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Teach 4 the Heart

In the Teach 4 the Heart podcast, Linda Kardamis will give you the ideas & inspiration you need to overcome your teaching challenges & make a lasting difference in your students’ lives. Designed for Christian teachers in both public and private schools, Teach 4 the Heart strives to present every discussion from a Biblical perspective.
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Now displaying: July, 2017
Jul 24, 2017

The first week of school can make or break your entire year. Start off right, and it's (relatively) smooth sailing. But if you make some of these common mistakes, you'll pay for it all year long.

Listen as we discuss 5 common back-to-school mistakes - and how to avoid them.

Notes & links: www.teach4theheart.com/mistakes

 

 

Other Links:

Classroom Management 101: www.teach4theheart.com/cm101

Classroom Procedure that Will Save Your Sanity

How to Teach Procedures that Your Students Will Actually Follow

Christian Educators' Association International (professional liability insurance & more): www.teach4theheart.com/insurance 

Jul 17, 2017

Classroom management is possibly the most challenging aspect of teaching today. But you don't have to end up with a disaster on your hands!

Join guest teacher Latrisha Lott as she shares 4 simple steps she's learned to help prevent classroom management disaster.

Get notes & links at www.teach4theheart.com/disaster

Join our free Back-to-School Classroom Management Solutions live training at www.teach4theheart.com/backtoschooltraining 

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It can feel like you’re navigating a maze blindfolded while carrying a 100-pound backpack and getting hit with paintball pellets (Ouch!).

I'm talking about classroom management - one the most challenging aspects of teaching today.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think my teaching program did a fair job of letting me know what I would be facing as a teacher.

Textbooks and teacher preparation classes painted a picture of compliant, well-behaved students who couldn’t wait to learn. This may have been the experience of teachers 75 years ago, but it sure hasn’t been my experience or the experience of ANY teacher I know that is currently in the classroom.

I think it is time we be honest.

Now I am not saying you can't get your students to that place, but in my experience, a peaceful, focused on-task, classroom, filled with quality learning requires hard work and EXCELLENT classroom management that is applied with godly wisdom.

Let’s face the facts.

Society has changed.

Students have changed.

Parents have changed.

uh, oh!

Sadly, teachers don’t always have the trust and respect of those they serve, and as the morals and values of a society implode, public servants like teachers are often left to clean up the mess.

It is not your imagination.

A huge number of young people are more disrespectful and rebellious than ever before. Parents often want to excuse their kid's wrong-doing and blame you! Administrators are often pressured to avoid disciplining students, so they might place those pressures on you. The workload is heavier than ever.

You're not alone in these observations.

Teaching. Is. Hard.

I have taught in a charter school, a private Christian school and a public school. I have taught primary and secondary school. I have taught students of millionaires and students that did not know if they would have dinner each night. The classroom management challenges have been very similar in each situation.

But there is hope!

If you are in the classroom now, you have a reason to believe that God has called you to be a teacher for such a time as this.

Students need godly teachers more than ever (in Christian schools and public schools), and He has called YOU!

You can be a better classroom manager. You can build more trust with students, parents, and administrators. You can touch and even transform lives.

However, there are some pesky roadblocks you may encounter, and it takes wisdom to avoid crashing into them!

The roadblocks are often both internal and external depending on your circumstances and environment, but being prepared for them will help your year run smoother and save you lots of time, energy and potential conflicts down the road.

Here are 4 simple steps I learned the hard way that will help you avoid classroom management disaster! 

4 Simple Steps to Prevent Classroom Management Disaster

1. Don’t let students manipulate you with their emotions.

Have you had a student start bawling when you gave them a detention? Have you experienced a student’s explosive anger when they don’t get to go to recess?

Ever have a student protest vehemently that they should have been the student of the week and that you always pick the same kids for everything—hurtfully accusing you of showing favoritism?

When you give consequences or withhold rewards as a part of your classroom management plan, you will likely encounter pushback intended to cause you to feel guilty, second guess yourself or give in to the student’s demands. And this problem can be compounded when students band together against you.

Second guessing and giving in to demands are big mistakes, though, because students will realize they can turn on the waterworks, throw tantrums, or rope you into an emotional debate and control you through the sheer force of their feelings.

Many times the student’s emotions are genuine, but often times students will play up their emotions to see what you will do. The trick is to remain calm and stick to your consequences and rewards.

Once your students see that you will remain calm, resolute, and unshaken in the midst of the storm of their emotions, students will typically try those tactics less and less.

Use prayerful discernment to decide whether or not to console students in the moment or acknowledge their wounded feelings, but don’t by any means let their hurt or upset feelings change your pre-determined set of consequences or rewards.

Of course, there are rare circumstances where you truly feel led to cut the student a break or give them another chance, BUT this should be a rare exception. Otherwise, students will be confused and not know what to expect from you.

The goal is not to become an unfeeling automaton but rather a consistent leader that does the right thing for students even when it is unpopular.

Students ultimately respect someone they know they cannot manipulate.

2. Document everything you can, and let the world know you are keeping track of everything!

A wise veteran teacher once told me to document everything, and this little gem of wisdom has proven true every time.

Sadly, your word alone as a teacher is often not enough. In our society, everybody wants proof, proof, proof! Oddly enough parents will often believe their kids over you (and kids lie….a lot)!

Surprised? I was! It's a strange day we live in, so we must be prudent!

When you call up little Johnny’s mom, it's better to say, “…this week I counted 37 blurts…” rather than “Johnny is being a little too chatty…”.

It is more effective to let the parents know exactly how many assignments their child is missing instead of merely saying their child is not getting work in on time.

Did a student say something (CRAZY?) —write it down word for word. Believe it or not, you will likely forget exactly what they said which leaves room for the student to deny it ever happened, and when you are in that parent-teacher conference, you are going to want to know exactly what was said and when.

You can document in any way that is easy for your personality type, organization level, and style. Just have a system!

It can be as informal as a documentation notebook you carry around everywhere to jot notes down. It can be as fancy as an excel spreadsheet with student names and different columns representing various behaviors and the number of times they occur.

I personally like carrying around a red clipboard with student names and boxes to give "checks" for the most common misbehaviors like talking without permission. When the students see me pick up the clipboard they know I am tracking and documenting their behavior, and it calms them down.

There are also amazing online programs and apps like Class Dojo that make tracking these things a cinch.

Time is in high demand for teachers, and it can feel too tedious to document, but this is one investment that pays dividends.

And the beauty is — students will behave better when they know you are tracking their behavior and documenting what happens day to day. There is instant accountability, and when you follow through with consequences, students will think more closely about their actions!

3. Keep your expectations high, and don’t apologize for it!

This one is tough!

As a teacher, there are so many pressures that might tempt you to lower the bar, but don’t do it! Students may complain when you have high standards and parents may even complain, but true leadership involves holding on to godly principles that remain strong, time-tested and true in the face of adversity!

As society drifts farther and farther from God, the world’s standards and expectations sink lower and lower.

This naturally makes Christians seem all the more peculiar, which is a good thing, but also a challenge at the same time. You see, the most basic Christian standards look like high expectations to the world, and truly high expectations look impossible to the world.

So if you have high moral standards for your classroom, then you might find yourself at odds with a lot of people—even in a Christian school. (This happened to me, but that’s another story all together!)

But don’t give up!

Don't feel bad about expecting students to talk to you respectfully. Don't feel old fashioned when you stop students from using inappropriate language or off-colored jokes! Teach students the importance of honesty, hard work, and integrity!

Encourage modesty and enforce your school's dress code. You may be the only teacher that you know who's calling kids up higher, but you will be a massive blessing in a child's life, even if they are not yet a Christian. Even if they never become a Christian, you will have served them by speaking Biblical truth into their heart and mind.

This same principle remains true if you teach Christian students. Many Christian students are so inundated and brainwashed by the world, that Biblical truth sounds foreign. Christian students need strong, fearless teachers that won’t bend the truth of God’s Word. Speaking the truth and upholding truth might put you on a path of conflict, but don't shy away.

Truth is desperately needed in Christian and secular environments, and God has placed you at your school to be a beacon of light and a proclaimer of truth!

4. Pray without ceasing!

Last but definitely not least, pray!

I have seen God do amazing things through prayer, but sometimes when we are the most stressed prayer seems like the last thing our flesh wants to do! In Matthew 26:41 Jesus says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

One teacher’s temptations will be different than another's. You may be tempted to avoid disciplining certain students out of fear of their reaction or even their parent’s reaction, while another teacher may struggle with taking vengeance on a certain student due to their behavior.

On some days you may be tempted to yell and scream at your students while other days you may be tempted to simply disengage, hand out a worksheet and sit at your desk browsing your favorite online magazine with a mocha.

Often we are tempted to simply give up and coast until the end of the school year, but with the Lord's help, we can overcome all of these negative emotions.

I would recommend two types of prayer.

First, I believe it is important to have a daily prayer time where you pray over a list of things that are going on in your life and the lives of those you care about.

Second, I find "5-second" prayers throughout the whole day to be a lifeline! This is sometimes called "practicing the presence of God" popularized by Brother Lawrence. This concept mirrors the scriptural principle of praying without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

You simply talk to God all day.

Ask Him to help your observation go well. Ask the Lord to help you be patient today. Ask Him for more energy and focus.

He wants you to pray and walk with Him throughout your days. Ask Him to make you a better classroom manager and ask Him for courage!

God is more than willing to help you with any and everything you struggle with, and there is nothing too big or too small for him.

If your journey is anything like mine, God will often use teaching as the fiery furnace to burn off things that are displeasing to Him, so don't be surprised when yucky stuff rises to the surface.

Finally, don’t be discouraged by slow progress in your classroom management, and try not to make comparisons between yourself and others. Look for help wherever you can find it; then pray and ask God to help you implement what you learn.

You may not always feel like you are making a difference, but God is using you in the classroom even in spite of your weakness.

Need more classroom management help? Join us in our upcoming FREE Classroom Management Solutions live training where you'll learn how to start the school year off right - and the incredible difference it will make!

Sign up for the FREE Back-to-School Classroom Management Solutions training.

Back-to-school classroom management training

 

Jul 10, 2017

Getting your room ready for the school year can be extremely exciting. It’s also a whole lot of work. There are books to prepare, desks to arrange, decorations to create……The list seems never-ending.

What we really need to focus on, though, is functionality. Yes, it’s great if our rooms are cute and fun, but it’s more important that we be strategic in how we set things up so that we can maximize our efficiency.

In this episode, we examine 9 practical ways to set up your classroom to save time & help your students learn.

Get notes & links at www.teach4theheart.com/settingup.

 

9 Areas to Include When Setting Up Your Room

  1. A station for you. You need a place somewhere in the front of the room to stash all those supplies that you need to have handy while teaching. If your desk is at the front, that could work. But if it's in the back, you need a secondary station to keep your notes, pen, etc. 
  2. In/out bins. If you don't use in/out bins in your room, adding these can save a lot of time. I have one large in bin for group work. (After students pass in their papers, the last student paperclips them and puts them right in my in bin.) I then have separate in bins for each class for students to turn in late work or absent work - anything that's individual and not with the group piles. Finally, I have out bins for each class, and these save the most time. Instead of standing in front of class wasting time passing out papers, assign a student to pass them out for you. They simply go to their class's out bin, grab whatever's in there, and start passing them out. 
  3. Sample tests. Post a sample test and/or quiz (one for each subject if possible) in your room so that students can get a basic idea of how you will be testing them. Of course this sample shouldn't include the real test questions, but it should give them an idea of the length, style, etc. This can help allay the fears of students who experience anxiety over testing. (This fantastic idea is from The First Days of School.) 
  4. Post your classes on the door.  If you have a self-contained  classroom, this is as simple as posting your name and the grade level you teach. But if you teach multiple groups/classes, posting them outside the door will help students know that they are in the right place. 
  5. Absent folders. Have a system for getting absent work to students. A simple but efficient system is to give a student in each class the responsibility of recording what you do in class.  This form then goes in the absent folder so that returning students can easily see what they missed.  

    Get an editable copy of the absence form here.
  6. Decor. If you enjoy decorating your room to the nines and you have time, then go for it. But if you're getting overwhelmed (or it's just not in your wheelhouse), all you need to do is create a warm learning environment for your students. The easiest way is to simply put up motivational or instructional posters (like these) throughout your room.  
  7. To-do lists. No, not for you - for your students. Post lists such as what they should do at the start of class and what they should do if they finish an assignment early. 
  8. A place to post start-of-class assignments. If your'e wondering why a start-of-class assignment is so crucial, take a minute to read this post. But you also can't forget about having a place to post it - something consistent so it's in the same place every day and students know where to find it.

    Oh and if you teach middle school math, you're in luck. Grab a set of middle school bellringers for free here.

    Free middle school math bellringers / practice exercises
  9. A place to post homework. Have a consistent place that students can find their homework assignments. I found it extremely effective to create a poster board for each class that included the class name and then had a spot for each day of the week. I would then laminate these boards and put them up along one wall. I could then use a wet-erase marker to write the week's assignments and upcoming tests/quizzes. A spray bottle of water and paper towels easily cleaned them at the end of each week.

Get more tips & resources here.

 

 

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