Minor errors, all-school assemblies, and parents - Part 3

The final section of our book led Mrs. Hoover and I to some great conversations about classroom management. The topic of Chapter 12 was “the ability to ignore”. Mrs. Hoover emphasized how important it is to ignore minor errors. This does not mean that you are ignoring your students by any means, but you are able to differentiate between giving students attention that they need and attention that they want.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, high achievers need to be handled in their own way as well. High achievers, just like the best teachers, are much harder on themselves than anyone else will be. Mrs. Hoover said these can be both her most challenging students and best students. Sometimes they are students who go above and beyond on every project or they might be more concerned with other classes than their agriculture class. She said it takes time to help the latter student realize that her class is just as important has their math class.

Another topic we talked about were school assemblies. “When the best teachers take their students to an assembly, what do they do? They sit by their students – and not just any students, but the students who are most likely to disrupt.” We discussed that many teachers have negative attitudes toward all-school assemblies, because they feel they could be doing something more productive. Mrs. Hoover described one time when she was at an assembly and she looked around and she was the only teacher there. She said while she could have been prepping for a class as other teachers skipped out to do, supervising school assemblies was part of the job. We also discussed how you can use the principal of sitting next to the worst students in your classrooms. You can always rearrange and adjust your classroom for the better. If you keep doing the same thing and getting the same results, you need to change, not the students. If the same people always pair up for partner work and don’t get work done, the teacher can make the decision to change that in the future – i.e. “randomly” selecting partners, or simply saying you must work with someone you haven’t worked with before. The goal of this is to help the students perform better.  The best teachers always keep the students’ interests in mind when making decisions in their classroom.

We also talked about how to handle belligerent parents. When a parent is arguing with you, they are in their prime. They don’t mind arguing and they want you to argue with them. When a parent is upset with their child’s performance, it is much better to let them know what the expectations are and what assignments need completed instead of arguing with the “why”. You don’t need to elaborate that Jimmy missed 3 days of classes this week, disrupted class, and was on his phone multiple times. That type of parent wants to argue with you about the “why”. Instead you can stop the argument before it starts by focusing on tasks that need completed. Mrs. Hoover explained that she has had to deal with parents in the past and when she takes this approach, she doesn’t have issues with the parent like other teachers and administrators have described.   

What Great Teachers Do Differently - Part 1

Mrs. Hoover and I chose "What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most" by Todd Whitaker to read together this summer. So far we are both really enjoying it! We think that it is real. The author wrote this book on real life observations and behaviors he has noticed through his time as a teacher and principal.

In the beginning of the book, he discusses discipline a lot. He says that great teachers focus on expectations not rules. As a teacher - especially an Ag teacher - you may not always get the "cream of the crop", but great teachers will adapt to everyone and have the same expectations for everyone. These can be simple: Be respectful, be prepared, and be on time. When we focus on expectations instead of rules, we are less likely to lead students to doing something against the rules. Most students are more fearful of the unknown. If they know what will happen when they break a rule - for example detention - they will weigh they costs and benefits. If they don't know, then they are more likely to meet expectations. Maybe more importantly, the teacher needs to remember to think before they react. Is it really worth arguing with or yelling at this student? Is that an appropriate reaction? All teachers have the same "bag of tricks", but the great teachers use their bag less often and choose the right reactions at the right times. 

Mrs. Hoover said in her FFA program she expects students to behave in all school aspects to be able to go on field trips and participate in other activities. So if a student was kicked out of school or had another disciplinary action against them, they will probably not be allowed to go on a field trip with the FFA. 

Furthermore, we need to remember as teachers that we may be the problem. That we are the variable in the classroom. If students aren't paying attention in class or succeeding, we need to make a change in what we are doing. 

Lastly, one quote that stuck with me was from a teacher the author was observing. She had been teaching a long time and still had so much enthusiasm in the classroom, so the author asked her, how? She replied, "This may be my 38th year teaching 5th grade, but for these students it is their first time around." Really puts things in perspective!