<p>Well, my single thing that I would do, as a teacher who struggled in the past with some of the same issues, is call one parent every evening and tell them something GOOD their child did that day. Then hang up before you say something negative.</p>
<p>Problem is that most of the parents speak only Spanish so there is a language barrier.</p>
<p>Okay, so the parents only speak Spanish? Write a note, use Google translate to translate, print both the English and Spanish version, and read BOTH to the parent(s). It won’t be a conversation, but it will be something that I can pretty much guarantee has never happened before, and the parents will be pleased–and most kids love making their parents happy.</p>
<p>That’s a great idea dmd. I will definitely tell my sister! Thanks.</p>
<p>My D offers a special treat to her kids who are doing the right thing. She allows them to come and eat lunch with her in the classroom. Now, her kids are older, but it might be something your sister could try as a way of bonding with her students in smaller groups.</p>
<p>If they are truly actually hitting each other and the teacher I think I would invite a policeman in for a talk on “assault”. That is ridiculous!!!</p>
<p>No concrete help in this message, but maybe some hope.</p>
<p>My daughter also teaches in an inner city school where most of students are first generation Americans and speak Spanish at home. She says some of the classroom problems that occurred during her first year didn’t happen in subsequent years. Somehow – I suspect through trial and error – she just learned what classroom management techniques work for her.</p>
<p>I so admire teachers. They provide such an important service and are not appreciated enough!</p>
<p>It’s so great that experienced teachers are offering advice about what worked well in their classrooms…</p>
<p>OP, we are in NYC. For low-income schools that get Title I money, an approved use of that money is for translation services to communicate with parents. Perhaps the teacher could talk to her supervisor to see if they have available services. Also, in many NYC schools, bilingual people who work in the office or as aides or other nonprofessional worker often translate.</p>
<p>Good luck to her! I have seen such a difference in leadership in various NYC schools. At the good ones, new staff members are mentored so they don’t have to go it alone. Principals view it as a good investment in the future for their schools. But at other schools, it’s sink or swim. A new superintentant of schools was just appointed here and she has always been in the mentoriing camp. I am so glad, as a gigantic wave of current teachers will be retiring soon, and enrollment increases every year.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a long thread. If your sister is asking you to come up with just the highlights, because she’s too busy prepping, tell her this: It is the consensus of the thread that she needs to get a much better system of behavior management routines. The room does not sound in good enough control to get through the rest of the year. She can’t get those lessons across without better decorum in the room. </p>
<p>Please recommend to your sister that she devote 2 hours, set down all her lessons, and just walk into class as if it’s the first day of September. Greet kids at the door and herd them all directly to a seated area on the floor, away from their desks. Speak slowly and with serious manner that they are now ready to work as Third Graders work, no more baby stuff.</p>
<ol>
<li>Brainstorm and Write a chart: New Rules for 2014
(can call on one student to do the writing on chart paper)</li>
</ol>
<p>Four rules (but in their own words):
- Raise hand to speak.
- Listen to others when they speak - no calling out, no interrupting
- No hurting other people.
- Respect property that belongs to the school and other people.</p>
<p>(For future implementation: Every behavior infraction can be connected to one of those 4. Whenever a student does wrong, ask them which rule they broke. They need to say the number and repeat the rule aloud.) </p>
<ol>
<li>Present a new system of rewards and penalties when a rule is broken by an individual. Also some form of group reward/penalty when many in the class forget a rule (class out of control). Tell them they can help each other remember to follow rules, so all can get the rewards. Show them ways to remind each other (such as putting up a quiet finger to their own lips to remind a neighbor not to talk while the teacher talks).</li>
</ol>
<p>Explain to class how it will be used. Practice 3x. Give stickers to a few who are doing it especially well (surprise reward)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Re-teach all the physical routines of the classroom. Calling on one student only, demonstrate the right way to enter and exit the room, hang up a coat, move a chair, line up, sharpen a pencil – whatever isn’t working right. Call on a few more kids to demonstrate again. Show the students a quiet way to praise each other (thumbs up or the silent cheer wavy fingers) and do that after each good demonstration. All the attention goes for the positive behaviors. </p></li>
<li><p>Practice your system for quieting the entire room. For example, raise your own hand while putting finger to your lips/ all who see that imitate until whole room is silent. Or rhythmic clapping that all join. Or whisper “if you hear me, raise your hand…” Then practice it. Surprise rewards to a few students (stickers). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>((Consider having the principal stand at the door for the first hour of this, She will respect it, and the students will know it’s serious. If she’s there, introduce her and say she’s watching us do this very important lesson.))</p>
<ol>
<li>Gather the 6 most difficult students, or call them up later in the day separately if that’s better for you. Show them their own separate sheet for each one, with lines for each half-hour (or hour) of the day. Every time they get through that time period without breaking any rules, they come to you and get a “check” mark. If they broke a rule, no check mark (and no comment, just shake your head and say, “next time.”)
At the end of the day, add up their checks. If they reach a certain number, they get a token reward to take home. If not, say it wasn’t enough today, but try again tomorrow for more checks.</li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck. It’s her most important lesson, It will allow her to teach all the other lessons she’s so busy preparing now. She can’t do without a redo on Behavior Management Routines. If necessary, classify it as Language Arts lesson, since it includes some Interactive Writing, or as Social Studies since it involves social skills.</p>
<p>I just wrote her lesson plan, so tweak it and go!</p>
<p>Wow, paying3, that was especially nice of you to do. Nice post.</p>
<p>Not to mention at 2a.m. :)</p>
<p>Agreed! Excellent short course in Classroom Management 101. </p>
<p>away2school, this should be what your sister needs to turn things around. paying3tuitions is right that this is more important than any other lesson plan she might be working on this weekend. I hope she’ll listen to this very reasonable advice.</p>
<p>I have two rules in my classroom.
- Be Nice!
- Work Hard!</p>
<p>They cover everything. At the beginning of the year we go over these two rules and discuss what it means to be nice ( I used to have it as “be respectful” but I teach all grades from k-6 and it was harder for the little ones to understand respect as opposed to “nice”) I talk about being nice to each other (listen, kind, helpful). Being nice to the teacher (listen, follow directions, etc). Being nice to the art room and supplies, and lastly, being nice to yourself (positive self talk, forgiving mistakes, etc).</p>
<p>When I need the students attention I say “Hands are free!” and put my empty hands in the air. They repeat “Hands are free”, put their supplies down and raise both hands. I then say “Eyes on me!” and they say “Eyes on YOU”. This device gets them to stop working and listen when I need them to. I teach art so they are always reluctant to stop working in order to listen to a directive. They like this too (makes them giggle). It is a technique I designed based on Whole Brain teaching methods.</p>
<p>Another technique I use and probably the one thing I ever implemented that changed the climate of my classroom the most dramatically, is that I have a rule (part of “Be Nice”) that students are not allowed to raise their hand while I am instructing. They must wait until I say “any comments or questions?” If they do raise their hand it had better be an emergency. I started this a few years ago when I noticed that they were raising their hands so continually that I could not get through the lesson motivation, slide show, etc. The questions were, 90 % of the time, things that I was just about to tell them anyway.</p>
<p>This rule has made such a difference in the tone, atmosphere and productivity of my classroom. Of course they do forget and when they do I simply gesture with my hand for them to lower their hand and they do (again, unless it’s an emergency).</p>
<p>Let’s see…what else. Incentives. I teach 28 classes per week. I have a reward chart that I use to “rate” each class on behavior, work habits, etc. When they get a good rating, they move ahead a column, bad rating they go back one. They get bonus points for things like answering a hard question about the lesson, remembering to put their names on their work, etc. They LOVE this. At the end of the year, the class at each grade level that has gone the farthest on the chart, gets a popsicle party.</p>
<p>I find that children will respect you if you respect them. If they feel liked and cared for they will not want to disappoint you. This is a huge advantage in teaching and it models all healthy relationships in life. I think that my students feel valued by me (I know that I work at that as much as I can with 28 classes) so, in turn, they value me and don’t want to disappoint me.</p>
<p>My daughter says consistency is the key. She teaches special Ed 12 year olds and swears that they will try to push her to knock her off her game, but if her word means exactly what she says every time, they give up and move on.</p>
<p>I think this is another major problem for your sister: she’s scared to ask for help. Look at what she’s seen with another colleague. Getting fired for talking to a mentor. I’m guessing it was something much, much worse than simply talking to her mentor.
I also agree that not everyone is suited to maintain control of 31 low income, inner city kids and teach.</p>
<p>“Getting fired for talking to a mentor. I’m guessing it was something much, much worse than simply talking to her mentor.”</p>
<p>I absolutely agree. I have kids 24, 29 and 14 and they’ve been in a variety of schools in several different states between the three of them. The only teacher I ever saw leave mid-year was due to an injury. I did see one get reassigned to another class in the same school after parents raised a hue and cry over his inept teaching and playing favorites, but even that process was long and drawn out. </p>
<p>Just for talking? I don’t believe it for a second. That teacher said or did something pretty terrible. I wonder if she made reference to the kids’ ethnicity in a really negative way? There was a teacher here who got fired over that kind of thing once, but he was a special guest teacher I believe and not a regular staffer.</p>