You are here: Home / Archives for Teacher

A Good Teacher is Hard to Find

"Teacher Appreciation" featured phot... 

Image via Wikipedia

Gone are the days when teachers get into the field because they have a passion for teaching students because there seem to be so many negatives in the education field in general.  Teachers are receiving low pay for the jobs they do, and job security is a big issue as well as so many school districts are forced to fire teachers due to constant budget cuts.  Additionally, most schools are packing too many students into classes with not enough resources, which leaves those students that need the most attention in the dust, while the other students are learning just enough to get by.

A good teacher is a precious commodity, and should be treated as such.  They should not have to go to work every day worrying if they will have a job from one school year to the next, and they also should be able to teach a class that has just enough students so that every student can receive equal attention.

As they say, “The children are the future”,  but what happens when teachers are no longer motivated to do their jobs properly… the students suffer, which does not make for a bright future for any country if students are not learning basic fundamentals which they will need to succeed in life.

Although being a teacher seems to be more stress than it is worth, there are still many teachers that go to work everyday loving what they do.  They try to make the best of the situation, and give 100% all of the time.  These teachers should be rewarded and praised, because our children’s futures are in their hands.

Filed Under: Everyday Leaders Tagged With: , ,

Nurturing a Positive Relationship With Your Students

"Teacher Appreciation" featured phot... 

Image via Wikipedia

 

A healthy teacher-student relationship is essential for student progress. Teaching is more than just the delivery of information and testing student knowledge. When you focus on nurturing a relationship with your students, they sense that you truly care for them and want them to succeed. This in itself provides the encouragement that each person needs to progress and develop.

Understanding the Needs of Each Student

One of the challenges of the teaching environment is the sometimes chaotic dynamic created by the multitude of varied needs and interests among students. In a single moment, you may be faced with students who are dealing with a wide range of emotional, physical and intellectual needs. One child may not be feeling well, while another is bored with the material. Yet another child may be in a bad mood due to unpleasant events in his home. As a teacher, you must tune into the present state of each student.

Respecting Each and Every Student

You may also be tasked with students who are far different from yourself. An outgoing teacher may feel frustrated by a shy child who refuses to speak. This difference can be an obstacle in a teaching environment and requires extra sensitivity and tolerance for personality differences.

Communicating a Sense of Caring

One of the most important elements in connecting with students is the communication of caring and concern. The teachers that people remember most when looking back on life are those who cared enough to create a creative, dynamic and nurturing learning environment for all students.

Through careful compassion and respect, you can nurture a long lasting relationship with your students.

 

 

Filed Under: Leadership Skills Tagged With: , ,

How To Create A Positive Classroom

When your classroom is positive and comfortable to a student that student will achieve more during the year than if your classroom was not.  It can sometimes be hard to attain a positive attitude when you’re a teacher.  Teachers are people just like everyone else and they have their off days just like everyone else.  When you are positive your students will think and act positive.  In turn this will affect the students whole school year.

The main thing that teachers need to recognize is that you have to want to be at school.  If you don’t want to be there this will affect your students.  You have to enjoy teaching and enjoy the subject you are teaching.  If you don’t feel this way, maybe it’s time to switch jobs.  You are wasting your time as well as your student’s time.

Meet your students at the door every day.  Greet them with a smile and something positive about how they look that day.  You should accept every child for who they are and not what they wear.  Each child is trying their best to fit in or find out who they are as a person.  It is not for you to point out their clothing is tacky, unless it is distracting to school work.

It is a good idea to never show your anger at a child for stretching their limits.  This leaves you wide open for more baiting to try to anger you.  Set classroom rules and stick to them.  When you are at your limit take a deep breath deal with it and keep going.  Always be positive with feedback when talking about school work.

Filed Under: Leadership Development Tagged With: , ,

Why You Should Aspire To Be A Great Teacher

Some people are born teachers while others take years to the get the hang of teaching and what it requires.  A teacher is essentially a third parent for a child and school a second home for part of the year.  You have to love children and understand them in order to become a great teacher.  As a teacher you have the power to influence children and make their future scholastic endeavors more positive.  The child in turn will remember this for the rest of their lives.  And you as a teacher have been memorialized.

When you love the subject you are teaching your enthusiasm for that subject will flow through to your students. This will make them just as eager to learn that subject as you are about teaching it.  When a teacher hates a subject, know that your students will pick up on that and that is where you will have the hardest time teaching students.  Also be aware that not every child learns on the same level and as a teacher you should embrace all learning levels and not be discouraged by those who may not be getting it.

Recognize your student’s victories, no matter how big or small, but especially the small ones.  The student will want to attain a larger victory in order to please not only you but their selves.  If you find you have some students struggling, set aside time just for those students to help them better understand.  The child will remember your extra help and so will the parents.

Always make yourself available to students and parents.  It does not matter if it is phone calls or conferences you should always be there to help your students.

Filed Under: Everyday Leaders Tagged With: , ,

Students Succeed At High Achieving Schools

There are certain criteria present in high achieving schools that aren’t present in schools that don’t rank as high.  Student engagement is one of the main goals in these schools, with high expectations placed on the students and the teachers.  Moral is high among students and they possess a strong work ethic.  The principal, teachers and support staff all share the same goals and agree on the focus of the school.  The curriculum is center around standardized tests in order to assess the progress made by teachers and students.  High achieving schools employ teachers who are committed to their student achievment. Each child is recognized for his own special talents and the love of learning is communicated throughout the learning process.  High achieving secondary schools graduate their students on time and nurture their plans to go on to college.
Success from every child is assumed, so students must learn, complete, and master all work before going on to the next level. Difficulties will be diagnosed and overcome with the help and support of the teacher.  The relationship between student and teacher becomes strong and often continues long after the student has been promoted to higher grade levels.  This forms a community of support to help students reach their academic goals.                                   There are steps you can take at your school if it doesn’t meet the criteria of a high achieving school.  You can become involved in bringing about positive change.  Every student has the right to expect excellence from the school they are attending.  Use parent teacher conferences and school board meetings to express your concerns.  There will be other parents who share your concerns.  You can join with them to make positive changes in the academic excellence and school policy.                                                                                                                                          Students who graduate from high performing schools are more prepared to succeed in the work environment or in the prusuit of higher education.  These schools expect their students to do well and continue their education.  They support these goals by providing students information on scholarship opportunities.

Filed Under: Lessons From Leaders Tagged With: , ,

NCLB Teacher Qualifications

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), more popularly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requires that only qualified teachers be employed by school systems. In order to comply with the law, every local education agency must ensure that teachers in elementary, middle, and high school positions meet specific NCLB requirements.

Teachers must hold at the very least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. They must hold and maintain full state certification and demonstrate competence in the subject they are teaching. No Child Left Behind consists of core academic subjects that must be fully understood by teachers before they can be employed.

Core academic subjects may vary by state, but generally consist of mathematics, biological sciences (chemistry, geosciences, and physics), social studies (history, government, economics, and geography), foreign languages, arts (drama, music, and visual arts), and English, language arts, and reading. Elementary school teachers must individually prove competence in the basic elementary school curriculum.

Local education agencies must give priority to Title I funds combined with any other federal, state, or local funds in the upgrading of teaching staff and educational programs. After the 2006/2007 school year, any teacher hired must have met NCLB requirements or had a plan to become NCLB-compliant by the end of that year.

NCLB classifies teachers into two types: elementary school teachers and middle/high school teachers. Demonstrating competency of subject matter differs in each classification and options for demonstrating competency vary by state.

The No Child Left Behind Act represents a massive overhaul of the nation’s educational system. Its focus is to improve student performance and achievement and bring more accountability to public schools. While teachers are now required to be highly qualified, salaries have generally stayed at a standstill making it difficult to attract and retain well-qualified educators. States can utilize program funds to develop performance-based compensation systems to help alleviate teacher shortages.

Filed Under: Everyday Leaders Tagged With:

The Education Revolution

It seems that everyone has an idea about how to better our education system. Unfortunately, many of the ideas about how to amount to little more than administrative shuffling. When you consider the variety of factors currently affecting the education system from funding and class sizes to standardized tests and drop out rates, it becomes obvious that the answer is we need an education revolution.

Maybe that amounts to nothing more than taking a little bit from everyone’s reform ideas and creating a cohesive package that will work for the majority of our students. In other words, we need to develop plans, curriculum and strategies that are designed to affect the greatest number of students. Currently we utilize plans that seem to be aimed solely at the lowest common denominator – we are teaching to our least gifted students and leaving the rest behind.

Some parents and administrators argue that the most talented students have access to other education programs such as private educate or magnet programs, but we must ask ourselves one question: do we want our students to be common or do we want them to be exceptional?

The education revolution is coming and it will involve a lot of changes. The last attempt at revolutionizing the system resulted in the NCLB act of 2002. The act was ambitious in its goals, but fell short in its execution. By hoping to create a system in which every child would have access to a quality education, we somehow neglected our more advanced students. It seems that the key isn’t finding a way to equally educate our students at all – the key is finding the best way to educate our students, be they from impoverished areas or be they advanced students.

The time has come to make big changes to the way we educate our children. The time has come for a revolution.

Filed Under: Leadership Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Making It Private

With the current state of our education system in the United States, many parents, or those that can afford it, are turning to private schools for their children. A variety of factors including funding, class size, testing and curriculum have combined to create an education environment that many people feel is doing more harm than good. Private schools, which typically have more funding, address these problems in a variety of ways.

Teachers
It’s funny that some private schools can’t afford to pay their staff as much as public schools but still manage to attract the best teachers. Dedicated teachers are drawn to private school settings for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important may be a belief in creating a positive environment for students. Smaller class sizes, tougher standards and a feeling of community attract teachers. Couldn’t we find a way to integrate these ideas into our public system?

Classes
Private schools have it going on…at least when it comes to classes. Smaller class sizes and a more advanced curriculum are standard fare at private schools. Sure, some of this is due to funding from tuition costs, but a lot of it simply has to do with the way the curriculum and content is designed. It seems like employing some of these ideas at our public institutions is one of the most important reforms we could make.

Whatever direction we take, it seems apparent that now is the time to make a change. Our students simply are not performing as well as they should. Perhaps it is time to tae a page from the private schools and make some changes aimed at improving both the teacher and class quality at our public schools – it might make all the difference to our students. Now is a time to make the move.

Filed Under: Lessons From Leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

We’re Better Together or Are We?

Is old-fashioned same sex schooling coming back? You may be surprised to learn that it is  at least it sort of is. Some schools are working with a revolutionary new concept: separating genders for more effective teaching. This doesn’t mean that all public schools will soon be boys only or girls only, rather some schools are focusing efforts on developing single sex classes within a co-ed institution.

The theory behind this is that separating the sexes may help to correct some falling tests scores, particular among students that are male. The program will work on two fronts:

1.It will first remove the distraction of a typical co-ed classroom. By removing the temptation to interact with members of the opposite sex, students may be more likely to focus their efforts on their education.
2.It will also help improve self-image, particularly among female students. Studies seem to indicate that as our female students grow, they become less interested in subjects such as technology, science and math.

Throughout the country, some schools are making the change, most notably schools in Tennessee and the District of Columbia. Teachers and administrators from these schools have been amazed at the change in their students. Boys, known for prankish behavior and poor attention skills became more focused while girls seemed less concerned about how the fit into the social structure of the school and more interested in their education.

Of course the idea of dual-education has its opponents as well. These people typically cite worries over socialization and equalization as reasons against instituting same sex classes. Perhaps there is a middle ground though. Maybe the answer is developing one class in each school that is taught as a single sex class. The teachers of these classes could become effective mentors and the students may take from the experience higher self-esteem, better focus and an increased interest in education.

Filed Under: Leadership Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Vicious Cycle

An important edict of NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is that core subject teachers be highly qualified by the 2005  06 school year. While the bill did not specifically define what makes an educator highly qualified, it did mandate that schools and administrators attract the most effective teachers possible.

Over the past few years, administrators have discovered that hiring qualified teachers is only half of the problem. They must also develop plans aimed at increasing teacher retention. A large part of the discussion around how to keep qualified teachers is an understanding of why teachers leave in the first place.

One of the largest factors is, not surprisingly, low wages. Several studies report that the most teachers, when asked during the exit interview process, cite wages as the driving factor behind their decision to leave. School conditions are the second biggest reason given. School management, facilities, resources and more all play a role. In fact, there is some indication that teachers would work for less if they were offered a better environment in which to teach. Finally, the community at large plays a role. Government regulations standardized testing and poor community support all contribute to a difficult teaching experience.

The question becomes, of course, how to address these problems. Salaries and facilities are, of course, tied directly to budgeting constraints. Because at least a portion of school budgets is tied directly to standardized testing under NCLB, we enter into a vicious cycle: In order to produce better performing students, we need better teachers. To get better teachers, we must have better performing students.

It seems apparent that a fundamental change to our education system is needed, one that allows for better teacher retention rates. Perhaps as the government seeks to readdress the issues raised by NCLB, some more workable solutions will be found.

Filed Under: Leadership Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts