4 Simple Steps to Prevent Classroom Management Disaster
It can feel like you’re navigating a maze blindfolded while carrying a 100-pound backpack and getting hit with paintball pellets (Ouch!).I’m talking about classroom management – one the most challenging aspects of teaching today. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think my teaching program did a fair job of letting me know what I […]
Continue readingSetting Up Your Classroom: 9 Practical Things You May Not Have Thought Of
Subscribe to the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast. Getting your room ready for the school year can be extremely exciting. It’s also a whole lot of work. There are books to prepare, desks to arrange, decorations to create……The list seems never-ending. What we need to focus on most, though, is functionality. Yes, it’s great if […]
Continue readingThe Teacher Success Roadmap
Come on, pull it together. If you lose your lunch meager breakfast in front of your class …. Well, that will be a doozy of a first impressionIt’s 5 till 8 on my first official day as a teacher, and I’m trying desperately to calm my nerves. But despite the cacophony of butterflies in my […]
Continue readingHow to Calm the Chaos in Your Classroom
August always feels like a month of Sundays.And on one of those mid-August days filled with anxiety and anticipation about the upcoming school year I stumbled over the verse that has become my mantra this year. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to […]
Continue readingWhat to Do When You Suspect a Student But Can’t Be Sure
Subscribe to the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast. Remember the last time you suspected a student of something? Maybe Erica’s wandering glances had you wondering if she was cheating. Brandon wouldn’t look you in the eye & you just knew he had to be lying. Or Charlie’s nervous laughter made you suspect he really had stuffed a […]
Continue readingHow to Regain Control of Your Classroom NOW (even late in the year)
Subscribe to the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast. The bell rings and chaos ensues. Kids are chatting it up, a few are wandering around, and you have to admit that pretty much no one is paying attention to you. You raise your voice – and no one can hear you. You flick the lights – to no […]
Continue readingHow to Make Homework Valuable & Hold Students Accountable
Click here for more information about the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast I stared in amazement and more than a bit of frustration at the crumpled, ripped half sheet of computer paper with 10 random answer scrawled on it. This was “Greg’s” homework. Or rather, it was supposed to be. At least Greg had turned something in, […]
Continue readingSimple Solutions to Track Missing Work: End the Missing Work Confusion
Tracking & collecting missing work may just be the bane of many teachers’ existence. It can be so hard to keep everything straight & incredibly frustrating trying to hound students to get it turned in. Aside from simply throwing zero’s in the gradebook and moving on, there’s no simple solution. But I do have some tried-and-true […]
Continue reading5 Common Back-to-School Mistakes Teachers Regret All Year
It was sometime around October when my principal called me into his office & sat me down for a chat. “Do you know what’s happening behind your back?” he asked me. “You’ve got to muster all the authority you have and regain some control.”I’m pretty sure he could see the tears I was so desperately […]
Continue reading10 [More] Procedures that Will Save Your Sanity
When it comes to running a smooth, successful classroom, good procedures are key. And it’s amazing how even just one new procedure can eliminate a myriad of problems and save you about 500 premature gray hairs. Last year I shared 10 Procedures that Will Save Your Sanity & the post was so well received that I decided […]
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