Monday Motivator #15 2021-22

 

How To Handle The Student Disrespect Sweeping The Country

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2021/11/12/student-direspect-sweeping-schools/

November 12, 2021 by Michael Linsin

Since returning to in-person learning, respect has taken a nosedive.

Students are just different.

We all see it. We all know it. The question is, what to do about it?

Well, the usual keys are still in play.

Clear Boundaries

100% Consistency

Calm Enforcement

Keeping your cool regardless of what a student does or says, and doing what you say you’re going to do, are now more important than ever before. Fail on this front and the battles will be constant, the disrespect unrelenting.

However, the time has come for something more.

Not strategies, per se. Those we recommend here at SCM don’t, and shouldn’t, change. It’s the way you interact with students that needs to take on greater significance.

With that in mind, what follows are seven teacher behaviors that when combined will reduce or eliminate any surge in disrespect upending your classroom.

1. Body Language

Timid and weak postures, stances, and movements don’t cut it. You must take up space by standing tall with your shoulders back and head up. Walk and move with purpose or stand still and in one place.

Face your students head on. Don’t fidget or pace. Never show displeasure or frustration. You must not only follow through like a leader, but look like one also. Thus, how you dress matters.

Your clothes need not be expensive, but clean, sharp, and pressed is a must. Some formality shows class and consistency. Sloppiness, casualness, or resembling your students does not.

2. Eye Contact

Eye contact has always been important, but now you must direct it purposefully. Turn to look at—even bore in on—every speaking student. Seek out visual connections as you teach and move about your room.

Look into students as you interact with them. Yes, they may squirm at first until they get used to a strong leader. They may feel uncomfortable.

But they’ll be far less likely to be disrespectful to you. They’ll be less likely to lie, make excuses, and shirk responsibility, which are behaviors that are also on the rise.

3. Voice

Light, hesitant, apologetic, mousy . . .  Speak this way around students in the post-Covid age, and they’ll disregard you with a roll of the eyes and wave of the hand. They may even pretend you’re not there.

You must speak boldly. Use your adult voice, even with younger students. Be clear and unwavering. This doesn’t mean raising your volume, necessarily. Rather, deepen your sound and enunciate fully.

Clarity in manner and projection afford you greater esteem and politeness and will enhance your natural charisma and leadership abilities.

4. Directness

Tell students what you want and what you expect. Add nothing more. Refrain from qualifiers, suggestions, and thinking out loud. Be straightforward with your directions and instruction.

Use as few words as possible. Lean on plain yeses and nos and avoid hemming and hawing and showing uncertainty. Make up your mind quickly or tell students you’ll get back to them with your decision.

Never let them see you unsure of yourself. Vulnerability may have worked in the past, but it’s no longer helpful if you’re among the many teachers experiencing an increase of incivility.

5. Pause

Here at SCM, we’ve long promoted the importance and power of strategic pausing. Now it’s vital. Pause often and for longer periods of time than you ever have.

When you speak, let your instructions and directives hang heavy in the air. Wait them out. Let them settle. Say your peace and then zip it. Your students will regard your words with more weight and relevance.

They’ll listen better. They’ll move to fulfill your directions faster. They’ll approach you politely and with greater appreciation.

6. Listen

If a student does behave disrespectfully, do not react. Stand your ground and wait. Maintain strong eye contact. Stay silent and impassive.

Let their disrespect echo and breathe so they and everyone within earshot knows what it is. Let them feel it. Let their attention fall to you to see what you’ll do.

Then handle it with strength by simply enforcing. Offer no other reaction. Follow your classroom management plan as written, then turn and walk away. Return to what you were doing as if nothing happened.

When you show that it doesn’t get under your skin, that you don’t take their disrespect personally, students stop doing it.

7. Debrief

Here at SCM, we don’t recommend talking to students about their misbehavior—lectures, whys, questions, hash-it-outs, should-have-dones, etc.—except under certain specific circumstances.

However, many students nowadays don’t even know they’re being disrespectful. In this case, be sure to let them know later in the day that the way they spoke to you isn’t okay.

You don’t have to go on and on or show your disappointment. It isn’t a discussion. You’re merely informing, educating. It’s a courtesy for their benefit and future reference. There is no need to wait for them to respond or apologize—though they often will.

Just let them know that if it happens again, a rule will be enforced.

You, Not Them

There is a clear crises of disrespect sweeping the country. Every day it seems we hear stories from teachers of remarkable brazenness and rude behavior.

Maybe it’s the year spent at home. Maybe it’s the lack of human connection. Maybe it’s the addiction to social media and smart phones. Maybe it’s the anger and frustration that seems to be affecting everyone from airline passengers to highway drivers.

Regardless, we have to adjust.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t still have a kind and pleasant personality. You can and should still use humor and get excited about your subject matter.

But no longer can you tiptoe your way around your classroom. You can’t shrink away like a frightened wombat or allow yourself to be bullied and intimidated.

Nor can you fight against disrespect with your own brand of fire and fury. Revenge may be sweet in the moment, but it will encourage more and more of what you don’t want.

Instead, you must be a strong presence. You must be a leader of a higher purpose and plane your students can’t help but look up to.

It doesn’t take a lot, mind you.

Following the suggestions above, many of which you’re probably already doing, is enough. It’s enough to push back the wave of disrespect and bring peace to the kingdom.

But you must take charge. Not in an aggressive or angry way, but in a way that leaves no doubt that you’re the leader of the classroom.

And you, not them, set its tone and culture.

Monday Motivator #14 2021-22

 

TEACHER APPRECIATION

An open letter to all teachers—thank you for never giving up on our kids

 April 30, 2021  Jamie Klinger-Krebs

Dear teachers,

What a profound year it’s been—for you, for our kids, for all of us.

Change has enveloped all of us this year and I, like you, want to encapsulate the disruptions, minimize the trauma and just get on with my life. But even more than that, as a parent, I want to see my daughter, who will be starting her freshman year of high school in the fall of 2021, excited to learn again inside a classroom each day. I want to see her walk through those doors next year mask free and ready to take on new challenges without the burden of a global pandemic—or the fear that she’s not prepared for what comes next. And I know you want to be there too, doing what you do best for kids like mine.

Though she might not feel ready just yet, I know you’ve done everything in your power to help mitigate the disruptions in her learning since the beginning of the pandemic. This fact is not lost on me, or any other parent like me. 

Last year at this time we were certain of one thing—we were all in this together. But as the year wore on we began to witness social, economic and political situations that left many of us feeling weary, angry and divided; sometimes within our own families. As a means of self protection we may have folded into ourselves and lost our ability to articulate this to our kids properly, or with the right level of sensitivity. That’s when you became an interpreter and a shoulder to lean on. Not only for us, but also for them. You kept listening, kept encouraging and because of you we learned that sometimes there simply is no right explanation. All we can do is keep learning, especially from our own mistakes. 

Still, as resilient as you have been, please know that we, as parents, know how tired you must be right now. We’ve put a lot on your shoulders and we know the pandemic has taken a toll on you, too. For a while, and maybe even still, it took your students, your classroom, and the solid foundation of learning that you so carefully built.

Now your already tough job has become even more challenging.

You’re dealing with confused students, frustrated (and sometimes rude and disrespectful) parents while learning how to master technology that was never really supposed to become part of your daily life. Your passion for teaching may have been tested this year like never before. And, as a result, some of you may be reaching your breaking point. 

Please know that we recognize your exhaustion. And, more importantly, we see you. 

We see all that you have done, and we see all that you continue to do. We are so very glad you stayed in this fight with us because we simply could not have done it without you. Especially when our kids were sent home and we tried to juggle parts of your job along with our own, and failed miserably at both.

As this school year draws to a close, we promise to take back some of the heavy load we’ve placed on you. We’re better equipped to handle it now because you’ve taught us a few important lessons, too. We now know that when we work together for our kids, we can and we will make a difference. After all, it’s their future at stake. If we learned this lesson well, our kids will be okay, and they’ll go on to create a better world—largely thanks to you. 

Though I could go on and on here, basically what this letter boils down to is gratitude. Gratitude for all that you do, all that you are, and all that you still want to achieve as an educator—oftentimes without a shred of the recognition you deserve. You have had an unfathomable year, but you are still here. You kept going and you found new and creative ways to keep our kids learning. You became a true hero in every sense of the word. And, once again, you have shown us all, as parents, colleagues and friends, what it means to be TEACHER STRONG.

So, from all of us at Nasco Education, and on behalf of parents everywhere … thank you so very much for never giving up on yourself, or our kids. Your impact will never be forgotten, and we are so grateful that in these defining moments of our lives, you were (and still are) here.

Sincerely,

Jamie Klinger-Krebs
A Grateful Mom and Manager of Digital Design & Copy
Nasco Education

Monday Motivator #13 2021-22

 

Monday Motivator #12 2021-22

 

A Simple Way To Get Better At Classroom Management

November 5, 2021 by Michael Linsin

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2021/11/05/get-better-at-classroom-management/

There is a simple way to get better at classroom management week after week.

It involves doing one small thing.

This one thing takes just minutes a day and isn’t a behavior strategy.

In fact, it’s something you do after your students leave for the day.

So what is it?

It’s to keep a record of every misbehavior. You see, the simple act of tracking is shown to improve performance no matter the field.

And it happens naturally, without you having to do anything other than a brief daily review.

The reason it works is because whatever we pay close attention to tends to get better. This is why food diaries are so effective in helping people lose weight.

According to research, keeping a journal of everything you eat results in greater weight loss. (One 1,700 person clinical trial at Kaiser Permanente showed twice as much weight loss as those who didn’t keep a journal.)

Keeping score, so to speak, sparks an intense desire to improve—even if you do nothing else but notice your numbers, regardless of whether they went up or down. It’s the same reason video game developers add a scoring component to every game.

It’s a powerful internal motivator that keeps people playing and craving improvement.

Practically, what keeping a record does for classroom management is cause you to be more consistent. It causes you to calmly rely on your classroom management plan and utilize the strategies we teach here at SCM.

They work. And seeing the numbers drop over time is deeply satisfying. It brings a level of peace and learning to your classroom that you’ll never want to lose.

I recommend keeping track of every rule broken, what the exact behavior was, and which consequence was given. Record the total number of misbehaviors for the day and circle it. Review your new entry at the end of each day and one more time before the next.

And that’s it.

Essentially, by maintaining an accurate record of misbehavior, you’re leveraging your natural, instinctive inclination to grow, learn, and improve.

It also helps shift your focus away from your students, and how their misbehavior annoys and frustrates you, and toward your ability to influence and change their behavior.

It opens your eyes and allows you to see the power of good, solid classroom management.

It shows you in a way you can’t deny that it’s not about your students. It’s about you and your own performance. You decide, not them, what kind of class you have.

And keeping the numbers will prove it to you.