the idea that a paper airplane would be really cool right then, so they made one.  Unfortunately, they had that awesome idea in the middle of class.

So I told them they needed to go home and write me a letter of apology, explaining what they were doing an why it wasn't appropriate in class.

Today I was surprised that three of them remembered and brought them up to me.  The fourth was held after during lunch where he had to write it for me then.

These kids are hilarious.  I really love my job. It's tough, but there are so many fun moments.  You can tell they are sincere in their apologies.  But they're middle school boys, and I laugh out-loud when I read some of their wording (which is why I always read it after the kids have left).

Here is an apology letter from one of my students.  He's had to write two for me before, and he had a really hard time writing them.  But he was the first to submit his today, which surprised me.  What did not surprise me was the crumpled up piece of paper he handed me, which was the back of one of his returned math assignments.  I was just proud of him for actually remembering to write the letter.  Keep in mind that they have to write half a page, and this student's handwriting is uncommonly small. Here's what he wrote (spelling fixed):

Sorry Miss Draper for throwing paper airplanes in your class and I should have been being paying attention in your class because I don't want to be separated from my friends because I don't want you picking that phone up and dialing my parents' phone number and then I get in trouble and [friend's name] will not write the letter I think because he told me in I-CAT so don't call my parents I am writing small this is going to take forever to write half the page and it is almost 2016 or not I can't wait for Christmas and if you call my parents I won't get nothing for my birthday. 

Apologizing, Part 1

There have been a few apologies going around this week.

The first one was from me to my 4th-period class.

On Tuesday I woke up anxious.  This was B-day, which always put me a little on edge.  On B-day I have my 8th graders, and they are a lot to handle.  I don't know if I do it very well, but on Tuesday I definitely didn't do it well.

As I said, I woke up anxious with thoughts on this one student (we'll call him Bobby) who has been the main source of the problem for two months.  It's been awful.  He'll speak in Spanish loudly because he knows I don't understand, and then I hear later from others that he's swearing up a storm and talking about vulgar things.  Bobby talks constantly during class, and doesn't care a bit about what I have to say about it.  He distracts the other students and has brought not only his own grade down, but those around him, too.

Advice for student and teacher alike?

So I was on edge when it came time for 4th-period on Tuesday.

It didn't start well.  Not only did Bobby start from the very beginning of class to disrupt everything, but I was getting after other kids for little things that I should have let slip, because they weren't that big of a deal.  One girl (we'll call her Sue) completely refused to participate in taking her turn to lead the class in the rules.  Sue put her head down and wouldn't budge.  I was short with students who were just settling in and weren't starting on their bell work right away.  I have a few male students who retaliate when they think things are unjust, and they did just that.  So I created a bigger problem for myself.

Half of my kids did well (they were quiet), the other half (of which Bobby was a huge part) were giving me a headache.  It was bad.

End of story, I yelled at my kids.  I don't ever raise my voice in class, though I will use a definite firm voice to let them know when I'm serious.  But on Tuesday I raised that voice and told them how disappointed I was in them, and how their behavior was not acceptable.

I had to get extra help, so I called in Ms. N (the sped coordinator).  She came in and also let them have it, though I think she was much better at it than I had been.  At the end of class she and I took Bobby to the principal, who in turn took him to in-school suspension (ISS)


Time to breathe.


Bobby completely deserved suspension––there is no doubt.

The rest of my students did not deserve the attitude I gave them.

Tuesday finished off rather calm.  My next group of kids all behaved really well; or maybe it was that I had learned my lesson and was more respectfully towards them.  I think it was a mixture of both.

The end of B-day.

The next B-day was Thursday.  My 4th-period walked in and started their Bell Ringer.  Bobby was still in ISS.  Everything was going smoothly, I almost didn't say anything.  But I knew I had a responsibility to say something.

"Class, before we go on, I want to take this time to apologize.

"My behavior last class was not fair to you.  I want to be an example for you, and I want you to learn how to deal with anger and frustrations in a positive way.  I was not showing you how to do that.  I do apologize.

"I do love this class.  You are all so talented, and I really enjoy teaching you.  I was frustrated last class, because of some certain things –––"

student interjects: "Bobby."

"––well, yes.  I was frustrated with Bobby's behavior, but that was no excuse for me to act the way I did towards the rest of you.  So I did want to let you know that I am very sorry."

The kids responded very well.  In fact, much, much, better than I had anticipated.  It was almost a trickle effect.  I had another student (we'll call him David) who's day had started out badly (I had been warned beforehand).  David kicked chairs out of his way as he went to his seat.  He huffed as he sat down.  He quickly did his bell work and huffed again.

After I apologized there was just this little magic in the air.  David calmed down immensely, and I made sure to give him his space and praise him quietly when he was doing his work.  And Sue volunteered to lead the class in our class rules that day.  She has never done that before. I realized as she did it, though, that I think she was shy and it was hard for her to get up in front of people like that.  I had never noticed that before.  And yet, here she was, volunteering to stand up in front of her peers that day.

It was a very calm class.  It was a good class. I was able to restore rapport with these kids, just by apologizing.

We'll see how this class goes when Bobby returns from ISS.  I hope he improves his behavior.  Bobby was such a star student at the beginning of the year, but sometimes middle school does unkind things. I hope this is a temporary problem.

All I know is that I'll do better.  A lesson I remember from my college instruction is that the teacher must always be in control of her emotions.  Continually I have experiences in my teaching career that confirm this truth.  If the teacher is not in control, it causes problems.  The students will not be able to trust you, nor will they feel safe.  However, when you are in control of your emotions, they know what to expect from you and there is a feeling of safety––regardless of how they decide to behave.

So I'm learning what to expect and how to act. I'm getting better at acting and not reacting.  My kids deserve that, because they are my kids.  I care about them and I want them to trust me.  I want them to succeed.

Apologizing to them was a good step.

Disrespect

Disrespect is the hardest behavior I deal with.  It's probably the hardest behavior anyone has to deal with.  In one of my first posts I talked about keeping a positive atmosphere in the classroom.  Well, it's extremely difficult to do when blatant disrespect is on your roster.

It's hard.

It's awful.

It makes me want to walk out and leave it all behind.

But I don't.  I breathe. I act.  I don't react (or at least, I try not to!). And then we move on.

In January this year I had a really bad case of disrespect and bullying in my classroom.  I wrote an email to my family talking about my frustrations with and worries about my students.  My grandma, a retired teacher, emailed back with words that hit me, and that I often rehearse in my mind to help me keep perspective.

"Alicia, you must remember you chose a very challenging and difficult area of teaching when you chose special ed, especially at the middle school level. . . .Perhaps you need to renegotiate your expectations. . . ."

ZOING!  Words of Wisdom I stapled into my brain for immediate reference whenever problems came up again.  I probably think about these words anywhere from 1-3 times a week.

Now, I know it's important to keep expectations high for students.  But you also have to be realistic or you'll continually be disappointed with everyone and everything.

Middle school is tough.  Middle school was tough in my grandmother's day, tough in my mother's day, tough in my day.  Middle school is a perpetually tough phase of life that has crushed every soul ever to step in her doors.  Go ahead and add media's expectations, social media influences, cyber-bullying, instant texting, and it just got a whole lot worse.  Go ahead and shift all this to the poor, uneducated community that this school is a part of.  Yeah.  Middle school's a beast.

Disrespect in the classroom is extremely difficult to deal with.  Sometimes I want to scream and make it all go away as if it were only a bad dream.  I've implemented behavior systems and tried to keep it positive and also consistent in delivering both rewards and punishments.  I try desperately to complement the students during their shining moments.  I try to show them that I care, because I do care.  And maybe that's why it hurts so much.  I give my heart to these kids, so when one of them shoves it back, it hurts.  After all that we've gone through, kid, after all that we've worked on together, this is how you're choosing to act towards me?

But again, it's middle school, and it's special ed.  Maybe their day has been just as hard.

So instead of walking out, I breathe. I act.  I don't react (or at least, I try not to!). And then we move on.

Being the Substitute

I would never want to be a substitute.

Let me repeat.

I would never ever want to be a substitute.

Substitutes have

the hardest jobs ever.

The kids don't care about you because they know they'll never see you again.  Therefore they think they can do whatever they want. It's the psychology of anonymity. 

I had to sub before during ACCESS testing (testing English language abilities on ELLs). 

Define: ELL

English Language Learners

It was awful.  I'm a teacher, and I know classroom management.  But this was not my classroom, and I had no management.  Coincidentally, no one had fun.  I had to continually be on guard, reminding them to do their work, quieting them down, and telling them 'no, you can't throw paper airplanes across the room.'

David Sipress Cartoon

We are currently in PARCC testing for language arts and math.  This week is seventh grade.  Next week is eighth grade.  Because some of the teachers are pulled out of their classes to administer and proctor the test, the rest of us teachers help cover their classes during our prep periods.

Monday morning I had prep.  

Monday morning I was assigned to an 8th grade language arts class.  

Monday morning I had a plan. 

Before the students walked in, I told them in my teacher voice that they were to walk in quietly, take a seat, and get out a piece of paper and a pencil while I got their assignment from the desk.  

Define: Teacher Voice

A voice of power!!  I feel so grown up when I use it. 

(Use with caution-- never use to demean or criticize a student)

They walked in, I picked up the assignment, and walked straight up to the front of the room.

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    Students chatting to one another as they sit down. 

"Alright.  Mr. C isn't going to be teaching you today.  

    Slowly registering that someone is talking and slowly starting to finish conversation. 

"I'm your substitute.

"I know that it's not typical to respect substitutes, but today you're going to respect me.

    Quiet and listening. Who is this lady?

"So this is how it's going to go:

"This is going to be elementary.  You're going to do your work, as assigned to you.  There will be points given if you are paying attention to your assignment.

    Students looking at me with interest. 

"These points will be tallied up.  At the end of the class period, the three people with the highest points . . . "

    Students lean in for answer

"will receive a piece of candy."

    Students lean back. Smirks on 90% of the faces.  'She thinks she can buy us with candy??'

    No, dear children.  I think I can buy you with marks on a piece of paper called 'points'.  And I will. 

"Students who are not paying attention to their work will have their names written down with details on their behavior for Mr. C to review after he returns.  I will also be using the points to let Mr. C know which students were working hard and doing a good job. 

"[Calls on a student], would you please pass these out?"

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I could have lost them at this point.   If I hadn't continued and showed the students that I meant business, it could have been a disaster and I would have lost more respect than if I hadn't said anything to begin with.  The key is consistency.  If you're consistent, the students will respect your system.

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    [Student] is currently handing out assignment.

"I'm placing a post-it note on your desk.  Write your name on this as soon as you receive it."

    Student: our full name?

    Me: Yes. 

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As soon as I finish handing out post-its, I return to the first student and immediately give out a point (in my special purple marker that I'm pretty sure no student has a replica of in their backpack) to those who have followed directions and written their name down.  This is the key.  You start immediately with an easy direction for an easy point, so they can clearly see how it works.  I had a few students who had not followed this direction right away and missed this first point.  They tried to quickly scribble their name down, but it was too late at this point.  If a student complained, I simply explained in my teacher voice that the point was for those who had quickly followed my direction the first time.  There was no complaining after that.

Two minutes after this, I went around and again gave an easy point to those who had started reading their assignment.  Other students noticed and quietly started their work.  I did this again, 2-3 minutes after the first time. 

I then started lengthening out my point giving sessions.  If I were to give out a point every 2-3 minutes for the entire class, the whole system would come crashing down.  Not only would I become tired and weary from this tediousness, but students would see that if they missed one point round, then who cares, because they could do it in the next point round.  They can't know when you're going to come around.  

Can I tell you something?  This was a great class.  They quickly became mine and I became theirs.  We had a system, and it worked, and all the kids knew what was expected and knew how I would respond to them. I was able to use some of the time when they were reading to grade a few assignments.  I was later able to freely move about the classroom and help kids having problems with the follow-up questions, without worrying about what the other students were doing behind my back.  We had some great discussions.  There were some students who had some side conversations with their neighbors, but they knew to come back to their assignment on their own, without me reminder them to verbally (but maybe with the nonverbal reminder that I was giving another kid next to them a point for focusing on his work).  I was able to have a side conversation with them when one student asked what the schedule was going to be like this week during testing; and then they were able to return to work. Throughout this whole time, I would stop and give out points.  Sometimes one point at a time, sometimes two or three. 

     You see, children?  I won you with just marks on a piece of paper.  

I probably didn't even need to say that I had candy.  Maybe tomorrow in the class I'll be substituting for I won't mention it until the end.  Because you could tell it wasn't the candy they were working for.  It was your silent approval of them. 

The best part was that it was a positive experience.  I started out no-nonsense, but I communicated a system to them with the mutual understanding that they could achieve it.

There was one student who fell asleep.  I poked him a couple of times and told him he needed to wake up and start his work.  After that, I just let him be.  He didn't get any points, but I also wrote his full name down and wrote a little note for Mr. C. (This is another reason why you have the kids write their full names on the post-it note.  It makes it easier to identify them.)  Everyone else was responding well to the system.  Some kids took a while to warm up, but everyone was working at the end. 

At the end of class, I told them to count up their points and then hand it to me.  I had kids that were jesting "I have 34!"  "Well, I have 42!" when really the highest number of points achieved was 29.  But they cared about the points.  The top three were announced, and those three were able to choose a piece of candy (which I had gotten from a piñata at a 1-year-old's birthday party last week!).  The students who didn't win were still happy, because they knew they had performed well, and they knew that I knew about it, too.  I wrote a good note about that class to the teacher, with the exception of the note about the sleeping child. 

So maybe substituting isn't that bad after all. 

Well, I'd still rather be a teacher. 

New Management Technique

This is how the school year goes. 

August: 

You introduce your classroom management plan.  Kids are timid and obediently agree with anything you say.

September: 

Kids are getting more comfortable, but are still very receptive to directions.

October: 

In routine, kids are getting tired--thank goodness for Fall Break!

November:  

In routine, kids are getting restless.

December: 

There's only 2-3 weeks of school this month, so no one is really paying attention. You can still manage them, but it takes a lot more effort.

January: 

Management plan?  What management plan? These kids own the school.

February: 

Time for a new management plan. Kids see you mean business.

March: 

Testing, so you never see your kids anyway.

April: 

More testing. When you do see your kids, they're pretty good.

May: 

School is over!  Oh, wait, it's not?  ...Yeah, it's that bad. (But why is there more school?  They were already tested, even though you were only 3/4s of the way through the year and the curriculum.)

We're in February right now.  Yes, January was awful.  Name calling, bullying, calls home, lunch detentions, parent meetings, suspensions, and even one police officer called in.  I was so consumed with stress that I didn't pay my rent for February on time.  Oops. 

So what do we teachers do?   Well, let me tell you.  Nowadays it's all about data.  Daily data.  You need to know exactly where your kids are and if they're improving because of your instruction.  If not, then you change instructional methods.  If they are, you keep doing what you were doing and continue to monitor their progress.

Behavior management is the same thing.  Classroom Management Plan working?  Great!  Keep at it!  You go, girl!  Classroom Management Plan not working?  Rip it up and throw it in the trash.  Time to start something new.

(this being said, there is merit to sticking to your rules and enforcing consequences.  If you're the weak link in your management plan, you can't blame the management plan.  Time to up your courage and trust the plan!)

I use a point system in my class.  Most of my classes respond well to the point system, which is used to earn class free time.  One class in particular was not affected at all by the points.  So I changed it.

Let me step back for a bit. I say I changed it.  Really, though, I don't think I could have done this on my own.  I tried for weeks to fix things.  It wasn't until I really started praying for help that this idea came to me.  And it came in a blink of an eye.  You should have seen me that night.  I was depressed and quietly walking around the house all evening, but as soon as I received this inspiration, I was dancing and quickly explaining to my husband all of the details and how it was going to work.  I feel like I'm a pretty good teacher, but I have to say that I feel daily help from the Lord as I try to teach and reach these students.

Okay back to the awesome plan:
There are three levels.  Blue, white, and orange.  Kids start out on the white.  It's all about homework.   If class ends and you are on the white, you have to do page 1 of the homework.  If class ends and you are on the orange, you have to do both pages of the homework.  If class ends, and you are on the blue, then you hand in your homework at the door as you leave and you don't have to do it.

You have the ability to move up and down throughout the entirety of class.  You have one warning before moving down a level.  Second time and you're out.  You have to show perfect behavior for 10 consecutive minutes before you can move back up.

I've found my kids are really motivated by no homework.  I had expected most of them to behave as they usually do and end up with homework.  To my surprise, they responded exceptionally well, and everyone behaved perfectly (well, some needed a few reminders).  No one went home with homework.

Daily Data Point:  It worked.

Positive Thoughts

It's an awesome thing when I have students choosing to wander into my classroom between classes just to say "hello."  It's awesome when they choose to make eye contact with you in the hallway––which is saying a lot for middle schoolers.  It's extremely awesome when kids tell you that you're they're favorite teacher.

But it's also extremely tricky.  A teacher has to be friendly, but not a friend.   Goodness, they talk trash to their friends, and that's not how I want to be treated.  A teacher has to create a positive relationship teacher-student relationship, which incorporates trust and respect for the other's role.  That's all good and fine, but it's tricky when the teacher needs to be firm and bring in consequences for unruly behavior; I have to correct behavior while still maintaining a good, positive rapport with that student.

A memory

There was a time during my internship year that I absolutely blew it.  A student was on the computer playing a game instead of doing his reading program.  I pretty much let him have it for a few seconds.  It was the end of the day and everyone was tired.  But I really let it slip.  The worst part is that all of the other students were witnessing this. 

A Secret:

 It's bad enough when the teacher yells.  It's worse when there's an audience. 

I felt really bad.  You could see this student's shoulders slump as he slowly went back to what he should have been doing.  I realized that I needed to refocus on being positive.  

Another Secret:

Amazing things happen when you think positively.  

From http://www.successconsciousness.com/

I found that as I focused on being positive, the kids were more willing to respond and participate.  Even when there was bad behavior, if I reminded myself that I needed to remain positive, the outcome was better. The focus changed from being on their negative behavior to instead being about the chance to choose better and change behavior.

And we're back to the present.
My internship was at an elementary school.  Elementary students are extremely willing to forgive and forget negative teacher behavior.  My first year of teaching is at a middle school.  Middle schoolers remember;  on top of that, they're moody and everything is dramatic. So maintaining classroom management and student rapport is, as I've said, tricky.  In fact, my daily classroom energy is probably spent thus:

Am I right, or am I right?  If there's a prospective teacher out there who thinks what they'll be doing in the classroom is teaching, then they're in for a real surprise.  Yes, there is teaching, but it's a very small amount of what I actually do.  Some might think it's because I teach sped, and there might be something about that.  I do have a higher percentage of ADHD and autism in my class.  But I think even a gen-ed teacher is going to have a similar energy chart––they'll just be dealing with different behaviors that I do.  

But I've found that if I think positively (about my job, about the students, about a situation), then both the students and I react better, and I don't feel as spent at the end of the day (that means more energy for my family! Bonus points!).  It takes a lot more energy to be negative.  Really, it does.  

On a kinda-sorta related note:

This reminds me of a Ted Talk I watched a few months ago.  Thinking positively about stress.  Teaching is stressful, right?  Think positively about it.  Use it as a tool to go out victorious! Da na na! Watch it here.

Ted Talk Secret:

Stress is the best ever. 

You can't click on this picture. Sorry. Click here :)

And we're back:

So I don't have all the answers.  But positive thinking can go a long way to creating a more healthy teacher-student relationship.  Respect the student, and they'll learn to respect you.  Explain reasons behind consequences, and ways for them to redeem themselves.  Most importantly, show that you care. If they're talking to you, look into their eyes and listen.  If they need help, go and help them.  

Don't ignore them.  Talk to them.  

Validate them.  

Final Secret:

Students need a positive influence.          

(pssst!  That's you!)