Teacher morale is a major issue in private and public schools. Low morale decreases engagement with colleagues and students, diminishes productivity, reduces student learning and breeds cynicism. On the other hand, when morale is high and the faculty culture is healthy, students excel socially and academically, teachers are productive and collaborative, and the school environment is dynamic and engaging. Given the significant role that teacher morale plays, schools must work continuously to improve teacher morale.

The major factors that affect morale are school leadership, workload, compensation, student behavior and professional development. Effective and supportive leaders contribute significantly to high morale, while weak leaders and low morale go hand in hand. Clearly, teaching is intensive, unrelenting and intellectually, emotionally and physically demanding. In addition to teaching, teachers have many other responsibilities such as curriculum development, recess supervision, extracurricular activities, marketing, fundraising and administrative paperwork. Feeling overburdened with so many responsibilities contributes to low morale. Naturally, being overworked and underpaid is a recipe for morale disaster. Student behavior problems are another major reason for low teacher morale, especially when teachers do not have the tools to address the problems. And finally, access to professional development plays a major role in determining morale.

School Leadership: School leaders have extremely demanding and complex jobs. Many enter leadership positions without adequate training. Even with excellent training and experience, school leaders face extremely complicated challenges daily. Ongoing leadership training, executive coaching and professional development are critical to enable school leaders to provide powerful leadership and ensure high faculty morale.

Teacher Workload: There may be no way of getting around the fact that a teacher’s workload is heavy. However, when the faculty is pushing and pulling together, hard work is a lot more fun. In fact, in my experience as a Head of School, teacher morale was at the top of the chart when the faculty was highly engaged in major initiatives that required extensive work. Involving teachers in decision making, planning and solving problems, and creating collaborative teams to share the workload contribute immensely to nurturing high morale.

Compensation: Competitive compensation is important. However, the key to compensation as it affects morale is the system for determining salaries and increases. If teachers feel that the system is unfair, compensation, regardless of the amount, will hurt morale. Fairness is largely judged by the perceived congruence between a person’s value to the school and that person’s compensation. To compensate fairly, schools must abandon traditional “step” systems and implement systems that link compensation and performance.

Student Behavior: Teachers face increasingly complex demands in meeting the needs of their students in both private and public schools. From antisocial behavior to special needs to apathy across the socioeconomic spectrum, teachers are experiencing increasing problems with behavior management. Two major initiatives by schools will help address this problem. First, it is essential to provide behavior management training for teachers who are struggling with discipline. Second, the faculty and staff must work together as a team throughout the school to address behavioral challenges.

Professional Development: Professional development is directly related to student achievement and teacher satisfaction is directly linked to student achievement. Teachers and schools that value professional development or adult learning create the conditions for students to value learning too. When students are making excellent academic and social progress, teachers feel the rewards of their profession. Providing teachers meaningful and effective professional development is fundamental for successful schools and high teacher morale.

While working at a large high school, I have an insider's view of the educational scene. As a classroom instructor, I understand that teaching is only one facet of the teaching-learning process, a process which success centers upon effective communication.

Communication is undermined when students sense that they are of little importance to the teacher or the school. What teachers do in the classroom is important because the people who come there to learn are important. This attitude toward students is expressed a number of ways, including: the careful design of a course that meets the diverse needs of students, the devotion of energy to preparation for class, the clear expression of one's involvement in teaching, the respectful treatment of students in the give and take of classroom interaction, and the notion of classroom management.

Teacher expectation is equally important and is exhibited in the attitude of the teachers. Unfortunately some students with darker skin, who are usually tracked in lower level courses, share stories of teachers who have lower expectations for them.

As an educator, I understand how stressful it can be to have what appear to be non-responsive bodies in the class, especially when great care and planning occurred. Early in my teaching career, it was discovered that everyone will not achieve As and Bs, but also evident as an educator, was my obligation to instruct all students fairly and adequately. I also refrained from forming preconceived opinions about students based on a previous teacher's experience with a student. Every year, several students do not do well in other teachers' classes but attain As, Bs or Cs in my class. The former is not known until the student is in the house office receiving reprimands from an administrator.

Similarly to some of the students who have negative experiences with teachers, my first year teaching was quite a challenge, not the notion of teaching itself but the people inside the building made it very difficult for a new teacher to survive, luckily the students kept me afloat. My first year having my own classroom was a wonderful experience. I developed excellent relationships with my students and some of my colleagues. I also learned that some of the older, traditional teachers and faculty were not pleased to see my young, brown face. I could tell from the stares and rumors of me doing drugs that often got back to me. Although I had my teaching credentials: I began teaching with my Master of Arts in Teaching, something that some teachers did not have, but it did not seem to matter. Usually, a master's degree is required within five years of teaching. Furthermore, all my evaluations from the administrators went well. Still my colleagues found a way to make my life miserable. By winter of my first year teaching, I found myself in the assistant principal's office along with a union representative and the social studies chair. The reason I soon came to find out involved me opening a learning center in my hometown, an entirely different city and state.

Upon opening the center, a newspaper article regarding the opening day of the center appeared on the cover of the local section. The former president of the teacher's union lived in New Fairfield and read the paper. He gave the article to some administrators, a quite ironic thing to do considering the union is supposed to protect its workers. The paper mistakenly stated the learning center opened its doors between 3: 00-3: 30 pm. In reality, the center opened between 3: 15- 3:30 allowing the allotted time of 30-35 minutes to drive from work. Opening the center at 3 pm was not possible because work did not end until 2:35 pm.

One time the coordinator asked me with conviction, if I had left work early. She said, "Did you leave work early yesterday?" I said, "No." She said, "Someone said you were seen leaving early yesterday." I thought about it and remembered that I went to grab lunch but returned. Fortunately for me my soon to be colleague, who was student teaching at the time, asked me if my girls (I was the coordinator for the girls' step team) could step at the Human Rights Symposium. I remembered this and told the coordinator about the conversation and told her to ask the student teacher. Of course she did and then reluctantly apologized.

The story in the paper clearly raised concerns with me leaving work early, but were unfounded. In addition to teaching at the center, I was also beginning an exam preparation course at the high school and had submitted copies to be made for an exam prep session offered in the after school program. To my surprise, one of the members of the social studies department took the copies from the copy room prior to completion to the social studies chair which landed me back in the assistant principal's office. When asked about why I had submitted several documents to the copy room, I reminded them that I was also teaching an SAT course in the after school program. No apologies were received, but the copies were given back.

My first year teaching was miserable and if it weren't for my mother, I probably would have left the profession long ago. I called home almost every day in tears with stories like the former. I was 21 years old when I started teaching and sometimes wonder if I hadn't listened to my mom where I would be, what I would be doing. I have found that helping others is my purpose.

This being said, the harsh reception I received my first couple of years should not surprise others when complaints of mistreatment among students surface. The following discussion with a security guard named Jim * confirmed the maltreatment students of color sometimes receive from white teachers. Jim told me during lunch one day, a teacher while walking down the hall bumped into a Hispanic male student. Although it may have been an accident, according to Jim, the teacher then said to the student, "Bump me again and I'll pour my hot coffee on you." Jim said that both he and the student were shocked by the teacher's comments. Jim reported the student had been talking to his friends and had not bumped the teacher. The student looked at the white male teacher and said, "Whatever, I didn't bump you."

Afterwards, Jim prompted by what he had just witnessed, approached an administrator to inform him of the event. The administrator's response was callous according to Jim. He said the administrator told him that the teacher had threatened to go the union and claimed that Jim had threatened his safety. Receiving this news, Jim told the administrator what he witnessed again and that he hadn't threatened anyone. The administrator told him, "You didn't see anything, it was noisy at lunch." Jim said, "Yes, I did," and repeated what he witnessed. Again, the administrator said, "You didn't see anything. It was noisy during lunch." Jim became irritated as he caught on to the cue. Jim told me afterwards that he just walked away in dismay.

Countless other incidents, according to Jim and other security guards continue. Students aren't the only ones to encounter disrespectful treatment, but inconsistent reprimands occur to teachers of color. For example two tenured teachers, one white and the other Hispanic, had gone for a run at the end of the school year during their break time, and when both returned to the school, the Hispanic teacher received an email and was questioned about his whereabouts and why he had gone running. After being requested to come to the office by the principal, he proceeded and once there looked around. He saw the other teacher was not present, and left the office. Upon questioning the other teacher, the Hispanic teacher learned that he was the only one summoned to the office.

Disrespectful encounters continue between white administrators and teachers of color and white administrators and white teachers with students of color. Talking with security guards at the school provides me with privileged information regarding race disparities in suspension, both in school and out. Students of color are suspended at higher rates than white students nationally. According to Jim, when Caucasian students are caught with drugs, the response entails no punishment because their parents may be on the Board of Education, employed by the district, or are lawyers.

Again, to draw a parallel to the race inequalities that exist in institutions, it took me three full teaching years before I could teach a law elective, even though I enrolled in a criminal justice doctoral program beginning my third year, and for years there was a struggle to achieve equitable teaching loads. On the other hand, white teachers in my department, who are not in a doctoral program, begin their first year teaching law electives. If I can be treated this way as an educated adult, imagine how the students are treated. There has been some improvement, but the list of injustices continue (to be discussed later).

* Name changed.

Real Talk

One of the most often heard misconceptions that I hear is the confusion between what a Teacher is and what a Guide is. What is the difference between a Teacher and a Guide?

First understand that he Divine Universe does not place more importance on Teacher, Guide, or student. We are all equal beings. Whether it is a teacher in the physical reality or a teacher in the spiritual reality, it is not the same as a guide. One can be a guide in the physical reality or one can have a guide in the spiritual reality.

A Guide is like having an expert witness. Think of it as a court room. You need expert advice on a specific piece of evidence. The expert witness gives testimony only relevant to that specific piece of evidence. A Guide is an expert in a particular field that gives you guidance on a specific area of your journey. In the physical reality, I am a Guide for the Waiest Mental Martial Arts. I am not an expert in Karate; although that is part of martial arts. I specialize in Mental Martial Arts only.

In addition, many times animals are called animal guides for the simple reason they have specific messages or medicine for you to breathe in and use on your journey at that moment. Guides can come and go on your journey. Think of a guide that travels with you when you are exploring the wild or on a safari. They are with you for that journey and then you part ways to go on new adventures.

A Teacher is more personal. They can be spiritual teachers that are not in this reality. However, with a teacher we, as human beings, develop a personal relationship with. They may be a teacher of life, a teacher of a specific aspect of life, or they could be a teacher of what not to do. They come in many forms. A teacher will always show you choices, never make choices for you. A teacher will always reveal aspects of self that we might not wish to see.

Although the student may have developed a personal relationship with a teacher, a teacher will be able to act as a sacred witness and share clarity. They will answer questions, but you must ask the question first. That is really the first action of free will. You must make the choice to ask. Teachers will assist learning but not learn lessons for you. A teacher can help see the reaction to actions and reveal where needs to be healed.

Teachers are people who have a great impact on children’s lives. Because of this, teachers are held to very high standards in order to keep their jobs. – And keeping a clean record is a part of this. A DUI is something that can ruin a teacher’s clean record and the penalties of a DUI as a teacher can be more than just a legal nightmare riddled with fines, community service, counseling and DUI school.

The Potential for Job Loss

In some cases a teacher who gets a DUI can lose their job immediately. However, in other situations teachers will be able to continue working, but their contract may not be renewed at the end of its term. Ultimately the decision depends on the school, the circumstances of the DUI and the state. If the DUI is a misdemeanor then an employer may be a little more lenient. However, if the DUI conviction is a felony, then of course the risk of a teacher losing their job is much higher.

Job Suspension

Some school districts will choose an alternative form of punishment for a teacher who is convicted of a DUI, such as a suspension without pay or requiring the teacher to take a year off. The amount of time the suspension lasts will be up to the school and may include other requirements, such as completing an alcohol rehabilitation program. Either way, these options will still mean a loss of wages for the teacher. Which financially speaking is just one more impact as a result of a DUI conviction.

Loss of Teaching License or Certification

Depending on the state where a teacher is arrested and convicted of drunk driving, he or she may automatically lose their teaching license or certification. Unfortunately if this happens, it will leave a teacher with the responsibility of having to find a completely new career, as they likely won’t be able to find employment working in education. This can obviously be a major blow for anyone in the teaching profession.

Being a teacher is a tough job. It’s a career that most people choose because they thoroughly enjoy helping people and having an impact on young people. This is why every teacher should remember the severe punishment for a DUI conviction in the education field. Heck, if you drink, just call a cab. It’s a lot cheaper and could save your life and your career.

While there are no set regulations on what level of training is necessary to teach yoga, choosing to pursue teacher certification, demonstrates a commitment to yoga. CYT certification reveals that a yoga instructor has pursued a certain level of education in yoga techniques.

There are many different programs offering certification to yoga instructors, and it is up to individual organizations to decide what the appropriate professional requirements are. Globally, there is very little regulation of yoga. There are some registries, in different countries, which work to set standards for yoga teachers and the public.

It is important to understand the difference between being certified and being registered as a yoga instructor. You may teach yoga as either a CYT or an RYT. The difference comes from being registered with the Yoga Alliance after a certain level of training has been completed, according to their requirements.

The Yoga Alliance publishes their requirements for the RYT on their website. As of this writing, they are the only recognized association in the United States that registers yoga instructors. The main difference between these two acronyms comes from the RYT designation, which is a registered trademark by the Yoga Alliance.

To become a CYT, or certified yoga teacher, one goes through an educational program with a yoga teacher training school. Certification is evidence to students that you have pursued an active education in your yoga practice. Certification, as a yoga teacher, allows you to teach yoga classes and start your own practice.

The principal elements of yoga: asana, breath, meditation, mantra, and more, are focused on, in certification programs. Additionally, learning to modify poses for beginners, knowing the fundamentals of posture and alignment, how to explain a pose verbally, and correct common mistakes, is crucial to becoming a certified yoga teacher.

Many training programs set their standards the same as the Yoga Alliance, so that when the certification is completed, graduates move forward and can become registered. Other schools are extensive in their training and offer certified graduates the opportunity to gain higher credentials, in other ways, to reach their training goals. They may choose to register after further teaching.

A minimum of 200 contact (face-to-face training) hours is required by the Yoga Alliance to be considered a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). The framework of these training hours is broken down into five categories of techniques, training and practice, anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy and ethics, teaching methodology, and practicum. The aim of this program is to have a deep understanding of yoga, as well as a comprehensive ability in teaching others.

Holding CYT, or RYT, status is an indication that you are committed to Continuing Education (CE) hours to maintain the status. Continuing your education, as you teach, is the best way to grow, while adding expertise as a yoga practitioner and a teacher. Possessing a Certified, or Registered Yoga Teacher certification, will provide comfort about competency to students seeking you out.

Consider your training to become a yoga instructor as part of a lifelong learning experience, yet one that has steps and levels to attain. Much like any other profession that requires a progression of degrees, the practice of yoga instruction begins with becoming a Certified Yoga Teacher.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

If you are just about to head for your yoga instructor training and thinking that you will certainly return as a skilled and proficient yoga teacher. You may be wrong!

As just by simply getting enrolled in renowned educational institutions of the world not necessarily will turn you into a successful person, in the same way, completing your 200- hour yoga teacher training course from a renowned yoga school will not turn into a successful yoga instructor.

For a successful yoga teacher training, rather than just being totally dependent and reliant on your mentors, One needs to be completely dedicated, committed and put their efforts as well.

Here are 5 tips you need to follow to make your 200-hour yoga instructor training successful:

1. Proper Time Management: Because of the comprehensive curriculum, a yoga teacher training has a very compact and heavy schedule. To get a humongous amount of knowledge and become a qualified teacher, it is essential to fit in the allotted amount of time. It’s a daunting task to make harmony between your yoga classes, lectures, practice, and rest. By managing your time properly and planning your day well, you can avoid overwhelming yourself from the crammed schedule of the training.

2. Stay hydrated and moisturized: During your intense yoga sessions, it is imperative to keep your body hydrated and moisturized as you sweat a lot more than usual days. Always carry a water bottle along with you. On sweating, we lose our electrolytes. Simple water can’t replenish all of them. So, it is advisable to add a pinch of salt and a bit of lime juice in your water as that would replenish your body with minerals.

3. Pay attention to your body: Despite the fact that the main motive of a yoga teacher training program is becoming well-versed with yoga postures. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to perform the correct posture in the first attempt only. Listen to your body, know its limitations and give it as much time as it needs. Gradually your body will extend its limitations automatically without getting hurt or injured.

4. Practice as much as you can: Yoga teacher training is all about transforming you into a yogic expert who can perform all yoga posture with ease. To make this happen, it’s very important to practice all the yoga postures being taught to you as much you can because we all know that be it maths or yoga, practice makes you perfect.

5. Enjoy your training: In order to make your yoga training more effective and successful, one of the most important things is that you enjoy every single moment of your training. If you would take it just as any other ordinary, intensive course, you would never be able to achieve the desired outcomes. Enjoy risks, your mistakes, in-depth learning, core practices, your connection with your teacher and other peers, your food, your accommodation, enjoy each and every provision being facilitated to you. Practice like nobody’s watching, eat like you have been provided with the most delectable meals, live like you are in a palace and then see how this time become one of the best and memorable time of your life.

So, keep these little things in mind and make the most out of your yoga instructor training.

Ten Ideas You Can Try Right Away

“Discipline is not the Enemy of Enthusiasm!”

– Morgan Freeman as Joe Clark

When it comes to Discipline in the schools, there are many well-publicized and well-marketed “systems”. People sometimes get carried away with systems, or programs, structures, textbooks, etc., arguing passionately, for example, that block scheduling is better than traditional scheduling, or integrated math is better than traditional math, or whole language is better than phonics, or this discipline system is better than that discipline system. Similarly, real estate agents will include the name of various school districts in their advertisement for a particular home based on how beautiful the district’s buildings are.

The focus, wrongly, is almost always placed on things, and not people. The truth of the matter is, and I’ll wait while you etch it in stone, my system will do better than your system if my people believe in our system and are passionately committed to its success. So when you hear the arguments, ad nauseum, for this system over that system in the schools, know that it is not the “thing” that caused the success, but the caring and passionate people working within the system.

The rules of golf, my friends, state that you are permitted to have 14 clubs in your bag. In the “golf course” of life in the schools, do you remember the teacher who only had a “driver” in his or her bag?

As we approach the topic of School Discipline, we must begin with the a priori acknowledgement that the American Juvenile Justice System is built on a rehabilitative model. This starts with the understanding that kids- you were a kid too, remember- are not perfect, that they will make mistakes, and that it is our duty as grownups to help them acquire the social skills needed to function as a productive individuals in society. If the Juvenile Justice system is set up this way, then how much more so must the school disciplinary approach be one that attempts to assist young people so that they improve their inappropriate behavior and become productive individuals? Naturally, this means that kids are supposed to get second and third chances, and some attempts at modifying behavior might take several years.

If the people who work in the schools were able to actually “fly the plane” in all respects, there would be no “Zero Tolerance” policies, either, and you would not read about kindergarten kids getting expelled for having a nail file, or because they gave a member of the opposite sex a hug. These coward politicians love to show how tough they are by passing legislation to expel kindergarten kids for hugging somebody or having a pocket knife. Media people, please listen: No real educator would ever come up with a policy like that- even criminals get three strikes- the one strike baseball game was concocted by politicians trying to get votes, not the educators you criticize when this tragedy occurs!

In the Broadway Show Bye Bye Birdie, Paul Lynde, bemoaning the behavior of teenagers “today” (circa 1960) sings in one of the songs this phrase- posed as a question… “Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way…what’s the matter with kids today, etc.?” A school I attended as a child had this quote on the wall by John D. Rockefeller… “What I am to be, I am now becoming.” So, everyone listen carefully… The kids you have right now or are going to have when you are out there teaching have not, unlike you, attained to perfection yet!!! However, perhaps through your caring efforts, patience, and rehabilitative strategies, they might get a few steps closer to the target- but they are not there just yet. So you will have discipline problems.

There are still teachers around who make kids stand in the corner and hold a dictionary in their outstretched arms or have someone write the dictionary, or “I must not talk in class” 500 times. We have all heard the horror stories of actions taken by teachers that do nothing but guarantee that the student will continue to do the wrong thing- often with greater enthusiasm. Don’t forget the line from Bye Bye Birdie…they are not perfect yet like you! Remember also that we are not selling a system in this book. You can buy books and take courses. Our purpose in this chapter is to give you a variety of tools- more like 14 clubs for your disciplinary “golf bag” if you will. These are strategies that have a high degree of success and can effect quick change.

PROACTIVE vs. REACTIVE

1. Start With a Positive…

Very few kids are discipline problems the first day of school or the first week of school. You probably already have an idea about the reputation of most of your students because the grapevine has informed you. The kids that have the potential to be problems have parents who usually are also aware that their child is a problem because that same child is a problem at home. So when these parents come to school angry at you the teacher, it’s really a case of misplaced aggression because it is their kid who is driving them over the edge. These same parents have literally cried on the telephone to me when they received good news about their child from the people at school- because it never happened before this. What’s the message for you? While it’s still early in the year- before the problems have manifested themselves, look for something positive that these potential problem individuals are doing and contact the parents to tell them the good thing that their child was doing.

Later, you will need the help of these parents to help change their child’s behavior and they will remember this phone call and view you as a nice person- a fair person- maybe the first person in the school district who has ever said something nice about their child. When you call later, you begin by saying… “Hi Mrs. Smith. This is Mr. Jones from the school. You probably remember that we talked when I called you about the nice thing your daughter was doing in my class.” Mom will say that yes, she remembers you. You then say, “I need your help with something.” Then you explain the discipline problem that her daughter is involved with and ask her if she could get involved at home and perhaps, working together as a team, you and Mom can help the child to improve this problem she is now having. Most of the time, the parents will go out of their way to help you. They will also remind the child that you actually said something nice about them and we want to keep this nice teacher on our side- he’s a friend. This potential problem child may start acting better anyway because he realizes that you also make good comments, not just negative ones like everyone else. This is an example of a teacher being PROACTIVE.

2. The Unknown Time-Out

Although this strategy works best with younger students, used sparingly, it will also be equally effective with high school students. Make a plan with one of the secretaries, the Athletic Director, the Principal in a smaller school, or some other person- perhaps the Librarian, the Nurse, Custodian, etc. You can arrange multiple destinations for the Unknown Time-Out maneuver. When you have one or more particularly difficult students or ones that start well but get mixed up in any of the commotion that occurs in class, you call one of the students up to you desk, hand him a colored envelope that has something in it with the name of the person the envelope is going to on it. You tell the student to take this envelope to the person and wait for a response and then bring the response back.

When the recipient of the envelope sees that particular student or that colored envelope, he or she knows what is going on and tells the student to sit in the waiting area while they get the answer ready. Now they take 10 minutes to prepare the response, give it to the student and tell the student to take it back to you. This student just got a “Time-Out” lasting perhaps 15 minutes without knowing it. This Proactive strategy kept the student from being yelled at again for what would have been his inevitable misbehavior, he has done something that seemed to be responsible, and so you the teacher comment on his reliability and thank him. The anticipated daily problem never occurred in the first place. In this process, the envelope, not the student, can be the indicator, so more than one teacher and additional students can be involved in this process. It is unlikely that the students- even high school students, will ever catch on to this strategy.

3. Inviting the Principal to Provide the Positive

If you had the pleasure to attend a Catholic Elementary School in the mid 50’s, you may remember this- ruefully, I do. The report cards were distributed every 6 weeks, so every 6 weeks, the priest would come into class on a Friday to be involved in the process of handing out the report cards to 65 or so students in the class. As the Priest gave out the report cards, he always added a moment or two of editorializing. To this day, I have bad dreams about him saying… “Daniel. Hmmm. Let’s see…My goodness, I know your Mother…The Poor Woman will be broken-hearted when she sees this awful report card.” Of course, everyone is sitting all prim and proper with their hands folded, but your buddies are looking at you and silently making faces and laughing all the while. All of this had quite the dramatic effect.

What’s the message for you? DON’T INVITE ANYONE IN FOR A NEGATIVE!!! But, invite the principal in and when he is there, publicly acknowledge the student by saying something like… “By the way Dr. Stevens(The Principal) Billy here has been one of my most improved students this report period- he is doing some very nice work!” – Or, “Billy, why don’t you show Dr. Stevens your excellent Social Studies project?” Billy has been doing some excellent work lately Dr. Stevens! The principal knows that this is his cue to congratulate the child and talk more about how nice it is to see students behaving this way, etc. This is another very proactive way to reinforce any positive behavior being shown by a student who does not show it that often.

4. The Sandwich Technique

The Sandwich Technique comes to us from the world of sports psychology and has been an effective tool for modifying behavior and encouraging people for over 30 years. It has application to almost every area of human endeavor- in fact, you can even use it with your spouse. It begins by getting a person’s attention by saying something positive. We say this because, for the most part, whether you are a spouse, an athlete, or a misbehaving child, your ears tend to close when you sense that a negative comment is coming your way- we all tend to tune this stuff out. So we get people’s attention by saying something positive first- the ears perk up. The positive is followed by what we really wanted to say- the criticism or negative and any disciplinary action that might be occurring. It is followed by a final upbeat and positive comment. Thus the negative is the Peanut Butter and Jelly, and the positive in front and at the end are the two pieces of white bread.

We’ll leave it to you how best to apply it in other walks of life, but consider how it can be used in the school setting by looking at the following hypothetical:

Johnny misbehaved in you class again today. He’s actually an intelligent individual who simply is not working to the best of his ability. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but for the most part, is usually at the center of any commotion that goes on in class- he’s been turning in some sloppy work lately as well. Write a script of what you would say to Johnny making sure to apply the Sandwich Technique.

It might go like this: Johnny, you know that I like you- you and I have developed a pretty good friendship over the last couple of months haven’t we? That’s why I am surprised that it is you I have to talk to so much. I have looked at your test scores and I have seen some of your work and it is excellent- you have the ability to be one of my brightest students. Here’s the problem, though…this is the fourth time in a row that you have turned in such sloppy work. So I am going to just keep giving it back to you till you do it correctly, and I don’t care if it takes you a month to do it correctly. You will have to come in after school to redo the work, Also, if you do not change the quality of your work, then I am going to have Mom and Dad come in, and you know what your father said he would do if I call him about you, don’t you? What do you think would be a good way to fix this problem? (Avoiding the Yes-No question)All right. Let’s get back to work, but I want you to know, I think you are a sharp kid, and I was just talking about you in a good way to Dr, Stevens. So let’s start doing the work I know you are capable of. Etc.”

5. Divide and Conquer

In this situation, two students are a constant disruption in class. Take one of the students and treat him in a way that is a little less strident than the other. This can be done by rewarding one of the students for doing something right and making it seem as though he is not the real trouble maker in all of these class problems- it’s the other guy. The second person will not stay too friendly with the first person, and the first person will begin to distance himself from the second person. You say to the first student, “You know Billy, I look at you as one of my better students and I don’t think of you as a troublemaker like some students seem to be in this class. What do you think you could do to improve this problem? (Again, not a yes-no)Following the private discussion, you move Billy making sure to explain to him that you want to get him away from the problems so he can do good work and not be bothered all the time. The partners in crime will not be so friendly with each other after you take this action.

6. The Phone Call From Class

Signal for the misbehaving child to join you in the hallway. Tell the child that you have your cell phone “right here in your hand”, and if you ever see this kind of behavior again, you are going to call his or her Mom at her place of work right here from class and the child is going to have to explain to her Mom the reason why the call is being made. The teacher then asks the student how happy he thinks his Mom is going to be to receive such a phone call from school when she is working? When he replies, “Not very happy”, say, “Right, not very happy, so I expect to see some very quick improvement in your behavior- got that Billy? This is one time where a yes answer is all that is needed. The next day, or for the next few weeks or so, if Billy is acting out, the teacher merely holds the phone up and looks at it and then looks back to Billy. Billy will understand completely. Additionally, can you imagine the effect this will have on the other students, notably potential problem individuals when they find out that someone had to actually call his or her mother from class!

7. The Letter in the Drawer

Let’s say that a child uses foul language in you class. First you tell him that this kind of language is not appropriate for class and that you and he are going to have to talk about this after class. Quietly, without any overreaction and typically after class, although there might be occasion to use this technique within earshot of classmates, you tell the student the following: You are really surprised that a person like him would be speaking like that. You then tell him to write down what he said on a piece of paper. Make sure all of the words and details are included in the writing. Then, with a flourish, you place the writing in a business envelope and put a stamp on it and tell the student that normally, this would go directly into the mail with a phone call to let Mom know it is coming. Also, you dramatically write out a disciplinary referral.

Then you might tell the student that you are going to give him a detention for his behavior, but since you the teacher are such a nice person, you are going to keep this letter and the referral in your desk for mow. If this behavior ever occurs again though, both of these items are being sent along with a second mailing for the additional offense. Then you tell the student that this will stay in your desk till the end of the marking period at which time you will dispose of it if he, the child, continues to behave properly. Like the technique involving the cell phone, if the child is starting to misbehave a few days letter, you can point to the letter or the referral as a silent reminder. The child will get the point and probably appreciate your kindness.

8. Invite Mom to come in

This is a great technique for improving everyone’s behavior because one visit to your class by someone’s Mom who sits right next to her normally misbehaving child for one or more periods and everyone will behave because they will fear that they might be next. Kids would rather have root canal than have Mom come in to sit next to them for an entire period or several periods. The process works like this: You make an effort ahead of time to establish a good working relationship with the Moms of some of your most significant problem individuals. You call Mom and invite her in because Junior is misbehaving. Mom comes to class and sits right next to her child and can remain for one or more days. Nobody wants to endure this humiliation. Do it just once and many of your discipline troubles will be over. The next day after the visitor leaves, the teacher can say… “Well, you saw a parent in here to visit because there were some problems I wanted her to see…who’s next?” Don’t expect any hands!!!

9. Involve the Guidance Counselor

Without fail, you will find guidance counselors more than happy to assist you in dealing with a student experiencing problems because it gives them the opportunity to do what they went to school to learn how to do. This is important to guidance counselors because, in the present national testing zeitgeist, they have all too often become the de facto assessment coordinators for their school. They have less time to actually counsel kids because much of their time is being spent checking bubble sheets, counting booklets, and filling out forms for the state as well as sifting through mountains of paperwork related to special education, for example. As a teacher who sees the same students on a daily basis, you know which students have the most pressing issues related to discipline and which ones would profit most from a visit with the counselor as opposed to a visit with the Principal or Dean of Students. Not every matter needs to go to the principal.

On the other hand, you are out there amidst the masses and you hear various stories about kids regarding things that are happening in their lives. Sometimes you have established enough of a rapport with a student that he or she shares it with you himself. Once a student was talking to me about where she was going for the holidays and matter of factly told me that she and her two sisters are from 3 different fathers and they would be going to see all of the fathers as well as the related grandparents, and even though one of the fathers used to “beat my Mom up”, things are pretty good around the holidays as long as he doesn’t get too drunk, etc. The child acted as though this was completely normal, and although she was a discipline problem now and then, after hearing this story, I looked at her much differently. I realized quickly that this was something that should involve the guidance counselor.

Remember also that kids spend more time around the people in school than the people at home, so you will often know immediately when a kid just does not look right which might be an indicator of sexual abuse, drug use, eating disorders, pregnancy, self abuse, etc. Maybe the grapevine knows about a death, a loss of a job, marital unrest, etc. You are the first line of defense in this process. The counselor has all of the right contacts and phone numbers of professionals that she can bring into the process. When a kid who was never a discipline problem starts to become one, or his work starts to take a negative turn, pay attention and don’t just turn directly to the discipline code page in the student handbook. You and the counselor, working together, can be a great force for changing a kid’s life- and the matter never has to get to the discipline office. Don’t be upset, however, if after the counselor gets involved, he or she is unable to share all information about the child with you. There are some issues with Confidentiality involved, so maybe all you will hear is that “The matter is being taken care of.” That might be all you are able to find out.

10. Careful About Examples

Do you remember the movie Home Alone? In it, Mc Cauley Culkin, the child who was left behind is talking to the old man who used to scare him. They are sitting in a church and the kid tells the old man that a certain third grader got “nailed” when kids found out that he wore dinosaur pajamas. If you are not careful about certain examples you speak about to misbehaving kids, you might get somebody “nailed”. To clarify, if you had brothers or sisters, do you ever remember hearing this from either of your parents, “Why can’t you be more like your brother who always makes the honor roll- he always does all of his work so neatly!

If, as a teacher, you make an example like this by saying, “Why can’t you people in the back turn in neat work like Jimmy here- he is such a wonderful student?”… you may be insuring that poor Jimmy is going to get “Nailed”. The world of kids is difficult enough, don’t put someone in peril because he or she is a model student. You can still have pageantry involving awards, but never expressed in a comparative way as in, “Jimmy got this, but look at you Billy, you only got this!” Your parents did that. It did not necessarily endear you to your brother or sister when the comparison was made.

Every teacher has had this happen about 1,000 times. You send the children to complete a task and 10 seconds later someone is “done”. I have a few ideas on curbing the “I’m done” that I’d like to share with you.

During Writer’s Workshop, I set a timer to let the children know when they can be “done”. We discuss what you can do on a story that is “done” and what other details could be added. I also talk about sharing their story with a friend to see if they have ideas on what they could add. At the beginning of the year, they are writing for short periods of time, maybe 5 minutes. By the end of the year I set the timer for up to 30 minutes depending on the skills that we are working on. I also let the children know that they are not “done” until the bell rings.

At Centers I prevent the “I’m done” by placing a book basket in most of the centers, so when they are “done” with the assigned activity they can read books. This has helped me a lot this year – I can keep my guided reading groups longer because the other students are working longer independently.

Throughout the day I do not typically do worksheets, but on the occasion that I do and someone is “done”, I have them go to the reading center and read independently to our reading buddies until the other children are finished.

Another strategy I use is “Choice Time”. When children are “done” they can choose an activity off of the “Choice Time” list. Activities I have used in the past were: story writing, reading books, puzzles, computers, and listening center. That way the children have an activity to do once they are “done”.

The key to curbing the “I’m done” is to hold your children to high expectations and make it clear as to what they do when they are finished. I have seen in many classrooms that the teachers are upset when a child is “done”. This is because they do not have a plan or procedure in place before hand. Come up with what you are comfortable with, model and implement it and then the “Teacher, I’m done” will seem more like “Teacher, I’m ready for a new challenge!”

I don't remember the name of my sixth grade teacher but it was my favorite year in school. As a new student, this could have been scary but I looked forward to every day in our classroom.

This teacher was so creative, there were no disciplinary struggles that I remember. I don't know if teachers today are permitted to bring in outside furniture but am glad we got to enjoy it back then (1976).

At that time, lockers were in the classroom which prevented hallway disruptions. Classrooms also had their own bathrooms which also prevented unsupervised trouble.

We did not use desks. We we were set up by table groups. Each group chose a name. The tables were made from large round wooden cable spools just the right size. Each one had carpet lining around the spool and bottom. Decorative contact paper lined the top surface.

Each group was given their own bulletin board to decorate. We had weekly contests. At Christmas, my table won the citizenship award and our prize was a huge candy cane log. We were given hammers to break it up so we could share it.

I don't remember any specific lessons but back then we didn't use iPads or computers. Teachers did the teaching. Today when I substitute teach, the lesson plan usually consists of a note stating the students will log into their iPad and already know what to do. They do it for eight hours. There is no interaction. I assume the day is different when the real teacher is present but the iPad seems to be the go to substitute lesson plan.

I was very shy as a child but once I arrived at my new school, I began to shine. I started winning singing roles, won poster and talent contests, citizenship awards and developing friendships. I volunteered in the special education classroom.

When I read stories of low-income inner-city school challenges, I think that's where I came from before there was a name for it. I know teachers have to use classroom management but don't think the answer has to be total silence with perfect students.

With creativity, engagement and student empowerment to be included in creating their environment, the classroom can be a daily adventure to look forward to. Imagine what school could look like if students were excited about it? I guess I better get that certification if I want to put that creativity to use.

Here’s a fact of life: You can send out all the resumes, contact all the school districts in your state, and write all the cover letters you want – but you can’t get a teaching position unless you interview. Without the interview there can be no teaching. Do well on the interview and the job is yours! Do poorly on the interview and, no matter how impressive your credentials, no matter how high your G.P.A., no matter how stellar your letters of recommendation – the simple truth is: you’ll never get the position!

Every teacher interview is founded on eight basic themes – each one intended to uncover and showcase your skills, abilities, and attitudes. Each one is designed to separate the mediocre from the good and the good from the great. Everything you do, everything you say, and everything that occurs in a teacher interview is tied to these themes – separately and collectively. Your success in any interview will be based in large measure on how you fulfill each (and all) of the following:

1. A Passion for Teaching

When I interviewed elementary and secondary principals and asked them to identify the single-most important characteristic in a quality teacher candidate, guess what they all told me? You guessed it – “A Passion for Teaching!”

What activities, projects, or assignments have you engaged in that demonstrate your passion for teaching? What have you done that shows you are willing to go the extra mile for students? What have you done that demonstrates your sincere commitment to teaching? Where have you gone above and beyond? Did you do something in student teaching beyond the ordinary? Did you do something during your pre-service years that went above and beyond your college’s requirements for teacher certification? What truly excites you about teaching?

2. Skills and Experience

One of the first things you need to do in any interview is to establish your ability to do the job. In a nutshell – Can you teach and can you teach effectively? In most interviews these will be the initial set of questions you’ll be asked. Many of these questions will be factual in nature and will provide you with an opportunity to highlight your skills and talents and how they will be used in a classroom setting. This is when you must offer specific information rather than generalities. It is also the time to be completely objective about yourself – with confidence and assurance.

What will you bring to the teaching profession? Why should we hire you? Why do you want to be a teacher? What did you learn in student teaching? Please don’t make the mistake of assuming that these are easy questions – they are not! They are often asked near the beginning of the interview because they help “set up” the rest of the interview. Positive answers to these questions help ensure the success of the entire interview.

3. Likeability

Here’s a basic truth you may find difficult to believe. The most important factor every interviewer is looking for in a candidate is NOT the breadth and depth of her or his skills, education, or talents. It’s likeability! In a recent review of more than 100,000 face-to-face interviews there was not one candidate hired who wasn’t, at first, liked by the people doing the interviewing and hiring. You might think that one’s personality would be of less value than their teaching prowess, but such is not the case. Simply put, people get hired because they are liked.

4. Student Orientation

Candidates without a strong student orientation are candidates that don’t make it any further in the hiring process. Without that orientation, without that commitment to student life, and without that desire to work hand-in-hand with youngsters nobody ever gets hired as a classroom teacher.

How do you motivate an unmotivated student? How do you assess students? Tell us about your toughest student – how did you handle him/her? How do you address cultural diversity in your classroom? What do you enjoy most about working with kids? What are some challenges you’ve had in working with kids? Besides student teaching, what other work have you done with youngsters? Come to an interview with a strong and sincere student orientation and you may well walk away with a job offer.

5. Professionalism

The field of education is changing rapidly – new technology, new standards, and new curricula – lots of new stuff. Your willingness and eagerness to continue your education is a key factor in your “hireability.” Candidates who assume that just because they have a degree their education is over are those who never succeed in an interview. Any administrator wants to know that you are a constant learner – that you are willing to keep learning through graduate courses, in-service programs, on-line seminars and webinars, membership in professional organizations, books, magazines and journals, and a host of other professional opportunities that signal your eagerness to keep your education moving forward.

6. Management and Discipline

You’ve probably seen classrooms in which students were orderly, work was productive, and a sense of purpose and direction filled the room. You might also have seen classrooms that were chaotic, disruptive, and seemingly out of control. Maybe you were even a student in one or both of those classrooms at some time in your educational career. Principals are vitally interested in how you plan to manage your classroom. Your management skills and discipline policy will be vitally important in the decision to hire you. Know that you will be asked more than one question in this area. Read, research, and review everything you can – your success here will frequently be a major deciding point.

7. Lesson Planning

What are the essential components of an effective lesson? Think of a recent lesson you taught and share the steps that you incorporated to deliver the lesson. Share your process of short and long-term planning for delivering effective instruction. Think of a lesson that was ineffective or did not meet your expectations – what adaptations did you make to address the lesson? How do you infuse technology to enhance your instruction? It’s critical that you provide an interviewer with insight into your lesson planning, lesson delivery, and lesson assessment. Anecdotes and examples must be critical elements of your responses.

8. Flexibility

Can you ‘roll with the punches?” Can you “go with the flow?” Can you “change directions in midstream?” Can you “bend in the wind”? All these questions have to do with perhaps the most significant attribute of any good teacher – flexibility. Interviewers want to know that you can handle a wide variety of classroom situations, a wide range of teaching challenges, and a wide array of changes, modifications, or alterations – all at a moment’s notice. Your willingness to present yourself as someone who can adapt without getting flustered or change without getting upset is a key attribute – an attribute that can often “nail” the interview.

The themes above show up in every teacher interview. Practice them, be prepared for them, and review them on a regular basis. Your preparedness will help you beat the competition and get the teaching position you want!