Parenting Without Punishing?
Never hurt or punish your child. Just say no. IF your going to punish your child do it mentally although don't torture them mentally. You do this by taking stuff that means alot to them like video games, tv, computer whatever. Just don't take away really important things like food and water since that is cruel. And if you have problem with scribblers on walls get the markers that only write on paper that way it will stay on paper and not your walls. I grew up perfectly normal without being punish except for having tv and my books taken away along with drawing and reading when I was being really bad. MY cousins however got beaten and now one can go to the bathroom properly the other needs someone everywhere including the bathroom and the other can't eat right since she is paranoid into thinking anything she does is bad and she will get beaten. [Thats about it.. sorry if this doesn't help or is to vague but I got to go]
Teachers: Have you ever accused a student of cheating and been wrong?
I definitely gave students zeros when they might have not been guilty of cheating. I can’t be 100% certain, but there had to be a few.I taught in an American dual degree program in china for 3 years. In one 5 month stretch, I probably caught about 55 or so students cheating.Seriously, I warned them that I was a ninja and that I would figure out if they were cheating. Some were idiots… I warned them every time… I gave them quizzes so that I could demonstrate all the different ways I would catch them in hopes that they wouldn’t cheat on a test. I would tell them if they were talking at all, for any reason, they would be receiving a zero. This is why I always gave at least 3 quizzes before the test so that they could see how serious I was and so that they wouldn’t fail the course if they cheated during a test.This was drilled into them. I would ask ‘What do you do when your neighbor says anything?’ and they would respond and say that they were not to respond. This rule was to be fair for everyone so that I wouldnt have to factor in my own bias if a student was cheating or asking what the answer is ;) jkA few times I had to take tests because of talking and the students were very upset. A couple times I was convinced that the student hadn’t cheated. I had one guy really upset because he didn’t want me to think less of him and he got emotional. As I said with all students, it was just a zero, he would need to study harder for the rest of the course and that I did not judge his character. It was tough, but rarely did I catch a student cheating twice.In one instance I ended up tutoring a student that was having a difficult time… Chinese students were very innovative with cheating. I learned a lot from my Chinese colleagues about how to catch it. They were so much more savvy than American students I’ve had haha
What is the best thing you were told by your student(s)?
Ma’am .. I love you!Rewind to 2011. I was working in one of the best schools of Kerala as a Communicative English Trainer. Now, I have always enjoyed public speaking and debating since college days. I have been very particular since the day I joined school that I should encourage my students to participate in public speaking and performance related activities. As part of this, I formed many activity based clubs and picked people from all classes to be part of these activities.We worked days in and out for bringing out the best in students. I would dedicate 30% of my class time to tell them the importance of expression and how to speak in front of audience. My principal, a Harvard graduate herself was of huge support.Every week, a club performs in front of the whole school during assembly time. It was August, 2011. Monday I guess. The slot was booked for a small skit by Class 5th and 6th students on how to overcome one’s fears and sail through. This was done with few dialogues followed by a monologue by a boy. Let’s name him S. Now, S was a very timid person in the class. He occurred to me as having huge potential and so I started talking to him a lot. In my few encounters I came to know that he recently lost his mother. I asked me to write a monologue on her itself, if he is comfortable.Back to the assembly, I was very hopeful of the skit but was a little worried about S’s performance. I was warned by few of his friends and a couple of my colleagues on taking him for the monologue. But I was persistent.If not now, when will he try?If not for us, who else will encourage him? .. I said.So, the skit started. S stepped forward. He caught hold of the mic and started. He went on talking, not from the paper, but from his heart. None of us dared to stop him. His English was flawed. He was stammering. But he was going on. Letting on his love for his mother. Telling us how good she cooked, where all they went and how much he cried when she left the world. Few of us , emphatic souls couldn’t control our tears.He ended with a special note: Annapurna Ma’am, I love you! ..And I was flushed with tears and happiness for him. That day I came to know how great and important a teacher can be in a child’s life.And since then I never leave an opportunity to express my gratitude to my teachers whenever possible. Because I know the value of it.
As a teacher, how do you deal with constant bad-mouthing from students?
This may not be the answer you want to hear, but you may want to look for a teaching job at a different school. I know that just about every teacher's first year was bad, but mine was really a nightmare...I cried in my office every day b/c I hated my life! I even wondered if I made the right career choice. I got a new job in a different district, and I now love my job, and my students (most of the time)! I had my doubts about my classroom management skills (which have improved exponentially), and did not feel like I was very effective. Once I got into a school, district, and community that was a better fit for me, I felt much better and am now realizing my potential as a teacher. Perhaps a better teacher than I could have really thrived in the situation I was faced with my first year, but being a first year teacher, I did not have the tools to make it work. I, too, and an emotional and sensitive person, so I understand how you feel. When I got overwhelmed my first year, sometimes I had to take a moment to remove myself from the situation to let out a string of curses under my breath, and then I could re-enter the situation with a calm demeanor. Even now, when students start to get to me, I'll take a moment to take some deep breaths to compose myself. The comment you got about not taking it personally is very true, and very important to keep in mind. Much of the time when students are acting out, it has little to do with you as a person, or even as a teacher. There are other aspects of this kid's life that are manifesting themselves as this bad behavior. Try to remember that and let it roll off your back. Ignoring the comments is a good idea - ignoring the behavior is not. Be sure to punish the behavior and take care of that as soon as you can. If students see that you don't tolerate the poor behavior, they will be less inclined to act that way, and these moments will occur less frequently. Good luck!
Has anyone taken the School Leadership Licensure Assessment?
I am taking the SLLA exam next week. I wonder if anyone else out there has taken (or is taking) the exam and whether they have any preparation tips. Thanks!!