I’ve occasionally been asked what one piece of advice I’d give to all teachers. It’s a daunting question. Truth be told, I’d want to mention a dozen or so core areas that work together to create a productive, well-behaved classroom. (In other words, become … Read more
Here at SCM, we’ve talked a lot about the importance of making your praise worthy. That is, praise that is based on true accomplishment. —Which can be defined as achievement, excellence, or effort beyond what is commonly expected. In this way, we support the … Read more
Recently, I got a new group of students for a high school class I was teaching. Then a few days later, I came down with the flu. It was awful. It took me three weeks to shake and I missed more than a week … Read more
If you’re a regular reader of SCM, then you know how I feel about rewarding students in exchange for good (i.e. expected) behavior. A do-this-and-get-that approach to classroom management is damaging to kids. It snuffs out intrinsic motivation and turns the student-teacher relationship into … Read more
You praise. You encourage. You pep-talk, demand, and implore. But nothing seems to change. Trying and failing to motivate unmotivated students is a common frustration among teachers. It’s a frustration with seemingly no real answers beyond the same old, same old. Until today. Because … Read more
Encouraging students is in our DNA. It’s part and parcel to our educational culture. It’s what we do. We teach a lesson and then we encourage. “You can do it.” “Just keep working and you’ll get it.” “I believe in you.” And in the … Read more
There exists an amazing strategy that will dramatically increase student interest, motivation, and comprehension in virtually whatever you’re studying. It’s so remarkable, in fact, that it will pull your students deeper into your topic than any other single strategy. It will cause them to … Read more
Most students are praised too much. They’re praised too often, too public, and too over-the-top. They’re praised for things any reasonable person would conclude are simply not worthy of it. And as the bar of excellence drops lower and lower, it squeezes the work … Read more