"The Battle"- Round 2

Now that you have had the chance to depersonalize the situation a bit, let's talk about your initial strategy towards eliminating classroom disrespect. First, you must come to a better understanding of the group dynamics at work in your classroom. Although there may be many students who engage in disrespectful classroom behavior, a few of the problematic students wield more influence than the others. If you are able to identify and influence those individuals, you just may stand a fighting chance of turning things around. Spend some time carefully observing the way that your students act in the classroom. Who seems to be most respected? Who do the students look to for approval? Who seems to be "calling the shots"? Who has the power to influence others? Who are the leaders?

Once you have identified these individuals, focus your energy on gaining their respect in some way. You will need to develop a customized strategy for each leader. In general, students do not respond well to being "called out" or confronted publicly. Yet, you may need to do so in order to prevent having your authority completely disregarded. The most effective way to influence the leaders is to address them in one-on-one conversations. In the beginning, you may need to be extremely firm with them. They need to know that the way they are acting is completely unacceptable. If they demand to know why they are the only ones being talked to, inform them that they are not the only ones. Explain that you prefer to deal with the issue in private rather than in front of the entire class. Although you will have to be "as tough as nails" in the beginning, never stop trying to build rapport with them. A strong rapport with your students greatly reduces the need to hand out disciplinary consequences. If you have patience, persistence, and the ability to forgive past offenses, you can steadily work yourself out of the present distress and into a new classroom culture in which you can begin to realize your full potential as an educator. If you're reading this and have any specific questions for me, please let me know and I'll do my best to help... Good luck and stay strong.

"The Battle"- Round 1

I know it may sound weird to refer to teaching as a "battle" yet, in a certain sense, this is an accurate comparison . This is especially true for those of you who are confronted with blatant disrespect from students. The hardest thing for many teachers in this situation to deal with is that, in most cases, this disrespect is unwarranted and unjustly aimed at them solely because you occupy the position of the teacher. Bright, energetic new teachers encounter disrespect and may suddenly feel their enthusiasm and hopeful attitudes slipping away. It's hard not to take classroom disrespect personally.

Your ability to "depersonalize" the situation may be the first step towards eradicating this disrespectful behavior. If you are currently in this type of situation, try beginning each day by reminding yourself that, even if you have made mistakes in the way that you have interacted with students (perhaps by returning students' disrespect, perhaps by not being strict enough in the hopes of gaining student approval), it is ultimately not your fault that certain students lack basic human decency and compassion. Let's take a step back and think about this. You may or may not be new to your school. Regardless, you probably did not know these students until they walked through your classroom door at the beginning of the year. How can you reasonably be held responsible for the years of formation (or lack thereof) that your students have received since their birth. A student who lashes out with profanity at you or vehemently resists your attempts to provide education and guidance is obviously lacking some core aspect of human development. This is not, cannot be your fault!!! By no means am I suggesting that you absolve yourself of the responsibility to make a lasting, positive impact on your students. On the contrary, you should accept responsibility for doing everything in your power to teach, guide, and inspire your students every minute that they are in your room with you this year. But again, do not beat yourself up about things that you had no control over.

Not blaming yourself is one part of depersonalizing the situation. You must also wear thick emotional armor. Confront student misbehavior directly, but do your very best not to make conflicts into personal vendettas, from your perspective or from that of the students. You can certainly display disapproval or even anger and frustration at times. Just don't let the reason for this disapproval be that the students personally offended you. Try to always keep the focus on the fact that misbehavior prevents meaningful learning from taking place and prevents individual students, or the class as a whole, from receiving the education they deserve. I know that I haven't gotten into the "nitty gritty" of classroom confrontations in "Round 1". I'll address more specific situations in my next post, "The Battle-Round 2". The reason for this is that I really believe strongly that your ability to depersonalize disciplinary situations is just as important as how you react verbally. The bell just rang for the end of Round 1. Return to your corner, have a short rest (and reflection), and prepare for another go at it!

Moving Forward

If you really want to positively impact students, especially students with histories of behavior problems or academic failure, you need to face forward. What the heck is he talking about, you might be thinking to yourself right about now. What I mean is that in order for a student to make a positive change, they need you to truly believe that they are capable of change. You must be willing to forget their past mistakes, and move forward. Do not pay attention to teachers who have had these students in their class in past years and are eager to share all the horrible things that these students have done. They may even expect you to share their anger, hatred, or disgust. Worse yet, colleagues may expect you to share in their firm belief that these students are not capable of improvement. Do not let yourself fall into these traps. Your belief, or unbelief, in students capabilities is conveyed daily, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. Often, these messages are transmitted in subtle, seemingly invisible ways. Do you believe that all your students are capable of growth and improvement? Do you have high expectations for every single individual who walks through your classroom door?

Practice Makes Perfect

I recently came to the realization that this is the first time in my 11-year teaching career that I have been in the same classroom (and same grade level) for 3 consecutive years. Now, don't get me wrong, I am grateful that I have had the chance to teach 5th through 8th grade in multiple urban settings. My varied experiences have given me perspective and fostered versatility. Yet, I can't help thinking that teachers move (or get moved!) around too much. If you are a beginning teacher and have an inkling that you may be cut out for a different setting or a different level, by all means pursue that inner sense that is pushing you in a different direction. That being said, it makes a whole lot of sense to me to think that a teacher needs consistency and time in order to develop into a master. I feel increasingly more confident with every year that I teach 5th grade. My students are reaping the benefits of having a teacher who knows the curriculum and has been given the time necessary to begin supplementing it and enriching it in new and exciting ways. This is only possible with time (and of course a drive to continually reflect and improve). If you adopt this mentality of continual reflection and improvement, it may be easier to deal with the frustrations and setbacks that you will most certainly experience in your early years. I hope you're in it for the long haul because good things are awaiting you on the road ahead...

First Day Of School is History!

Well, I had certainly planned to write again before today but the beginning of the year madness gripped me yet again. We were sent off campus to a mindless inservice for an entire day (out of three days total) of preparation for the first day of school. I'm sure that many of you can relate. Anyway, I'm wondering how the first day went for all those new teachers out there. When you get over the relief of surviving your first day, what are you left thinking. If you're like me, you might be replaying a circumstance in your mind and wondering if you handled it the right way. That's probably a good thing because this means you reflect and, more importantly, you care. Even if you are judging yourself harshly right now, the good news is that you will have many chances to "right the ship". When a student was acting in a way that bothered you, did you address it? Or did you let it slide because you felt bad correcting a student so early in the year? I hope you addressed it because the time to set the stage is NOW and the students are in the process of figuring out where you stand and what you stand for. The best advice I can give you in this regard is to practice addressing negative behavior in a way that gets your point across strongly without eliciting an angry response. How can you redirect a student respectfully? The key is to frame your words in a way that makes it clear to students that the main reason their behavior is unacceptable is because it detracts from learning and prevents them (students) from reaching their potential. Avoid making it about you, making it too personal. One last comment on this subject. Carefully examine the motives for your actions/reactions in the classroom. As much as possible, try to act with selfless intentions. Are you struggling with classroom management, or with a particular student? Feel free to share or discuss by posting a comment.









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Go ahead, venture inside.

I don't know about you, but I'm eager to get in my classroom in order to start setting things up. Those teacher in-service days are going to fly by and, chances are, you will be in a time crunch to get your room set up. Until you feel good about the way your room looks, it will be difficult to pay attention to all the information they throw at you during in-services. So, why not contact your principal and see if you can get into your room early? Believe me, you won't regret it. Most principals will have no problem with this. It shows your principal that you are a hard worker and that you care about the way your classroom looks. Definitely something to consider. If you do go in early to work on your room, try to be as independent/self-sufficient as possible. What I mean by this is that you should avoid bothering your administrators with too many requests, especially in the beginning. Remember to be courteous and friendly towards all staff members (learn their names!) that you encounter, particularly towards the building engineer and maintenance staff. Stay tuned for more posts dealing with preparation for those important first days of school.


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What's this all about?

"The Road Less Taught", besides the obvious allusion to Frost's poem, is a phrase that I coined (at least I think I coined it...) to shed some light on the experience of a beginning teacher, embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Let's be honest. The most important lessons in teaching are not imparted within the realm of official teacher training or preparation anyway. The truth is, these lessons can't really be taught in isolation. They must be learned "on the road". This philosophy of learning through interaction and experience is downplayed in favor of educational theories, fads, and buzzwords. As a teacher of ten (going on eleven!) years in the classroom, I am finally yielding to my inclinations to share some of the lessons I've learned along the "road" of my own teaching career. My words are especially, yet not exclusively, directed towards first-year teachers or to anyone who considers his/herself a beginning teacher. I'm aiming my words at those of you who are both eager to succeed and unsure of what lies ahead. I will be writing a series of entries during the upcoming (2010-2011) school year. Despite my years of experience, I am about to embark on the same type of yearlong quest to impact lives and inspire a genuine love of learning. I will be facing the same obstacles and frustrations that all teachers, young and old, will encounter. My hope is that by sharing my own challenges, observations, thought processes, decisions, and actions I will provide you with a certain measure of support, advice, and companionship (and of course a few laughs!). Until then, try your best to enjoy " the calm before the storm"! Just kidding...well, sort of kidding.


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Location:Chicago, IL