Classroom Management

So, how do we get young people to make positive and socially beneficial choices for themselves and others at school, and also, across the entire spectrum of their life?  Isn't this, in fact and in essence, the fundamental goal of education---to create intelligent, engaged, informed, socially alert and considerate choice-makers?

Can you say "mega-topic"?  One that simultaneously cuts across ethics, religion, politics, family, psychology, sociology, evolutionary theory and biology.  And, a topic which, America somehow believes its teachers can resolve with little fuss, bother or debate.

I adopted a new way of handling paper flow this semester: the folder system.

After twenty years in the classroom, it's good to try new things. In fact, it's essential. If you don't, if you think you have perfected your ways, you will, more than likely, end up as a "dinosaur", unable to adapt, and over time, bypassed by events.

In contrast, if you are a new teacher, your situation is almost exactly opposite. At least, it was for me. What I found most crucial in early years was to learn consistency--to not continually change, to not invoke new rules, new policies and procedures every week.

i think today teachers want the kids to like them and be their friend. i think teachers need to be teachers not friends. this dosnt mean you cant be there to talk if they need it but you need to relize that you are there to teach. i had a 11th grade english teacher who tried to be everyons friend and as a result the class was out of control everyday. in the end if you teach them without the worrie they think your "cool" they will apreciate it later.

I return to this website, tonight, prompted by a commentary by Peter about this time of year. I have been up, watching the sports segment on the late-night local TV news. They were showing the videoed results of the high school varsity football playoffs. And, as I watched these young athletes, in the prime of their lives, I wondered about those that may not be in attendance, those that may not share in the exhilaration of a Friday night football game in autumn. Those that may be trapped by "silent demons". And, that is when I remembered some of Peter's remarks. They complemented the research I'm doing into depression in adolescents and young adults, for a psychology class.

As mentioned below, grades serve the system more than they do the teacher or the student, but then, the system built the school and hires and pays the teachers, right?

No time to complain. A teacher has to come up with grades for every student no matter what.

And, if there are any perceived injustices or inaccuracies, you will be spending a lot more time on grades than you need to. I mean: A lot more (As in meeting regularly with parents and administrators.)

Trust me on this: it is more than worth it to develop a rigorous, even-handed and flexible grading system--one that rewards hard work and excellence, but which allows for students at the lower end to hang in there and earn passing marks.