Please, please, please, use your empathy and never say these to a teacher!

1. My child never acts like that home.

Sometimes children behave differently on different occasions. Believe me, we tell the truth to parents based on daily observations.

2. Must be nice having all those days off over the summer.

It is time to recover from those busy days during the semester which we even don’t have time to do to bathroom between breaks. Also, it is time to reflect what can we do differently for the next semester.

3. Teachers are just glorified babysitters.

We are not babysitters at all. We are well-trained with professional educational attainment, knowledge, and communication skills.

4. If I was in that classroom I would… (fill in the blank)

If you never ever teach in a classroom for one day, please try when you have an opportunity so that you know what our routines and challenges are. Never say never!

It doesn’t even matter what you fill the blank in with. People, especially those who have never taught before, love to tell us how they would handle certain classroom situations. Sure, in a perfect world you could develop an amazing plan to work with that one struggling student. But when you have 3 ESOL students, 5 with behavior plans, 2 others that forgot to take their medication, a fire drill and an assembly… well let’s just say it gets more complicated.

5. We politicians have decided that… (fill in the blank)

Speaking of complicated…. Politics! Many times educators feel as though we’re at the mercy of legislation that we didn’t have a hand in crafting. So many laws and policies regarding education are being decided by politicians that never taught. Some haven’t been inside a classroom since they were students. Can’t we at least weigh in with our two cents before you pass any more “ground-breaking” legislation?

6. Did you see that thing on Pinterest?

7. Why don’t you work at a job that pays better?

This is my profession and where my passion is! I choose what I like, like what I do.

8. Those who can do, those who can’t teach.

Reference: https://boredteachers.com/post/never-say-to-a-teacher

1. Now, students know that questions are expected. 

When students know that everyone is required to have a question, they will naturally be listening carefully in order to be prepared.

2. Asking students to write down a question naturally enhances their engagement. 

It is expected and assumed that they have questions about the content because the content is interesting and important.

3. Classroom culture improves. 

There’s a sense that everyone is “in this together.” Asking questions and discussing them is the norm.

4. The required questions lead to discussion, which leads to more questions! 

If students are asking higher-order questions and talking them over with their peers, they’re learning! It may seem like a minor adjustment, but the simple semantic shift of asking your students to “write down a question,” will make a world of difference!

Interested in more ways to boost engagement? Here are 4 more tips to cultivate an environment of inquiry.

1. Build a safe and supportive classroom culture.

Take the time to do silly ice breakers. Have fun! Find common ground with your students and bond with them. Cater to their interests and show them that you care about them as people first. When they feel valued, they will be more willing to share their thoughts on academic topics.

2. Scaffold and Support

Not all kids come to us with excellent speaking or listening skills. In the era of smartphones and social media, it’s becoming increasingly rare to have quality face-to-face conversations. Throw in a pandemic, and we’ve got our work cut out for us! Providing sentence stems is helpful, not just for your ELL kiddos, but for your shy kids whose minds go blank when the spotlight is on them. Once they’re comfortable with academic conversations, they’ll be able to move away from the supports. In the meantime, put stems on the wall and require their use by everyone. It takes the pressure off.

3. Model it

Many of us need a demonstration before we’ll try something new. Academic conversation is no different. Grab a colleague or a student that’s conversationally gifted, and model how you want conversations to go.

4. Practice

Before you dive into important content, practice with a fun topic. If the students are interested in what they’re talking about, they’re more likely to participate. Once they have a trial run under their belts, they’ll feel more comfortable when the time comes to talk to each other about the curriculum and content.

Conversation is what it’s really all about. With a little work, you can make this the norm in your classroom. Soon, you’ll have students that thoughtfully discuss their questions and ideas with their peers. Their conversations will create even more questions and new ideas. Suddenly, we’re not doing all the work, they are. Students are at the center and teachers become a guide, a facilitator. Boring classrooms and quiet kids will take a backseat to somewhat noisy, but happily engaged learners who take ownership of their education.

Reference: https://boredteachers.com/post/switch-to-write-down-a-question

1. Silent 60: Start the class by having all students sit quietly for 60 seconds to get themselves ready for learning. You can add a focus on a particular sound in the room, an image you provide (e.g., a dot on a piece of paper, an abstract picture you put up on a screen), or their breathing. Start with 15 seconds for early elementary students and gradually increase. Begin with 20–30 seconds for upper elementary.

2. Powerful Listening: Ring a bell, use a wind chime, or employ another object that makes a long, trailing sound. Ask students to listen and raise their hands when they no longer can hear the sound. After all agree that the sound has stopped, set a timer for one minute, ask students to sit quietly, and then when time is up, ask them what they heard during that minute.

3. One Minute for Good: Start the class by having students reflect for a minute about something that has gone well or something that they are grateful for. This can be done in writing, pair shares, or small or large group discussions. Larger groups work best for early elementary.

4. Morning Classroom Conversations: Start the day with a quote that can stimulate short conversations to help middle and high school students begin to interact with classmates in supportive ways. Sample conversation prompts can be found here.

IN THE MOMENT

5. Three Breaths: Have students take three deep breaths at regular intervals, such as before class changes or whenever strong feelings of anxiety or tension arise. Teachers should instruct students on this breathing technique and create visual reminders and prompting signals for students to begin. This is a valuable practice for staff as well, as expert mindfulness teacher Danielle Nuhfer, who has compiled an array of marvelous techniques in The Path of the Mindful Teacher, shared with me:

“The great thing about Three Breaths is that if the teacher would like to share with students what he/she is doing, they can. I’ve been known to pause, put my hand on my chest/heart, tell my class that I need a moment, and take three breaths. This is something that is a great way to demonstrate our own emotional regulation. When students witness their teacher work through a stressful situation in a way that demonstrates awareness and presence, they may remember that themselves. Sometimes this kind of role modeling can be more impactful than even teaching a lesson to our students about emotional regulation.”

6. Body Scan: Educators benefit from learning to focus on their bodies. Make sure you are feeling centered with both feet on the floor as you teach your classes or meet with students or colleagues. Notice when and where you are feeling tension or when your breathing is shallow or labored, and use Three Breaths (or more!) to help you feel some relief. Don’t hesitate to let students or colleagues know that you are taking a few moments to gather yourself via breathing.

7. Speak Your Mantra: Develop a phrase that helps you keep focus and keep perspective. Repeat it often—when you encounter roadblocks and when things are going well. Put it in places where you will see it because when emotions run high, we can lose sight of our more cherished values. Some examples:

• “I am preparing all of these children for an uncertain future.”
• “I want all students to enjoy well-being, happiness, and peace.”
• “My goal is to prepare students for the tests of life—not just a life of tests.”

ENDING THE DAY

8. Concluding Reflections: Many have extolled the value of reflection, from Sir John Templeton, founder of the character-focused foundation with his name, to the SEL exemplar Responsive Classroom. Mindfulness experts like Nuhfer have joined that group. Below are five of her favorites for closing the school day, plus two of my own:

• Something I learned today…
• I am curious about…
• I am looking forward to tomorrow because…
• Something I’ll do (next, later today, this weekend, before the end of the week, etc.)…
• A question I still have is…
• I had the best feeling today when…
• Something from today that I am grateful for/thankful for/appreciative of is…

Most teachers start off as teachers who use mindfulness; moving to become a “mindful teacher”—what Nuhfer describes as a teacher who “acts with awareness about what is happening in the moment,” at every moment—takes practice with multiple techniques, reading the relevant literature, being aware of implicit biases, and being part of a community of like-minded educators who help each other improve.

Reference: https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-activities-students-and-teachers-create-mindful-classroom/?fbclid=IwAR1Ad0OtfbMmyj89Liy4CAwY1P1WSazHSl7iLnO08FD_fwrBN50mUkRMyl0

1. Mark it missing, and ask what’s going on. Their answer might surprise you.

I am showing grace, but they must show effort and communication with me. Yes, zeros happen but can be overturned. Students need to follow through. —Tara

2. Invite students to reflect on why they aren’t doing any work.

3. Teach students coping strategies.

Begin or end a class with meditation exercises to help students get focused. Check in with students during independent work. These are simple and small ways to support your students.—Kerith

4. Ask students to write a weekly email and set goals.

5. Consider grading assessments, but not homework or other types of practice.

6. Try positive reinforcement and celebrate students’ small wins.

7. Even when you’ve tried everything, never give up on your students.

Reference: https://www.weareteachers.com/students-arent-doing-work/?fbclid=IwAR0cBaaGwcH3nElvccZskQlyKFsc0gFBtp06yFFBwX2Wzb5kQNKeL6ITMGM

What is co-teaching?

Before considering the pros and cons of co-teaching, it’s helpful to understand what it is–and what it isn’t. Co-teaching is not a certified teacher who has a para or an assistant. That type of teaching situation definitely has its benefits, but it isn’t the same thing as co-teaching. In a true co-teaching situation, there isn’t a lead teacher–rather, there is one gen-ed teacher (the content specialist) and one special-ed teacher (the strategy specialist.) And though the training and experience of each teacher might be different, both teachers teach and both work with students in groups and individually. In our training, my co and I were told that to an outside observer, it should not be obvious who is the gen-ed teacher and who is the special-ed teacher because both teachers take on the same roles at different times.

If it sounds like co-teaching successfully would be challenging, that’s because it is. But knowing the pros and cons of this practice can help teachers and administrators make an informed decision about whether or not it’s a good fit for them and help them avoid some common pitfalls.

Pros

1. Students get the benefit of two teachers. 

One of the biggest challenges teachers face is class size. There simply isn’t enough time for one teacher to give 20-30 students the attention they need. Obviously, in a co-teaching situation that ratio is cut in half. But the benefit goes beyond that because two teachers in the classroom doesn’t just mean more individualized attention. It also means more opportunities for small group learning and more supervision for group projects and activities. For example, while one teacher supervises and assists students who are working independently, the other can work with a small group of struggling or more advanced students.

2. Co-teaching allows for more inclusion.  

Regardless of the benefits of an inclusive classroom, even the most committed teacher can find it difficult to manage the needs of multiple students with widely varying abilities. However, in a co-taught situation, not only are there two teachers, but one of those teachers is specifically qualified to work with special needs students, making it easier for kids with special learning needs to be included in the gen-ed classroom.

3. Co-teaching gives teachers a little breathing room. 

When my co and I attended our training, we were warned about the temptation to use co-teaching as an opportunity to “take turns” teaching. That was a fair warning, and it is something we had to guard against. But the truth is that having another teacher in the classroom does mean the freedom to occasionally return an email, make a quick phone call, make copies,  or just go the bathroom. And that is pretty awesome.

4. Co-teaching reduces the need for subs and planning for a sub. 

The beauty of co-teaching is that there are two teachers in the room. But when that isn’t possible it’s better for the kids and easier for both teachers if the one remaining can carry on without lost instruction time or extra planning.

5. It’s fun! 

Obviously, teachers like working with kids. That’s why we are teachers. That doesn’t mean we don’t wish we had a little more adult interaction. Co-teaching allows us to have both–a career doing what we love and a friend to do it with.

Cons

1. Planning to co-teach can be challenging. 

Unfortunately, my co-teaching situation was part-time. Out of three literacy blocks I had each day, only one was co-taught, and my co and I did not have the same planning period. This made preparation extremely difficult. We made it work, but it wasn’t ideal. Even in situations where teachers share a planning period, co-teaching adds another dimension to planning–especially at first. Not only do the teachers have to plan what to teach, but they also have to plan how to teach it together. This can be particularly difficult for teachers who have spent years honing their craft and now have to approach tried and true lessons in a new way.

2. It can be difficult for teachers to get out of their comfort zone. 

In a perfect co-teaching situation, both teachers teach and both teachers work individually with students. The jobs are shared equally. However, it is easy for teachers to default to their traditional roles. In cases like this, the gen-ed teacher does all the teaching and the special-ed teacher does all the interventions and modifications. Sometimes this can lead to frustration and resentment on the part of both teachers. Why all the extra work, if we are both just doing our own thing in the same room?

3. If the chemistry isn’t there, co-teaching is super difficult. 

Successful co-teaching relies heavily on the teachers working well together. My co and I were peas in a pod. We clicked professionally and personally. Working together was truly a joy. But I can imagine that working with a teacher you didn’t enjoy, or worse one with whom you disagreed on important class-related issues, would be extremely challenging. It’s also possible that kids would pick up on any tension present in the teacher relationship which could make for an uncomfortable learning environment.

4. It can be too easy for admin to see co-teaching as a flexible situation. 

For co-teaching to work, there has to be consistency. Students need to see the teachers as equal partners–not one main teacher and a helper. Unfortunately, there are situations where the one teacher (usually the special-ed teacher) is frequently pulled from the co-taught classroom when a school is short on subs or just needs someone to fill in for a period or two. This makes it impossible for teachers to plan and implement co-taught lessons, and it sends kids the wrong message about the classroom dynamic.

To implement a co-teaching program would be a tremendous undertaking for any school–involving complicated schedule changes and likely additional teachers. Co-teaching is neither an easy or inexpensive fix, but it is a simple one–even with all the potential challenges. Co-teaching allows students to receive more one-on-one attention, small group learning, and it makes it possible to meet the educational needs of more students in the regular classroom. And the best part is that all of this can be done without expensive curriculum, pricey consultants, or extensive training. Co-teaching relies primarily on the greatest asset American schools have ever had–good teachers working together.

Reference: https://boredteachers.com/post/co-teaching