Give Me Respect

I always thought that I would automatically get respect from students when I walked the coridoors of a school because I was a teacher. That was not the case. You have to work hard to get respect. You have to say “hi” and get to know names of kids. You have to pay attention. You have to stop and talk to students during recess or any chance you get. Don’t be an authoritarian. Respect will come. Things become easier.

My shortest post on motivation.

Rewarding students and punishing students can be exhausting and counterproductive. Focus on the intrinsic, not the extrinsic motivators. Building relationships and discovering what motivates students is the best “classroom management” I can think of. Just imagine the growth.

Is teaching all about Control?

“Do you have control over your class?” “ She does not have control over her class.” “ He does not control his class at all.” “ You need control over your students.” I have heard questions and statements like these a lot in my teaching career. It would appear that teaching is all about control, control, control. It is not. It is about building relationships with students. Learning follows. Get away from the “mind set” of control. Then sit back and watch the results.

For more on this topic see Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, Alfie Kohn, http://amzn.to/kLSQzD as recommended by Scott McLeod below. @mcleod

I’m still here, thinking.

I haven’t blogged much lately. However, I did have a very productive blogging period from January to April. I don’t have much to say right now but I’m still here, thinking. The end of the year is always busy with exams, paper work, etc. I am tired. We have lots of daylight, too. This always throws off my sleeping habits a little. I am sleepy a lot, as well as my students. But I’m still here.

Having a little fun: I got a Pie in the Face.

Here is a little fun I had while visiting Montreal recently. Yes, I get a pie in the face.

Why are we not teaching students to be responsible digital citizens?

What I write in this post is not original; it is a reminder. Banning Facebook in school is not a solution to anything. If you think banning it will make it go away, you are mistaken. Students are using Facebook, blindly. They are building their online presence, now! Why are we not teaching them to be responsible digital citizens?

6 things about my school.

1. We don’t have any cross-town school rivals. We are the only game in town.
If we want to play a sport against another high school, we have to fly to them or they fly to us.

2. We do have buses. Some students, however, choose to use their snowmobiles or 4 wheelers (in the fall) to get to school.

3. We do not get as many snow days as people might think. I think we had 1.5 so far this year.

4. Students call teachers by their first names. They call me Brian, not Mr. Barry. (I love that.)

5. My students’ first language is Inuktitut.

6. The grade nines go on 2 “day” trips a year. The first trip we learn how to build an Igloo; The second trip we go ice fishing. This happens in April.

Love is Louder – National Bullying Week

My 100th Post: My Teacher Checklist

1. When students ask me for something, am I saying “no” for a good reason or because it is automatic and I don’t question why I say it anymore?

Forget April Fool’s day. Create your own day.

April Fool’s day is here. Every year someone publishes some crazy story that we wish were true. For a moment we believe the story. We think, “Wow! Great! I love it!” Then we