So, after weeks of careful thought and observation (as well as long conversations with the very few returning teachers), I am starting to see the delicate social hierarchy in one of my most challenging classes. There are 2 ''class leaders'' that will make or break the class for me. These students (with their names modified) are Moni, and Nellie. ...

Yesterday was David’s last day with us.  He was hardly in the room at all; Nan kept taking him out to “take a break,” and she told me she wasn’t going to push it, as she could tell he wouldn’t be able to handle being in the room much.  After he’d gone, I said, “and I didn’t get to say ...

It seems like my first graders and I were always standing in line: going to the bathroom, waiting for specials (PE, art, music, etc.), going to lunch, getting our pictures taken, and on and on and on. So I invented games to play that my children loved and kept them well-behaved while standing in line. For [...]

  There were five adults in my room today.  the school psychologist had his hands full with Max Nan had her hands full with David my college volunteer had her hands full with the Spanish-speaking kids my new assistant had her hands full just trying to get to know the class, the room, the kids, the job, and trying to run an art project and I ...

Lola went to art today, on Black Day, to draw pictures with white crayon on black paper.  I had stencils for city buildings with window cutouts, so she made a lovely picture with lots of buildings.  Then she cut it into lots of small pieces. Was this frustration?  Boredom?  The joy of cutting paper?  I have no idea.  I can’t speak ...

Our school psychologist, one of the many people who helped make the decision on David’s placement, stopped by today after the children left to see how things were going.  It was a rough morning, of course, with Nan having to give David and Max all of her attention and skills.  She was amazing, and they made it through, but David threw ...

I am a huge fan of simplicity. For that matter, I love the idea of having no classroom rules. However, I know some people don’t operate that way. Great teachers can be found in both camps. But whether or not we feel it necessary to tie our students down with rules, the greatest commonality between all [...]

One of the greatest challenges that I had as a first year teacher was with classroom management. I’ve mentioned that a number of times before and I think most first year teachers go through that. As with most, I noticed that I had some days where the kids were good, and others where they were bad. It [...]

Anyone reading this who is already a teacher (I know I have some fledgling teachers reading this blog, as well as some non-teachers) knows what teaching is like.  Teachers are well-acquainted with the experiences of being bombarded by stimuli all day, of needing to think of 100 things at a time, and having to make decisions constantly.  So ...

I have learned from many wise people (including the children that I have taught over the years) that nurturing a child’s self-esteem is one of the most important jobs a teacher has. Here are some ways to help, repair and enhance a child’s self-esteem: If you have to discipline a child (especially in front of the [...]