Finally learning to keep my mouth shut

Posted on 6/20/09

I always wondered why the upper grade students didn't bond
with me from January - June. I was tired of them by that
time, and they were tired of me too!

So this year I was determined to limit negative tone and
try to deal with the problem students in a new way. What I
realized is that if I sharply spoke to the problem student,
everyone heard the tone, and if affected the entire class.

One problem student was always getting in trouble this
year, so I started writing down daily what he did. I would
stop my guided lesson, note the time on a piece of paper
and describe what he did. It helped me get the negative
vibe out of me, and I had a record of his problems. The
best thing - the class didn't have to hear the negativity.

June - students are happy, we are bonded. I finally can say
that my students like me.

This is the start of learning how to keep the classroom
environment on a positive tone, even when there are
students who break classroom rules.

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