It’s important to reinforce student self-motivation on a regular basis: Praise Effort and Specific Actions If we only praise students in general—”You’re very smart”—many will then try to avoid taking risks and stretching themselves. They will focus more on maintaining their image and believe that they will embarrass themselves by making mistakes. Praising effort— “You…
Don’ts and Don’ts of Teaching (Part 2)
Don’t send kids to the office. No matter how many times a principal says, “just send them to me,” it’s not a good idea. When you send kids out, it soon becomes the only thing they’ll respond to. So you might be thinking now, “what should I do when students are misbehaving?” I have no…
Don’ts and Don’ts of Teaching (Part 1)
One piece of advice that I’ve seen in numerous books about teaching is to always phrase classroom rules positively. Instead of phrasing a rule as “no talking,” for instance, teachers should phrase it as “talk in turn.” The theory is that when students are told not to do one thing without being told what they…
Involvement or Engagement?
We need to relate to families not as clients, but as partners in school and community improvement. “Hello, is this John’s mother? This is his English teacher, Mr. Ferlazzo. John has had a rough day.” “I like teaching in this school because the parents don’t bother us much.” “We need parent volunteers for the fund-raiser.”…
Using the KonMari Method in Schools
Author and Netflix star, Marie Kondo’s drive to declutter and simplify our lives is currently very popular. With life being busier than ever, working out what to do with all the ‘stuff’ is difficult and time-consuming. A cluttered workspace adds to our stress by distracting us, wasting our time finding things and polluting our subconscious…
Developing Self-Control
Helping students develop self-control is important, not only for their behaviour but also for their ability to stay on task and complete things. Developing intrinsic motivation (the internal drive to focus and remain on task) is far more helpful than constantly trying to motivate them through extrinsic means – carrot and stick! The following are…
Prepare Now for Happy Reporting Later
Reporting periods for many school staff are a time of tension and stress, where tempers are tested and a good night’s sleep becomes a distant memory. Instead of dreading its approach and using weak coping strategies like counting down the days till the holidays, try planning early (read, super-early – like, now!) to make reporting…
Moments of Truth – Keeping parents on our Side
A Moment of Truth is any interaction in which the client or customer comes into contact with our services and forms an impression of our school. The concept originated in Scandinavian Airlines by President and CEO Jan Carlson. In the case of Scandinavian Airlines, Moments of Truth for passengers are the times when they come…
Time in the Learning Zone
My greatest learning experiences have always come when I have been challenged and taken out of my comfort zone:- learning to ride a bike, abseiling out of a tree and my frustrating efforts learning Cantonese are prime examples. For true learning to occur we have to be at least slightly uncomfortable. We need to have…
Avoiding Year End Burnout
The final term of the school year is a crazy, busy time in schools. End of year events, final assessments, reporting and planning for next year, swamp us at a time when we are nearing exhaustion. Many of us are running low on reserves at the end of the year. Events that wouldn’t normally irritate…