Life Long Learner

Receiving your degree is a good foundation to start your career but it is not or should not be the end of your educational journey.You will have many opportunities to participate in professional developments. Some of these development opportunities are mandated by your school division. These opportunities can be very useful but over time, if presented the same, may be more relevant to new educators coming into the district.

When it gets to this point for you, seek out new opportunities to develop yourself. Expand you horizons, find conventions or conferences that will cause you to see things differently or build on what you already have learned. Do not let yourself get stagnant or to comfortable in the things that you know. Our world is changing, don't let it leave you behind.


You could also share what you know with your colleagues and with those that are coming into the field.  You may find that these experiences are very educational for you, especially if you have interactive sessions and research out what you are going to teach. This will give you an opportunity to listen to others share their ideas. You may be able to take these ideas back to your classroom and implement them or share with your colleagues.

Students Who Modify Their Own Behavior

Behavior management is a part of any teacher’s job description. For some teachers it is a bigger part of their day than others.  There are some situations that require students to have a behavior plan to establish a list of current behaviors, goals and strategies to modify those behaviors, and a time frame for adjusting or achieving the goals.

Teachers remind students, in settle or not so settle ways of the expectations of the classroom/school. These reminders may or may not include some sort of incentive or contract to keep the student on the right path. Many of these goals are external supports for the student to assist them in modifying their behavior.

However, the ultimate goal is to get students to go from having the external supports to making an internal decision to modify their own behavior. You want your students to be able to make decisions that are appropriate for the situation without you or someone else getting involved.

To get the student to that point, you may have to model the right behavior as well as praise other students when they make good choices.  You may also have to start with the incentives and slowly wean the student away from these incentives as the student begins to make better choices.

We are not just educators of reading, math, science, and social studies but we must assist in giving our students life skills. We are preparing our students for making good decisions in and outside of the educational environment.

Parent - Teacher Conferences

Have you notice that the parents of students who do well in your class show up for the parent teacher conferences? Leaving you to wonder what exactly do they want to talk about. Their child does not have any alarming behaviors that you need to discuss and they excel in most, if not all of their subjects.

I know, I know. These parents are being the great parents that we really want them to be.They are showing an interest in their child's education and letting us know that they are available.

On the other side of the coin, their are parents that you are begging to see, you have made phone calls, and sent notes home and they never schedule an appointment or schedule and do not show. Okay, things come up. Though that may be true, there are many things that you would like to share with them to help their child be successful in the classroom..life and enlighten them of some of the behaviors you have observed.

How can we level the playing field? The option I have heard most often is buy them food. Buying food seems to be the solution to increasing involvement across the board. I have also tried to get the students involved. Get them excited about something that their parents can see when they come in, some sort of handmade project.

What are your thoughts or suggestions?

Repeat After Me...I believe in myself!

I believe in myself!
I am smart!
I am ready to learn.
My work is not too hard!
I can learn ANYTHING!

I believe in you!
You are smart!
You are ready to learn!
Your work is not too hard!
You can learn Anything!
Now get to work!!!

Your students want to know that you have their best interest at heart. They want to know that you are in their corner. Almost everyday my students chant the list above. First to themselves and then to a friend. Ultimately when someone says, "I can't" everyone else reminds them that they can. They remind them that their work is not too hard and they can learn anything.

It is very heartwarming to see the encouragement come from everyone in the room, even when the work is hard and beyond their level of learning. It gives me that opportunity to remind them that their are people in their corner who believe that they are smart and that with a little effort they can accomplish the goal (or least get closer to it).

My students love this activity and will NOT let me forget to do it. In the past, I had a student that was nonverbal and could not say all of the words but would scream "I Be" continuously until we started the chant. All faces light up whenever we do this, including mine.

The students repeat the words so much that they start to believe what they are saying. As a result, their productivity and effort increases. Not only that, they start to see the good in their classmates.

As a teacher, you want to create an environment where mistakes and hurdles are just a part of the learning process. In a world where so many can be so cruel, you can give a child hope, strength, and help to build their self esteem by the words that you say. Don't miss the opportunity to change a child's negative perspective about themselves.

Reach Your Students by Differentiation

As a teacher you want to give students information in a way that enlightens the broadest audience. Many teacher are now using that buzz word "differentiate" to explain this method. You want to give information in a way that your auditory, kinetic, and visual learners can all gain from the experience. To differentiate instruction, the educator will use a variety of strategies and methods to teach students on varying levels of readiness, while actively engaging them in the process.

We all do not learn the same and neither do your students. A short clip, along with reading a paragraph or two that explains the topics, and then doing an activity giving students hands on experience is one of the most effective ways of teaching. You can also incorporate technology to help reach these different types of learners.

This method is often used with students that have special needs because they may not be able to hear or see. It gives them access to the information in a nontraditional way. But that is not the only time it is used. In a general education classroom, you will have varied learning styles where the same methods can be incorporated. Even if you are home schooling more than one child, you want to differentiate.

There is not always time in the day to incorporate all of the methods at once. In those cases, you can follow up the lesson with a learning style not previously used. Students need to learn and retain more information than ever. We must do all that we can to effective present the information and then allow them to experience what they have heard.

Are Your Students Listening?

Have you ever been talking to your child and are completely convinced that they are not listening to you? Only to discover that they can repeat what you said verbatim. My birth children do this to me all the time and it amazes me that while they seemed so disconnected from the world around them, they are in-tune to what is going on.

My students over the years have displayed many of the same qualities and it makes me think that in more ways than one, we do not give them enough credit! They are complex beings with the ability to multitask. We as adults think that they have to be seated just right with their eyes on the speaker, to be engaged and listening to what is to what is going on. This is not always true.

I have taught students that were autistic and all over the place. Just as my birth children could repeat my instruction or tell me about what the pastor said at a church service, my students could explain and identify the topic and/or strategy that I was trying to convey.

I am learning to not require my students to be in their seat hour upon hour everyday. They have a little flexibility to stand if they need to and don't have to keep their eyes continuously on me. There are rules that all must adhere to, but there is room for small adjustments. This again comes back to knowing your students, everyone may not be able to handle the extra liberties. For those that can, meet them where they are, remembering fairness stresses what is best for the individual child. My students and I are learning together what is acceptable and expedient for all parties.

Parent Involvement

I love to see parents take interest in their child's educational experience. It is so refreshing to see children that have support to help them become more successful students. Someone who is willing to help with homework, come to conferences, and visits the classroom.

It is disheartening to know that there are many parents that would love to do just that but do not have the means/resources for one reason or another. There are parents that need to work as many hours as possible just to keep food on the table. There are others that may not understand the work given due to a language barrier or lack of education themselves.

Are there parents that seem to have misplaced priorities? Sure, there are. In any case, teachers must try to bridge the gap as much as possible, giving extra support as needed.

I once heard that "fair" is not treating everyone the same but making sure that everyone has an opportunity to achieve where they are. Teachers and parents must allow children to achieve where they are with support that is appropriate for the individual child. We must learn to work as a team with the focus on the individual.