I agree with all three tips that the writer, Justin Minkle, shared.
1. Don’t take away recess—especially for the kids who didn’t do anything wrong.
I teach high school students so we don't have recess. However, I have heard of secondary school teachers who keep their students in for part of their lunch because some students were loud or unproductive. It really isn't fair to those quiet students who were working well independently.
We have to find ways to discipline the students without punishing the good students.
2. Talk less. Listen more.
Students want to voice their thoughts and ideas too. Sometimes, I get too caught up in the teaching that I forget to ask for their thoughts. I don't want to always be "lecturing" and talking at them. This is something that every teacher needs to focus on. Listen more and let the students speak.
3. Don’t yell.
I admit that I have yelled at my students in the past. Whenever I do, I also realized my mistake and apologized to them afterwards. I let them know that we, teachers, can make mistakes too.
One of the rules that I try to enforce in my class is respect... respect for the teacher and respect for one another. In turn, I treat them with the utmost respect too.
The writer shared a technique to gather student opinions by giving them a “stoplight” sheet to complete. It is a way to obtain feedback where the students list one thing they want you to start doing (GREEN), one thing they want you to keep doing (YELLOW), and one thing they want you to stop doing (RED).
Teaching is the toughest and most demanding job I know. On the best days, it is pure joy when we can inspire our students to reach their goals. On the worst, pure frustration and despair. On those bad days, we have to reflect on the many good ones and remember that we have chosen this profession that matters to so many people. Thinking about the positive and making an effort to talk less, stop yelling, and be fair can only make our days and our students' days brighter.
Until later,
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