They can act so touching sometimes…

Posted in Classroom Management Tips on 03/25/2009 01:36 pm by Darren

This has nothing to do with classroom management.  At least I think it doesn’t.  You decide.

We’ve been testing all week.  You know, those practice standardized tests our county uses to gauge how much the students have learned and how well the teachers have taught.  It’s a long week, to say the least.  Typically, we test from 8:30 in the morning and don’t get a break until around noon.  Ugh!  What a long time to spend cooped up quietly in the classroom.

On the first day of testing, when we finally got to go to the cafeteria and pick up our bag lunches (double Ugh!), I decided to take my students outside to get some air and enjoy our food.  It was a tad chilly, being the first day of spring in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Most of the outside tables were tucked neatly into the shade, making for a very chilly lunch.

I found a spot a bit away from most of my students but still close enough that I could see everyone.  This sunny spot felt just about perfect as I settled into my lunch (which I’d brought from home- never eat in the cafeteria…).  A couple of peaceful minutes passed and I heard a student yell, “Hey, Mr. B! Are you lonely?”

I replied jokingly, “Extremely lonely.” At which point that student and his group of about five other guys sprang up, came over to where I was sitting, and grabbed a seat around me.

Now, truth be told, these guys were probably just hoping to warm up a bit in my sunny spot, but even still.  That group of guys coming over to eat their lunch with me…  Let’s just say that even if it’d been a lot colder, I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed it.

Here’s to warmer weather and appreciative students!

Darren

 

Class Management – What Key Phrases Do You Use?

Posted in Classroom Management Tips on 02/26/2009 07:42 pm by Darren

“Do you need me to fuss at you to get you to behave?”

“Do you know what is expected of you when you come in my room?”

“This is a great opportunity to practice your listening skills.”

I think every teacher develops a short list of key phrases they turn to time and time again.  I know I do.  In different situations for different reasons, these key phrases can help a class regain its composure without you losing yours.  I guess that’s why they call them “key phrases.”

“Do you need help controlling yourself?” … with the follow-up, “…because I can help you if you need it.”

“Focus please.”

“Having trouble focusing?”  …again, with the follow-up, “…because I can help you if you need it.”

I think why these powerful classroom management phrases help my students is because they are aware of my clear expectations and my clear consequences when they don’t meet those expectations.

What are some of your key class management phrases?  I’d love to hear them!

Darren Barkett

 

Classroom Management – Getting Them to Listen to Each Other

Posted in Uncategorized on 02/18/2009 07:48 pm by Darren

This one’s fresh, my friends!  I was inspired and tried this little trick today, and it really worked!  If you’ve ever struggled to get your students to really, actively listen to each other, then try this little trick.

In class, we’re reading the novel, Ender’s Game.  Great book.  My 7th graders love it.  During one of our written reflections, I had my students share their responses with everyone at their table.  Typical stuff, I know.  But this time, when it came time to share with the class, I had the students share something they’d heard from another student rather than sharing what he or she had written.

This proved to be quite challenging!  More often than not, the students couldn’t remember anything that their other table mates had shared with them.  I told them to share again, only this time, each student needed to be an active listener since each of them would be responsible for sharing what someone else had written.

The conversations and sharing proceeded again, only with more energy, more interest, and greater levels of participation.  Afterwards, I asked the students if they could tell the difference between their earlier passive listening and their newer more active listening.  Sure enough, they could!

I often try to get the students to break out of their “private movie where each of them is the superstar and everyone else is an extra in their move” but it can be difficult.  This little listening exercise really seemed to help- both them and me!

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Darren

 

One of the nicest gifts I’ve ever received!

Posted in Connecting with Students on 02/03/2009 03:46 pm by Darren

This has nothing to do with classroom management.  I’ll just get that out in the open. But it made me smile, so I thought I’d pass it along.  We all need to smile more, right?

I drink a lot of water during the course of my day (I hope you do too!).  I found that it helps me be more patient and effective with my students (and my family when I get home).  Recently I found some canned bubbly water that has no calories but is really refreshing- no this isn’t an ad for them.  I started drinking them and found them wonderful, except when they got warm.

So I made a little can cooler out of an old styrofoam cup I’d had lying around.  I cut that cup up and put it back together with duct tape to fashion an ugly little can cooler/coozie/hugger/whatever your region calls those things.  It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

Just this Monday, one of my quiet but smiley students came up to me at the beginning of class and whispered, “I’ve got something for you in my locker.  Can I go get it?” She disappeared and reappeared moments later with the cutest little can cooler I’ve ever seen!  It was in the shape of one of those aloha floral print button up shirts, complete with short sleeves, bright green with white flowers all over itl, and it fit my cans perfectly.  I was so excited, as excited as only a teacher gets at these little moments of extreme thoughtfullness from his students.

I couldn’t help but show it off to all my students that day, who were appropriately unimpressed but smiled at how impressed I was.  And I took it with me to lunch to show off at the teacher table.  I couldn’t help myself from taking some slow, ostentatious drinks with my new can cooler.  I don’t really think the others were envious, but I sure acted as if they should be!

Teaching can be tough, and sometimes, it’s the littlest things that can make your day.  Now, every time I take a sip from my canned water, I can’t help but smile.

Darren B.

 

Class Management through Laughter

Posted in Classroom Management Tips, Connecting with Students on 01/27/2009 07:52 pm by Darren

I have laughed more with my students this year than I have ever laughed before.  It’s not that these kids are any more hilarious than the rest of the students I’ve taught.  It’s that I’ve allowed myself to open up in front of the kids and just laugh.

This sounds a bit strange, I know.  But think back to the last time you really laughed out loud with your students- a laugh that was so real that you had to stop what you were doing and just… laugh!  Sure you might have chuckled here and there, but when it comes down to it, I realized that I had been so concerned with presenting a strong image to the students that I wasn’t taking the time to laugh.

I remember my favorite teacher in high school laughing with us.  Someone would say something silly or maybe something came out sounding much less intelligent than the speaker (me) had hoped.  This teacher, Mr. Lambert, would hold his belly and just laugh!  I still remember that to this day.

And now that I’ve allowed myself the opportunity to laugh with my students, I find more and more chances to laugh.  And they feel more like laughing too!

You’d be amazed how far a laugh goes to help shape the classroom environment.  A class that can laugh together (and definitely not at each other) is much more likely to be enjoyable, to have fewer discipline problems, and a much lower level of stress.

In our stressful jobs, doesn’t that sound good?

 

Been a long time since I rocked and rolled…

Posted in Happenings at Helping Teachers Grow on 01/25/2009 10:17 pm by Darren

Hey!  Where have I been?

Good question. If you teach, and I can only assume that you do since you’re reading my blog about teaching, then you know how easy it is to get lost in your job.  This year I’ve really been involved at school and haven’t taken the time to update my blog like I should.

But that’s all about to change.  I’ve recently had a serious increase in people signing up for my online classroom management training, and it’s reinspired me to continue with my blogging.  After all, teachers learn best from other teachers, and I truly feel I’ve got something to offer the teaching profession.

If you’re looking for ways to become a better manager of classroom behavior, head on over to my website featuring my most current online class management videos: Take Back That Class – Class Management that Really Works! These videos are availabe for instant download and have helped hundreds of teachers manage student behavior- and in so doing, these teachers have told me that they really enjoy their jobs much more!

Doesn’t that sound good?

Darren Barkett
HelpingTeachersGrow.com

 

I won’t smile ’till Christmas! Class Management Failures pt. 2

Posted in Classroom Management Tips, Connecting with Students on 09/09/2008 05:56 pm by Darren

It always amazes me to hear teachers steeling themselves at the start of the year by saying, “I’m not going to smile until Christmas!”…as if their resolve to be unfriendly will help them with their classroom management problems.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Teachers who use fear tactics to manage student behavior will find their task of educating their students much more difficult.  Students naturally want to succeed, and when you’re the only adult in the classroom, these students will want to share their successes with you.  If you are unaproachable and distant from your students, you will find that over time, your students’ performance and motivation will decrease.

I take the opposite approach.  I smile broadly, especially when I’m feeling a bit stressed out by my students behaviors.  I find that when the students see your refusal to become flustered, over time they will stop trying to get you flustered.  When your students see that you approach a defiant student will a calm yet firm manner and a distinct refusal to become upset, your students defiant behavior will decrease.

I think what teachers are trying to say by their refusal to smile is that they are going to be very strict in the classroom.  I have no problem with strictness or, as I like to say it, consistency.  In fact, consistency must be the foundation of any classroom management system.

It’s when you combine your consistent implementation of your class management system with a calm, peaceful, and happy demeanor that you will be able to motivate your students to be their best.

Darren Barkett

 

The Empty Threat Syndrome – Class Management Failures pt. 1

Posted in Classroom Management Tips, Teacher Tricks on 09/03/2008 01:17 pm by Darren

For the next couple of posts, I want to take a moment to highlight some of the classic classroom management failures that plague many teachers.  Heck, I’ve been guilty of some of these as well.  And it’s usually the source of frustration for me, those moments when I failed as an effective classroom manager.  I end up going home thinking over that situation over and over and over, regretting a split decision or a comment made that can’t be taken back.

The classic class management failure I first want to speak of is the “Empty Threat Syndrome.”  If you set up a consequence for your student dependent on their behavior, you better follow through with your threat.  If you tell that student that you’re going to call that student’s parents if their behavior doesn’t improve, you better call that mom the next time that student doesn’t meet your class behavior expectations.

If you habitually threaten your students with some sort of consequence and you don’t deliver on your promise, what are you teaching your students about you as a teacher?  What are you saying about your word, your promises, as a teacher?  Is that what you’re trying to communicate to the students?  It seems like common sense, but in the thick of a stressful classroom management moment, if you don’t have a solid classroom management plan, many teachers fall back on the “old standby” – empty threats.

This just highlights the need for all teachers to have a simple and effective classroom management plan.  When you have a plan in place, it’s easy to avoid getting into the “Empty Threat Syndrome.”  With a solid class management system, you no longer need to threaten.  At most, you would need to remind students of expectations and consequences.  But once you’ve taught these class behavior expectations and consequences, you no longer need to threaten.

All you do then is consistently implement your behavior management system.

Coming next… “The Inconsistent Implementor”  A shocking tale in one part of a teacher torn asunder!

Thanks for coming around.

Darren B.

 

These students are the worst ever!

Posted in Classroom Management Tips on 08/28/2008 02:40 pm by Darren

They just keep getting worse and worse!

Have you ever heard a teacher say that?  If so, run in the other direction!  A teacher who has resigned himself or herself to seeing the students as getting worse and worse just hasn’t realized that the only thing getting worse and worse is that teacher.

My experience has been that it only takes one or two students to jade how you look at your entire year.  But for the most part, the students all want to succeed.  The vast majority of students want to do well.  It then becomes a matter of motivating the class to do what you want them to do and minimizing the negative impact of those very few students who simply won’t buy-in to your class.

The teacher who let’s their perspective be perpetually focused on those few negative students misses so much of what makes teaching great- those precious students who really are inspired by what you’re doing in the classroom, those students who look forward to a kind word from you all day, those students who take the time to write you a nice note telling you how much you’ve meant to him or her.

Wouldn’t you rather have your perspective of your students crafted by those positive moments instead of dwelling on those few negative students?  Wouldn’t you rather enjoy your teaching job instead of dreading getting up in the morning?

Each year it seems my students are getting better and better.  Could that be possible?  I hope so, because that means next year is going to be awesome!

Darren B.

 

Check out my classroom blog to see what’s happening there!

Posted in Happenings at Helping Teachers Grow on 08/26/2008 05:46 pm by Darren

As many of you know, I’m teaching the 7th grade in a rural western North Carolina middle school.  I love teaching there as the students are so great and rewarding.

The school I work at, Canton Middle School, recently received a grant for a bunch of new technology to be integrated into classroom instruction.  A part of that grant included training and help implementing that technology.  And a part of that implementation is our classroom blogs.

I’ve just made my first post of the year on my classroom blog, but I’ll be adding small podcasts from my students later this week.  If you’re interested in what I’ve got going on in my classes, check out my other blog at Mr. B’s Language Arts Blog.

I’d love to hear a comment from my loyal readers out there!

Darren B.

 
Older Entries     Newer Entries