Teacher Discussion Forums

Isn't your colleague engaging more in retaliation than in enforcement. Larry Latham Hi Larry, I wouldn't call it retaliation. To a teenager, the opinions of their peers are very important and they actually listen more to their peers at that age. What my colleague has done is called "positive peer p...

Hi Sian, I also have a reputation around school of being very firm that principals would throw a behavior problem kid to me and my team. :) (I work in a team with 4 other teachers.) I've always found that the first few weeks of school is very important. I teach teenagers, and they will always test a...

I agree with Sian. A teacher should always be strict and fair. If the teacher is too nice, the students can easily take advantage of that and walk all over the teacher. A teacher is strict when he/she enforces his/her classroom rules. By enforcing the rules, the students will realize that the teache...

At my school we keep behaviour logs of very difficult students. Every time they forget their book, don't do their homework, are annoying in class, reported to the headmaster, etc. will be noted down. The students take this log home every week and the parents have to sign it. It works magnificently!...

Larry, this is great. Thanks a lot. I printed your Top Ten Requirements. These are what I've always believed to be the characteristic of good teaching, and I'm glad that someone was able to list it all down in such a neat way.

Best regards,
Diana

The US military, who is very much involved in our schools, has taught us some games which we can use to get our kids to cooperate with each other in order to accomplish a task as a group rather than to compete against each other. That sounds interesting, Diana. 8) Care to share one of the games wit...

One method that's being employed in Scottish State Schools uses student reward books. When a student achieves something or behaves well the teacher records it in the book. This gives each student something to reflect over and work on. Verbal praise only has a positive effect for the length of atten...

Hello Emma, Have you tried calling the parents of these misbehaving students? It's unfortunate that the headmaster is ignoring you when he should be supporting you. Also, try behavior modification. Have some type of immediate rewards for students who are behaving appropriately. I hope that helps. An...

You could have the teacher aide grade papers for you. They can also pass out papers to the kids so they could get to know the kids by name. If they are capable, they could also tutor students who may be having more problems than the rest. They can take attendance and help you do general things aroun...

Sorry if I wasn't clear. In the US, many elementary schools have "pull out" programs for ESL students. The children are with their classroom teacher for most of the day, but are taken out for approximately 45 minutes each day to work with an ESL teacher. I was applying for such a job. The question ...

Displaying students' work on the bulletin board or posting them around the classroom also gives encouragement. Seeing their work being posted on display can bring happy smiles and even pride to the students.

Oh brother! It's going to take you some time to know me. My serious side is usually in the "Current News" forum. Everywhere else, I always play around. I have taken a lot of psychology courses, but I only use it to determine my students' behavior and personality. It helps me to get to know them bett...

The whole thing just sort of reeks of a snow job to me. Anybody else get this impression? Quite a colourful expression :) Let me start by saying my interest in NLP was pricked by a couple of British performers. The first is Paul McKenna: Britain's foremost hypnosist. I was intrigued how he "cured" ...

I came across this weblink relating to NLP, a fascinating subject. Perhaps, in the name of self-improvement we can all have a read and discuss the relative merits afterwards. Sound reasonable? Using NLP in the classroom Iain Well, well, well.....Lookee here! Hello Iain! I figured you are teacher wh...