Still Putting It All Together

TDD: If you are familiar with Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey, please share your experience and opinion.

Head-start uses it, and I was not in town for the optional training this summer.  So, I’m starting to read the book.

Rewards

I forgot to mention this when the subject of rewards came up.

I had a class clown when I taught 2nd grade.  He was in no way disrespectful or mean and did not purposely misbehave (most of the time).  But he loved getting the class’s attention, and it was not easy to keep them on track in the first few weeks of school.

I gave the student a sticky note, and I told him that when I go like this (modeled making a tally mark with my finger in the air) to make a tally mark on his sticky note. I told him I would do this every time he was talking out of turn, that it would be between the two of us, and there were no consequences tied to it.  By the end of the first day of doing this, his sticky note was covered and he was in tears (which was not my intention).  He had written “Bad” at the top.  I told him it did not mean he was bad and that the only reason I did this was him was because I didn’t think he knew how much he interrupted his classmates and me.  I said that I knew if he was aware of how much it was happening he would do his best to stop.  I erased bad and wrote “Room for Improvement.”  I told him that tomorrow, we’d do the same thing, but his goal was to have less tally marks.  No specific tally mark count, just “less.”  I said if he could do this, I would let him pick 2 jokes out of the joke books I had to tell the class at the end of the day.

This was the best solution to any problem I may have ever had.

Each day, the goal was to have less than the day before.  It whittled down to a much more manageable number.  He was proud of himself, and the other kids loved the jokes.

“Sending students in the emotional state to a new location gives them the underlying message that they are capable of handling their situation on their own.”—

Love and Logic, pg 41.

Do you agree or disagree? -PPT

#love and logic #summer book club

My Teacher Dare Day Question Was: When your class gets a little too riled up, what do you do to calm them down?

This isn’t something my class struggles with now, but I think it is good to have a few tricks up your sleeve.  Here are the answers I received:

pablophonic answered: I used to use a “focus-meter”, get them to focus on random objects for a score, the last object should the teacher. They sit for a point

yeahpotter answered: we have a system - I say 1 2 3, they say look at me I say 4 5 6 they say fingers on your lips. (and do it :)

powerhump answered: Something they know that you can start and they can finish, like a finger play or rhyme.

joneko answered: We have a quiet moment. Once I get their attention, we take a deep breath and turn out some light and sit and listen to quiet for a moment.

mobio answered: MS, I counted down to zero from five.They knew to be in their seats by then.In HS, I call out “Eyes up front. Mouths closed”

amorneault answered: Bring the focus back to me by telling a silly or embarrassing story, then segue back by asking,”so, what are we working on?”

 kicksandgiggles answered: My two attention signals are “Give Me Five” or I say “www.” and the kiddos say “zip-it.com.” Sometimes all it takes is “the look” though :)

heyimjaclyn answered: I do movements that end with them in a calmer state (pretend your hands are leaves floating down until they fall in your lap, etc. Effective.

 ahamoments answered: gong and hands up. Then a quiet reminder.

departuresandarrivals answered: Student teacher game. Look it up. I also apply basic ABA principals, wether students have mis behaved previously or not.

 weasgods answered: I teach the practices of Meditation to my higher school students, as an experiential way of dealing with riled up classes. It seems to work.

coloursinaflower answered: I have several quiet signals - rainstick, singing bowl, gourd shaker, chimes, “give me 5”. They work well, without me having to use my voice

ashesashes-weallfalldown answered: Turn the lights off. Redirect. Yell. (Wish I did not have to do that to get their attention)

trevorthered answered: Talk quietly so they have to listen or just stop talking and fold my arms behind my back until they shut up.

peasantserf answered: I usually tell them that if they listened we would get out quicker and they could chat all they want.

jnrrrrrry answered: yoga breathing: smell the flower, blow out the candle (2nd graders dig it)

 incognerdo said: I bring them back with a funny YouTube video. Then again, I teach high school… So it works for them. They focus on it instead of each other.

 sweettalks answered: shake the maracas

 petrosoakedsins answered: I remember: As a student I expected to feel the teacher’s expertise of and enthusiasm for what he taught.

  teachplaysing said: I remind them of their instructions - we’re normally rolling right along, so if they’re talking it’s a sign they’re excited about something or disengaging. A usual quick “We’re listening right now” or “Shouldn’t we be playing/singing” does the trick.

  photographingmylife answered: Yoga, quiet music, or using a wind chime is a quiet way to grab their attention or signal changing stations

 iamdfair answered: Turn off the lights or I stand quietly at the front of the room staring the kid down. Still works in high school.

mpalms answered: cool down…play quiet or instrumental music, do some breathing, and let them lay down if they wish. it takes less than a song for the calm!

 girlwithalessonplan answered: If you hear me clap twice.

listenlearninspireteach answered: Play the teacher/student whisper game. Reward for “winner”. Each time a student talks above a whisper teach gets a point & vice versa

 lifesabigadventure answered: I like to figure out the cause of the ruckus and make my way over to that area. A teacher’s presence by the trouble makers usually helps.

jbizzle329 answered: Hold up the peace sign. Take some deep breaths, put on some classical music and get out a read aloud book.

Thanks for all the great responses!  I will share what I do soon!

“You can’t change what’s in your student’s bank account, but you can change what’s in their emotional account.”—Eric Jensen

ahoelzle:

Eric Jensen’s book Teaching with Poverty in Mind is so far so good.  Some things that stood out to me:

• brain structure differs in people who have a lower ses (socio-economic-status) than those who live comfortably
• “Securly attactched children behave better in school.” (pg.14)
• “Change the culture from pity to empathy.” (pg.12)  I like this because we shouldn’t lower expectations of students just because they have a rough life.  We should push them so that they can make a better life for themselves.
• I didn’t realize that we are TAUGHT some emotions, such as patience.  I thought we were born with it!
• Some phony baloney:  Jensen suggests we should say to students who are unruly to “When you are ready to learn, please have a seat.”  This won’t work.

I think you’re partly right on the sitting thing.  I could see this being ineffective in a number of situations, but depending on the kid and depending on the relationship you’ve built with them it could.  Modeling appropriate emotional responses is good, and not giving them attention for the bad behavior does work.    In the primary classroom, I would say something similar, compliment the students meeting my expectations, and a lot of times the kid not following direction would see that they can get POSITIVE attention and go for it.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the book.  The emotional keyboard was big for me too.  Tomorrow I will be posting a question about it for people to answer.

(Source: amys-alpaca-farm)

How do you define classroom managment? What tools, procedures, or ideas have worked well for you?