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Suggestions to Teachers Schoolmarm - 1914
Wake up! Whether you are a sleepy teacher or
a sleeping teacher, it is simply time for you to wake up. Your pupils
see that you are stupid and slow and they are running away from
you. You are wasting precious time and allowing golden opportunities
to go by unimproved.
Wash up! A sleepy teacher needs to wash up. Nothing but a
good body bath and vigorous rubbing will bring him out of his stupor
and start circulation. The sleepy teacher is sure to be slovenly
in person as well as slovenly in his schoolroom and in his work.
Brush up! Your clothing as well as your hair needs brushing
at least once a day. Dust your books, your desk, and the furniture
generally about the schoolroom. Have you failed to notice the cobwebs
in every corner, the old rusty stove, and the greasy looking blackboards?
But you need to brush up mentally still more.
Brace up! Your despondency and hesitancy have almost unfitted
you for any aggressive action.
Look up! It is a vision that awakens and quickens and inspires.
It is out-look that calls forth impulse and simplifies power and
vitalizes faith.
Work up! The notion that youth is the only time to learn
died long ago. The teacher who holds a first grade certificate is
simply a little better prepared to learn than the one who holds
a second or third grade--that is all.
Keep up! It is not enough to work up; you ought to keep up
also. No matter what your attainments may be, you will quickly fall
behind if you slacken effort.
Note. "Three things you need to succeed: Learning, piety, and common
sense. If you lack the first, go to college and use good books;
if the second, pray earnestly to God for it; if you lack the third,
neither man nor God can help you."
Such was the suggestion of an old Scotch divine to a candidate for
the ministry. It needs little modification to apply to the teacher.
Dont's.
Don't stand too near the class.
Don't take hold of a pupil to put him in line.
Don't censure trifling errors severely.
Don't complain or grumble.
Don't criticise the teacher who preceded you.
Don't, as a rule, sit while teaching.
Don't give commands when you might give suggestions.
Don't show temper when dealing with parents.
Don't dispute with an angry parent before the school.
Don't make spiteful remarks about parents.
Don't try to teach without good order.
Don't suppose the children like to have their own way. They like
to be governed.
Don't try to drown noise by a greater noise.
Don't call for order in general terms.
Don't be strict to-day and lax to-morrow.
Don't force children to sit long in the same position.
Don't punish without explanation.
Don't allow whispering.
Don't punish by pulling ears or slapping.
Don't question in rotation.
Don't repeat a question for the inattentive.
Don't try to teach too much in one lesson.
Don't be satisfied with partial answers.
Don't talk too much.
Don't think
when you have told your pupils something you have TAUGHT them something.
Don't tempt pupils by the self-reporting system.
Don't fail to get acquainted with the people in the district, particularly
the members of the school board.
Don't fail to devise some sort of exercise occasionally to bring
out and interest the parents.
Don't arouse the emotional nature of sensitive children too much.
Don't be satisfied with one correction of an error.
Don't fail to drill and review systematically upon the important
matters you have tried to teach.
Don't forget that it is your business to TEACH as well as to hear
pupils recite lessons.
Don't forget that teaching and governing a school is a difficult
art, which requires study and painstaking effort.
Don't fail to encourage your pupils to do their best.
Don't drive if you can lead.
Don't let your school run away with you.
GOVERN THE SCHOOL. WHAT-EVER YOU DO OR FAIL TO DO. Don't forget
that the best way to govern is to GIVE PUPILS PLENTY OF INTERESTING
AND PROFITABLE WORK TO DO.
The teacher who succeeds in working up an abiding interest in study
will have little trouble with discipline.
Don't fall into the habit of repeating, "Quickly!" "Carefully!"
"Quietly!".
<BR>
Source: Holst, Bernhart, P. (Teacher, Editor, and Author). 1914.
Practical Home and School Methods. Kansas City: The Bufton Book
Company. pp. 388-390.
Education Schoolmarm (Philosophy) - 1914
EDUCATION is the birthright of every child. It is
the duty of those in authority to protect the child in the enjoyment
of this right. The kind and extent of education are primarily to
be decided by the parent, or guardian, but later the youth may choose
additional training for a particular trade or profession. The test
of education is not outward prosperity, the enlargement of man's
dominion over nature, or the increase of commercial intercourse.
These are laudable, if they add to the storehouse of human purpose,
or extend the scope of permanent happiness among men. The true test
of education is in the influence it has upon the minds and hearts
of the people. The first step in education is to ascertain the present
state of mind development. Having learned the capacity of the mind,
the instructor begins to teach new elements of knowledge. Step by
step the learner is led to associate the new facts with those previously
known, both of which are called into use from time to time by tests
and examinations. Successive tests may prove that the learner is
making progress in learning the branches studied, but this is a
small part of the actual accomplishment. The overshadowing importance
of educational work is in the student himself, whose power of mind
and body is enlarged and vitalized. A beneficent contagion drives
the memory, from the memory to the imagination, from the imagination
to the affections, and from the affections to the will--until the
whole being is awakened. The thrill passes from the first point
of contact to all the faculties, causing the remotest part of the
soul to feel the impulse. In education the environment of the child
must not be overlooked as a potent factor. The mind is influenced,
not only by the course of lessons, but by the conditions under which
the instruction is given. The home life, the surroundings in the
schoolroom, the companions on the playground, in fact, all the things
heard and seen, have a vitalizing or depressing influence in the
process of development. Frequently influences of which we are not
conscious wield the greater force up the mind and life of the learner.
Education aside from the subject taught, exercises an influence
upon character. A student who is trained to mental and special labor
absorbs cardinal virtues in addition to the elements of knowledge.
He acquires habits of self-control, industry, and perseverance.
The assignment of lessons causes him to accustom himself to other
impulses than present inclinations. Eventually, through persistent
work and study, he acquires ennobling habits and sturdy strength.
The scholar himself is the grandest type of perfection in education.
He becomes enlarged, strengthened, and improved by the mental struggle
through a decade or more of years. If facts are forgotten, they
may be recalled by a trained mind in a systematic order when they
are needed in actual service. The facts may even be lost, but a
more important factor remains, the trained mind that gathers and
vitalizes them. Huxley, the English writer, gives the following
definition of a liberal education: "That man, I think, has a liberal
education who has been so trained in his youth that his body is
the ready servant of his will and does with ease and pleasure all
the work that, as a mechanism, it is capable of; whose intellect
is a clear, cold, logic-engine, with all its parts of equal strength
and in smooth working order, ready like a steam engine to be turned
to any kind of work and spin the gossamers as well as forge the
anchors of the mind; whose mind is stored with a knowledge of the
great and fundamental truths of nature and the laws of her operations;
one who is full of life and fire, but whose passions are trained
to come to heel by a vigorous will, the servant of a tender conscience;
who has learned to love all beauty, whether of art or nature, to
hate all vileness, and to respect others as himself." The student
is not inclined to measure life by years or decades, but rather
by the wholesome culture of the mind. This culture brings an enlargement
of power, a greater capacity to discharge the functions of life,
and makes it possible for the mind to range in a more expanded field.
Although such mental development enlarges the duties and responsibilities,
it greatly multiplies the joy of living as will as the hopes and
ambitions for future years.
Source: Holst, Bernhart, P. (Teacher, Editor, and
Author). 1914.
Practical Home and School Methods.
Kansas City: The Bufton Book Company. pp. 6-7.
How to Study Schoolmarm - 1914
The object of study is twofold--to acquire knowledge
and to cultivate the mind. Many people regard the former of greater
importance, since they consider the acquisition of facts and of
knowledge the prime end to be kept in mind. It is needless to say
that this view is erroneous. The real object of study is to secure
the harmonious and healthful growth of all the faculties. To train
the muscles, the mind, and the heart until they respond quickly
and unfalteringly to the higher impulses should be the chief ambition
of the student. Facts without a trained mind to use them are absolutely
useless and unfruitful. The student should aim to acquire correct
and vigorous habits of thinking. The thinking should be deep, concise,
and clear. He should be able to express thought by voice and pen
in an unfaltering manner. Trained in this way, the mind becomes
the master of facts and uses them with the force that begets influence.
METHOD. Begin to study from facts already known and thence
proceed to the unknown. The explorer of an unknown region ascertains
a complete description or record of the starting point, provides
himself with the necessary instruments and provisions to endure
the voyage, and proceeds with the greatest caution into the untrodden
field. In a similar manner, the student must equip himself with
the instruments of study, such as text-books and works of reference,
and proceed from his state of mind development to the higher realm
of mental activity. If he plunges recklessly into unexplored fields,
entirely disconnected from his previous attainments, he hazards
the danger of being lost in the floes of the frozen seas, or devoured
by beasts in the malarial jungle.
PRINCIPLES. The mind develops only under favorable conditions,
when it is in a suitable attitude to concentrate its powers upon
the subject under consideration. Mental culture is not creative
in its nature, hence the aim is to develop realities only from the
possibilities possessed by the mind.
From these principles, the following rules may be deduced:
1. Take ample healthful exercise to stimulate the circulation and
develop the physical powers. Plan to have sufficient sleep so the
mind will be clear for work during the entire period for study.
2. Do not plod and ponder. It is better to rest when you get tired
than to try to study when the mind is dull or overtaxed. The mind
becomes dull when the body is tired. At this point it may be well
to take up another subject. A change in the branch of study often
is restful and tends to revive interest.
3. The student must cultivate an interest in the subject which he
studies. Interest stimulates the attention and induces he mind to
grasp for more information. Games and amusements are enjoyed because
they are interesting. The same interest, the desire to master the
subject is essential to study with success.
4. Interest is stimulated by an understanding of the lessons. It
is a mistake to try to teach what is beyond the comprehension of
the learner. Any knowledge secured in an isolated and disconnected
way is of little value in the general process of education. The
spelling of words and the meaning of terms and phrases should be
mastered and affiliated with facts previously learned.
5. We should study to acquire power. Frequently we find those who
know how, but they lack the power to do. These two elements must
be combined by judicious training. The power sought should enable
us to think consecutively, to utilize judiciously, and to control
and direct our mental and moral forces. In every act of the body
and mind we expend energy. This energy is the life element, the
vital force, which enables us to achieve success and obtain happiness.
6. We should not study merely to get the answer, but rather to understand
the topic in all its relations. Strength is gathered by mental exercise,
by acquiring and applying the new knowledge. The effort in learning
should be compared to the exercise of the athlete instead of the
work of the haymaker. Rather than aim at the product, we aim at
the healthful, intelligent effort put forth.
7. The student needs to acquire habits of thoroughness. He should
go to the bottom of the problem and master the cause and effect.
Thoroughness does not imply reading all that may be said on a topic,
but rather to read each sentence carefully, thoughtfully, and understandingly.
Our work is thorough when we are able to explain the reason for
each step as we proceed.
8. The student should apply the knowledge as it is learned from
time to time. This should be done with tact, else he may become
offensive to his companions. Such use of the new elements of knowledge
cause him to employ the correct form from force of habit.
9. We should study to acquire nobility of mind and heart. Every
act may be likened to stone and mortar in the formation of character.
Without character the most splendid attainments are as the house
built upon the sand. With it deeds become the guardian angels of
this mortal life.
10. If you have leisure hours, as most students have, plan to spend
them wisely. Great men, men of affairs, have no hours of leisure,
because they allot their time so it will count for something--either
for business or for recuperation. It is important to utilize time
wisely in this way, making it of utility in study, in rest, or in
healthful exercise.
Our doubts are traitors And make us lose the good
we oft might win By fearing to attempt. ----Shakespeare.
How to Have a Good School Schoolmarm - 1914
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS.
1. Desirable. Commanding view for schoolhouse site. A well-kept,
neat, attractive yard of ample size.A neat, well-painted, commodious
building with large covered porch, cloakrooms, closets for supplies,
and small library room Adjustable seats, good pictures on the walls,
etc. A good wood shed.
2. Necessary. Good outbuildings; suitable fuel in abundance. A good
supply of pure water. Proper ventilation and proper lighting of
schoolhouse. Suitable apparatus and supplies. Sanitary surroundings.
THE SCHOOL BOARD.
1. Should take a personal interest and pride in the success of the
school.
2. Should cooperate with the teacher, and give her all the encouragement
and help possible without making themselves troublesome.
3. Should be loyal to the teacher and support her, if possible,
in all trouble growing out of school discipline.
THE PATRONS.
1. Should give their hearty support to the teacher and not let local
quarrels or factions disturb the school.
2. Should visit the school occasionally and should, if possible,
go when specially invited by the teacher.
3. Should pay little attention to the ordinary school tales of the
children.
4. Should support the board and the teacher in their efforts to
maintain a good school.
5. Should send their children to school on time every day, if possible.
THE PUPILS.
1. Should attend school regularly, and be on time always, if possible.
2. Should have their lessons prepared on time every day.
3. Should take pride in the good name of the school.
4. Should help in all ways they can to make the school a success.
This they can do by being regular and prompt; by attending closely
to the business of the hour, whatever it may be; by being cheerful,
good-natured, and ready to obey the teacher; by being ready at all
times to help those who need their help on the playground or on
the way to and from school.
THE TEACHER.
The teacher is the life of the school. "As is the teacher so is
the school." If the teacher is cross, irritable, and unsympathetic,
the school cannot be a good one, no matter how favorable the conditions
otherwise. On the other hand, an earnest, sympathetic, capable teacher
will do much to redeem the most unpromising situation.
- Source: Holst, Bernhart, P. (Teacher, Editor, and
Author). 1914.
Practical Home and School Methods. Kansas City:
The Bufton Book Company. p. 385.
The Teacher Schoolmarm - 1914
1. She should be master of the situation. She should
show good generalship. Teachers who have much or long continued
trouble with the discipline are not good generals. They lack tact,
good sense, firmness, courage, scholarship, interest in the work,
training, pleasing and forceful personality, or some other thing;
but the lack is there, and they should analyze themselves till they
find out what is wrong and then remedy the fault or quit the business
of teaching.
2. She should be courteous and dignified, not easily annoyed or
angered. This does not mean that she should be indifferent to disorder
or inattention on the part of the pupils to their duty. She should
greet her pupils pleasantly, but not gush over them; should so conduct
herself that they will feel free with her, but not familiar; their
respect should be deep and genuine. This can be brought about only
when the teacher is earnest, sympathetic, dignified, and competent,
living for and with her school.
3. She should be prompt, never tardy in getting to school, never
tardy in her work in the schoolroom, never tardy in calling school
to order, but never in too great a hurry to get away from the schoolhouse
at noon or at the close of the day. (Some teachers remain at the
schoolhouse much longer than is necessary. This is an unfortunate
habit, for the air is usually bad, and a change of scene after the
labors of the day is much to be desired.)
4. She should be firm, and should be confident of herself that she
can talk in low, decisive tones without threat or bluster even under
the most trying circumstances.
5. She should be natural, should be herself. But the natural self
should be ladylike, dignified, courteous, alert, and active.
6. She should be physically well. Doubtless many good teachers are
not blessed with good health, but this is a great misfortune at
best, and it makes successful work much more difficult. Often people
suffer needlessly for years because they fail to get the advice
of competent physicians. Often people are not well simply because
they do not pay proper attention to the well-known laws of health.
7. She should be progressive and up-to-date. "Only growing teachers
are fit to lead growing pupils." And she should have a good reference
library, spend some time in her own personal advancement, and know
how to use The New Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopaedia.
8. She should be devoted. "Teaching demands consecrated lives and
the time and energies of the most gifted."
9. She should be prepared. "The most prepared teacher works in the
light of the educational thought and experience of all the ages."
10. She should be just. Otherwise pupils will not respect her and
her influence will be minimized.
11. She should be tactful. The tactful teacher will avoid many unnecessary
conflicts and disagreeable situations.
12. She should be courteous. A schoolroom is a poor place for a
timid, shrinking soul. The teacher should be a leader, fearless,
conscious of her own power, and self-possessed, even when most sorely
tried. The teacher who does her duty has the support of the laws,
the school board, the enlightened public sentiment of the district
and, best of all, her own conscience. A teacher should so teach
and so govern that she will not in the years to come have to blush
at the recollection of her weakness or cowardice. Often she will
be in doubt, as to what is best to do, but she should throw her
fears to the wind in settling the question.
SO FAR AS THE PUPILS ARE CONCERNED, THE TESTS OF SOUND CLASS
DISCIPLINE ARE:
1. Prompt and willing obedience.
2. Close attention.
3. Pleasure in giving satisfaction to the teacher.
4. Eagerness to answer questions combined with thoughtful answering.
5. Good manners and right conduct generally.
6. Thoroughness in work.
7. Good order without unnecessary physical restraint; collective
and individual self-control.
THE RECITATION.
In the recitation the battle is lost or won. Success here almost
invariably means a good school. Failure here means failure all along
the line. The teacher's purpose must not be merely to hear the children
say over some things they may have learned from books, but she must
look upon the recitation as the chance of her life as a teacher,
and as the chance of the child's life in its development. The lines
must be drawn tight; the electric spark must fly and the child's
life must be quickened. All things must be conducive to this end.
METHODS OF CONDUCTING RECITATIONS.
1. Speak-- In low tones. Distinctly Not too rapidly.
2. Do not prompt or assist-- In the recitation. In examination.
3. Be polite to pupils.
4. Do not repeat-- Questions Answers
5. Govern yourself.
6. Govern your pupils.
7. Prepare for recitation.
8. Let your words and acts be worthy of your profession.
9. Be-- Original. Cheerful. Enthusiastic. Firm. Energetic. Self-possessed.
Spirited. Dignified. Sympathetic. Patient. Kind.
ENDS IN TEACHING.
Ends to be obtained in teaching--
1. Knowledge
2. Power
3. Skill
4. Character building.
Source: Holst, Bernhart, P. (Teacher, Editor, and
Author). 1914. Practical Home and School Methods. Kansas City: The
Bufton Book Company. pp. 386-388.
Criticisms Schoolmarm - 1914
CRITICISMS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY MADE BY THOSE WHO
INSPECT COUNTRY SCHOOLS.
"The Teacher does not make intelligent use of the common school
manual." "Pupils are not prepared for the work they are undertaking."
"The teacher spends too much time and exhausts her energies in attending
parties."
"The teacher does not keep a neat and orderly desk."
"The teacher does not know how to explain difficulties."
"The teacher does not call school on time in the morning, at noon,
or at recess."
"The teacher eagerly watches the clock and seems eager to get away."
"The teacher is slow and pokey."
"The teacher does not teach, but stands in a helpless way and lets
the class exercise go on as best it may."
"The teacher is a poor writer and cannot stimulate the pupils to
write well." "The teacher is a poor reader and cannot help the pupils
to acquire the art of reading in a pleasing and intelligent manner."
"The teacher fails to see or take notice of the disorder."
"The teacher has not a strong grip upon the school, but 'fights
it out' every day as best she can."
"The people of the district are not interested in the school and
the teacher does not know how to improve the school sentiment in
the community."
"The teacher is timid, afraid of the pupils, the school board, and
the patrons." "The teacher lacks life and animation and the school
is dead."
"The schoolroom is not decorated and looks dingy and forbidding."
"The outbuildings are in bad condition."
"There room is not properly heated, lighted, or ventilated."
"There is little or no apparatus."
"The library is not properly used or properly taken care of."
"The teacher does the janitor work and she does not do it well.
The fire is not built in time to have it warm in the morning, the
sweeping is not properly done, and the dusting is not properly attended
to."
"The attendance is irregular and the pupils are frequently tardy."
"The teacher takes no pains in assigning lessons."
"There are too many recitations in the daily program."
"The teacher does not stimulate thought."
SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AN INSPECTOR OR SUPERINTENDENT
WILL ASK HIMSELF AND ANSWER FROM OBSERVATION WHEN HE VISITS YOUR
SCHOOL...
1. Are the pupils at their seats studying or otherwise properly
employed?
2. Are they at work in a vigorous manner, sitting in good position
and seeming enjoying their work?
3. Are the pupils watching the teacher and taking advantage of every
opportunity to engage in sly forms of disorder, such as whispering,
note passing, throwing paper wads, changing seats, etc.?
4. Do pupils find frequent excuse for getting up and moving about
the schoolroom?
5. Are pupils loud and boisterous in the schoolroom when dismissed
or at recess?
6. Are the recitations for the older pupils vigorous, thinking exercises,
combined with suitable drill exercises? Are the recitations for
the younger pupils animated and bright?
7. Do the pupils seem to enjoy the recitation or do they appear
listless and bored?
8. Does the teacher hold the close attention of all her pupils during
every recitation?
9. Which does she seem to get hold of best in the class exercises,
the older or the younger children? How is this fact to be accounted
for?
10. Does the teacher seem alert, vigorous, self-poised, competent?
If not, is the failure due to lack of health, lack of nourishment,
lack of sleep, lack of interest, lack of knowledge, lack of training?
11. Does she seem well prepared on every recitation she attempts
to hear? 12. Has she a good program which she follows? Has she a
study program for pupils to follow?
13. Does the teacher keep the records properly?
14. Does she study individual pupils so as to know what they are
most interested in and what their ambitions are?
15. Does she get to school in good season every day, and call school
promptly in the morning, noon, and at recess?
16. Does she "keep in" to a marked extent?
17. What are her favorite modes of punishment? Are they satisfactory
modes?
18. Is her schoolroom neat, orderly, homelike?
19. Is her clothing clean, neat, and orderly?
20. Does she adapt her work to the children's needs?
21. Does she criticise faulty work intelligently and in a manner
to impress the children?
22. Does she illustrate the lessons in a simple, effective way?
23. Does she SHOW pupils to do what they lack skill in doing? Does
explain the difficult points in the lesson in such manner as to
make it simple for the children to grasp?
24. Does she assign lessons with painstaking care, but without waste
of time? 25. Does she talk too much or too little?
26. Is her manner bright and enthusiastic or cold and heavy?
27. What is her greatest strength? Her greatest shortcoming?
28. Are the outbuildings clean?
Education in Literature.
Tis education forms the common mind. Just as the twig is bent, the
tree's inclined. ---Pope.
Learning by study must be won Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son.
---Gay. How empty learning, and how vain is art, But as it mends
the life, and guides the heart! ---Young.
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble
that he knows no more. ---Cowper.
Eternal smiles his emptiness betray. As shallow streams run dimpling
all the way. ---Pope.
It is a good divine that follows his Own instructions: I can easier
teach twenty What were good to be done, than be one Of the twenty
to follow mine own teaching; The brain may devise laws for the blood;
but A hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree. ---Shakespeare.
Source: Holst, Bernhart, P. (Teacher, Editor, and
Author). 1914.
Practical Home and School Methods. Kansas City:
The Bufton Book Company. pp. 390-391.
An Article from Positive Parenting on line
http://www.positiveparenting.com/
Expectations
(Originally featured in our Summer 1999 Issue)
Are your expectations for your child too high or too low?
Expectations that are too high make a child feel like he is a constant
failure. The child will either give up, or put so much pressure
on himself that he becomes sick, afraid and stressed. The hormones
released in children under stress block their ability to learn.
Expectations that are too low make him feel you have no faith in
him and wipe out his feelings of value. It is important for parents
to maintain balanced expectations of children based on their family's
values and the child's ability.
Here are some ways to show your child you believe in him:
Be willing to wait to allow your child to figure out a problem,
instead of rushing in with all your adult wisdom to solve it.
Avoid an impatient tone when your child is learning; remember learning
takes repetition and children cannot learn under stress.
Get close and use a touch.
Place your hand on his shoulder, back or knee.
A loving touch calms children and relieves stress.
Say or silently affirm that he can do it.
Use words that convey your belief, "You have such a creative mind,
I know you can do it."
Suggest he visualize the desired result.
Ask him what he would like to have happen, and help him make a picture
of it in his head.
Ways To Say "No"
That’s not an option
I am unwilling...
Say it in a funny way, i.e. "Never in a million trillion years!"
Sing, no, no, no!
That’s not appropriate.
I am not ready for you to do that yet. (Great for teens)
For a younger child, use distraction Ask, "What do you think you
would need to do before I would be willing to say yes to that?"
Ask, "What do you think?
Is this a good choice for you?" (If you choose this, make sure you
are willing to abide by her answer)
For a youngster that has something you don’t want him to have say,
"That’s not a toy."
Ask, "What are your other options?"
No, but I would be willing to...
I appreciate your asking, however...
Walls are not for coloring. Here is a piece of paper. Tell them
what to do instead i.e., "Water needs to stay in the tub."
This is not negotiable
What New Teachers Should Know
About Discipline
By John E. Keating
http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-19/02keatin.h19
Daily discipline can be a real grind if a teacher
doesn't have a good system. No time in a teacher's career is more
exhausting or exhilarating than the first year in the classroom.
Late August is full of promise, learning, planning, and meetings.
A new building to navigate, bulletin boards to create, staff names
to remember, endless paperwork to fill out, and the gathering of
supplies. But all this is simply a backdrop to the excitement and
jitters of the first day with the kids. What will they be like?
Will they like me? Will I like them? I hope my lesson plans will
fill the time. Should I have gone to dental school as my father
suggested? Few new teachers get much sleep the night before that
first morning in September. No time in a teacher's career is more
exhausting or exhilarating than the first year in the classroom.
Late August is full of promise, learning, planning, and meetings.
A new building to navigate, bulletin boards to create, staff names
to remember, endless paperwork to fill out, and the gathering of
supplies. But all this is simply a backdrop to the excitement and
jitters of the first day with the kids. What will they be like?
Will they like me? Will I like them? I hope my lesson plans will
fill the time. Should I have gone to dental school as my father
suggested? Few new teachers get much sleep the night before that
first morning in September. And oh what a day that first day turns
out to be. The kids are great, the plans more than fill the time,
everything goes smoothly. Tomorrow's lesson will be sure to include
... And the rest of that first week is more of the same: fun assignments,
maximum participation, and laughter. Then on Tuesday of the second
week, a student forgets her book. On Wednesday, somebody throws
a crumpled piece of paper across the room at a friend during lecture.
That Friday, a scuffle breaks out at the pencil sharpener, and Tuesday's
child has forgotten her book yet again. Even these disruptions will
seem minor by Halloween. What happened? What happened is that the
honeymoon ended. Most students are simply not cooperative beings
on a day-in, day-out basis. That first day, that first week, were
the exception and not the rule. So, what's next? Next is the continuing,
time-consuming task of keeping order while trying to teach as effectively
as in those first few sunny days of autumn. For beginning teachers,
this is complicated by the fact that they must learn how to quickly
and accurately mete out justice without disrupting the educational
process. That may not sound too difficult to those who have never
had to do it before. But those with a few classroom miles under
the belt know that daily discipline can be a real grind if a teacher
doesn't have a good system. What follows is an outline suggesting
that three basic components form the foundation of every effective
discipline system. Using an approach based on these components can
aid any teacher in maintaining a well-run classroom and will help
teachers carry the day when their discipline practices are called
into question. And make no mistake: Anyone who spends a career teaching
in public school classrooms will have his or her practices questioned.
Here, then, are the basics, with suggestions on how
they might best be implemented: Listen. Always let students tell
their side of the story. This is essentially the classroom version
of "due process under the law"--a hearing. It often can be done
at the student's desk, the teacher's desk, or in the hallway. Sometimes,
however, that's not possible--for example, in the middle of class.
If there isn't time at the moment of the infraction, a teacher can
ask the student to stay after class. In this way, the lesson can
continue, and the student will usually understand why the request
to remain is being made. Staying after class to explain can itself
be a punishment (or part of one), since socialization time between
classes is a highly prized commodity among students. If, on the
other hand, the student's explanation gives some justification for
his act or clarification of whatever occurred, the time spent after
class will represent to all concerned the student's "fair hearing"
time--time that was obviously well worth spending, since it enabled
the student to exonerate himself. The key point is this: Even when
a teacher is sure she knows what happened, every student should
be given an opportunity to be heard before sentence is passed. Be
consistent. If there is a handmaiden to listening in the art of
discipline, it is consistency. The single trait most likely to affect
a teacher's level of respect and compliance from students is his
or her ability to be consistent. No creatures on the planet have
a more finely tuned sense of fairness than young people. (Ironically,
this usually relates only to how they are being treated and not
to how they are treating others.) Consistency in discipline is the
classroom version of "equal treatment under the law"--to be treated
the same as anyone else would be. Most teachers have a set of classroom
rules and the consequences for breaking them posted somewhere or
written into the syllabus. First-year teachers sometimes get themselves
into trouble either by neglecting to follow their own guidelines
or by administering those rules and consequences unevenly. Once
a teacher sets expectations (behavioral or otherwise), he must hold
students consistently accountable to those expectations. If teachers
implement their rules with equal treatment for all, the only room
for discussion in such meetings is over the rules themselves. But
the sword cuts both ways. Students have a right to expect that they
will be held no more or less accountable than any other person in
the class. Yet sometimes teachers find it tempting to let a misbehavior
slide in the afternoon class of a long day or to treat a surly student
just a little more harshly. The most difficult way a teacher can
learn the consistency lesson is to be called on it during a conference
with students, parents, and the principal. If teachers implement
their rules with equal treatment for all, the only room for discussion
in such meetings is over the rules themselves. And there, the case
can be made that, since the rule was known beforehand and had been
implemented consistently, the only reason to argue against it is
that a student has broken the rule and wishes to escape the consequences.
If teachers are consistent, they will leave little room for arguments.
Know when to go higher. Sending students to the office is sometimes
necessary, but first-year teachers often have a hard time knowing
when. The front office represents the classroom version of going
to "the court of appeals"--a second hearing by a disinterested third
party. And this is the most difficult part of the classroom/courtroom
analogy. If a teacher sends students to the office too soon, over
something small, her classes will perceive that she lacks the ability
to control them. The perception may be shared by those in the front
office, who may begin to question her classroom-discipline skills.
If, on the other hand, a teacher waits too long to send a disruptive
student to the office, some situations could become more nettlesome
than they needed to be. The answer to "when" is probably best arrived
at through experience, something that, by definition, a first-year
teacher lacks.
To compensate for inexperience, new teachers can
employ a number of tactics to gain insight. Most schools, for example,
have handbooks for students and staff members that set forth the
guidelines and policies for student behavior on campus. A first-year
teacher would be well advised to read carefully both the teacher
and student versions. (This will put the teacher at a distinct advantage,
as most students never read their copy.) Another possible resource
for beginning teachers is to find themselves a mentor, someone to
discuss problems with and bounce ideas off at the end of the day.
Many districts have programs that provide mentors for first-year
teachers. But if an assigned mentor is not available, a young teacher
needs to ask for assistance. Most veteran teachers love to share
their knowledge. Still another approach is for the first-year teacher
to sit down with the principal, vice principal, or dean of students
and talk about expectations. This is probably best done after the
first few weeks of school are over, so that the new teacher has
some "for instances" on which to base discussion. Whether it is
done by employing these or other means, gaining an understanding
of when to use administrative personnel for help with discipline
is critical for new teachers. Called upon at the right time, the
people in the front office can be great partners, but misuse or
overuse of the office in disciplinary matters will only make life
harder for everyone involved. The first year of teaching is always
an education--and almost never easy. But a well-thought-out system
of discipline, one that accents listening, consistency, and wise
use of the office, will allow teachers and students to make the
most of the instructional time available.
John E. Keating is a vice principal in Rathdrum,
Idaho.
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