Teacher Tips for Back to School

These are some basic tips I like to review every year before welcoming the students back.  It helps me get my head in the right place from the start.

What NOT to do...

• Be fair, be consistent, be clear.
• Clear messages combined with positive encouragement provide all the information a child needs to improve their behavior.
• Get close in proximity to a disruptive student.
• Use eye contact.
• Use the student’s name.
• Say exactly what you want them to do
• Stay calm and refuse to argue.
• Never discipline a student in front of the entire class.
• Speak with students in an ADULT voice. The ADULT voice is non-judgmental, free of negative non-verbal, and matter-of-fact. Avoid the PARENT voice.
• Don’t use “muddy” messages. (How many times have I told you? If you don’t stop right now, you are going to the office! Behave like good boys and girls! What am I going to do with you?)
• Don’t use destructive messages. (You are awful in class. Your sister was great in my class. What happened to you?)
• Never say or do anything that will damage your relationship with a student.
• Defusing arguments: If a student tells you something that has legitimate point, then discuss it. If they argue in order to manipulate you, wait until they stop talking and say,”That is not the point; I expect you to___________.”
• When a student does what you expect, give them immediate positive feedback in ways that are sincere, genuine, and meaningful to the students.
• Behavior is our best attempt, at the time, to satisfy one or more of the six basic human needs. The strongest needs for kids are freedom, belonging, fun, and power. Appeal to these needs to motivate students.
• You must make more “deposits” into your students’ emotional piggy banks than “withdrawals.” Deposits occur when you show courtesy, display kindness, give honesty, keep commitments, or do anything which appeals to their basic needs. Students will be more likely to say “yes” to a teacher who has a positive emotional piggy bank balance.
• If you make a mistake, apologize sincerely. This is a teachable moment.
• Emphasize that we don’t punish – we give consequences. We are constantly teaching.
• Give clear expectations: follow directions, stay in assigned area, read quietly.
• Treat everyone as if they are GOOD.

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Unplugged

By the end of the 2010-2011 school year, I was on technology overload.  The fact that I had been talking about it all day long, and tweeting every night had finally started taking its toll.  I decided a couple weeks away would do the trick, but those two weeks came and went, and I still felt had no desire to go near my computer.  I took things a step further and got rid of my smart phone (take that pesky email bleep every 10 minutes!)  Still, the thought of technology left me empty.  No Twitter.  No blog.  Occasionally I checked Facebook and email, but mostly I stayed away.

I attended Podstock in Wichita hoping for renewed educational technology fire.  The conference was fine, but my attitude was crap.  I found my conversations about ed. tech grated on my nerves.  If one more person told me how great Evernote was I was going to punch them in the kidney.  What the heck was wrong with me?  I had been preaching the merits of these programs and tools for the entire year.  If I wasn't excited about using them, then who?

I went back to work last Monday with little hope of reconciling this empty feeling.  Strangely, it started coming back.  Slowly at first, but by today it is full and brimming with anticipation of the work we will get done this year and the exciting ways we will do it. What is the difference?

There are two differences: people and goals.  While I enjoy my Facebook friends and PLN members, what gets me excited about education and learning are the people I work with and the students we teach.  During the summer hours, the people I communicated with did not require technology (or technology didn't improve our relationships), and I had no goal or project to accomplish which required technology. This idea brought me great peace.

As we are moving to a 1:1 learning environment, we keep preaching that the most powerful force is the teacher and the technology is simply the tool.  Relationships are powerful, and the beauty of social networking is the ability to harness this power to increase learning.  When technology is used for technology sake, it is the equivalent of putting a clock on a toaster.  Sure you can do it, but why?  It will be a meaningless gesture.  Like a 3D version of a Woody Allen movie.

This is a lesson I hope to stress with my teachers this year.  Let's use the technology when it is the most powerful tool for what we are trying to teach.  However, if a time comes where an in-class debate would trump an online discussion, then don't hesitate to shut those lids.  Technology has its time and place, but lets not stress or move to replace those parts of our relationships which are working fine just as they are.