The ABC's High School Teachers Really Need to Know

Spend time thinking about the ideal classroom, knowing that every classroom will look different.  What does the physical space look like?  How are lessons taught in that classroom?  What does assessment and classroom management look like?  Once you begin to understand what "ideal" looks like to you, start working towards it every day.  In all likelihood, you will never achieve "ideal" or "perfection,"  but you will certainly have philosophical and tangible goals to work towards.  Effective teachers know that trying is far more powerful than not trying.  

Will it get easier?  Will you figure it out?  Whether you're beginning your career, changing schools or roles, or approaching decades of experience, we are all looking to hit our stride.  How do we know we're there, and how do we avoid stagnation?  How should we approach the inevitable change in our field?  We will unpack these questions  and more in this week's episode.  

This week's episode is all about "game changers" that have helped me find success in the classroom and in education.  From instructional and assessment strategies to time-management, classroom strategies, and more, these are things that can help you become more effective.  My hope is that you can better identify what has worked well for you, use any of the "game changers" that have impacted my classroom, and make an even bigger difference for those you serve.  

It is absolutely impossible for a teacher to adequately meet all of the mental health and socioemotional health needs of our students - nor should we try.  In a world and society that's  "all about me" and relative ethics, we have to focus on developing a classroom that is all about driving academic content and building relationships.  We can't allow the fires of the world to flood our classrooms.  While they certainly impact our classrooms because learning environments should reflect real life, effective teachers know that we have to focus on why we were hired in the first place. 

Enrichment is far more effective than edutainment.  As students reach high school, they search for more "meaning" in lessons than "fun" alone.  Enrichment is the key to both engaging students and establishing that meaning.  For effective teachers, striving to make every class "fun" is a secondary concern to building lesson plans that allow students to explore and connect with the lesson themselves.  Plus, making every class fun is a daunting task, especially for the teenaged brain.  

Effective and professional teachers document early and often.  They document the good and the bad.  They document how effective lessons are in meeting their goals.  They document patterns in student performance and behavior.  They then use this data to improve student outcomes.  It's not about paranoia or simply documenting for the major disruptions/issues in class (though that's important too).  It's about effectively meeting the needs of those we serve.  

It's the age-old question, "How do I keep my students from talking so much in class?"  This episode will help you answer that question by looking at why students talk in the first place, as well as why your classroom management techniques might be falling short.  In most cases, issues with excess talking in the classroom are signs of larger problems, many of which are related to instructional strategies.  It's pretty tough to build relationships and engagement when students are forbidden from talking.  

This episode presents a powerful list that educators can use to improve their classroom management, particularly when discipline problems occur.  Whether you are new to the classroom or a long-time veteran, we need to realize that effective teachers always reflect on "why" and "how" we respond to discipline issues.  

Effective teachers focus on people, not just lessons or assessments. We learn together, achieve together, struggle together, overcome together, and celebrate together.  The classroom and your lessons should reflect the real world because it is the real world with real people.  Remembering that will improve your teaching, as well as make it more meaningful for you.  

As humans and effective teachers, we will always regret things - certain choices we made, how we taught a lesson, how we reacted to a student, etc.  Not only is that natural, it makes us better educators and people.  Learning from mistakes is at the center of any authentic learning.  To the narcissistic few that say they have "zero regrets," I'll remind them that no one is perfect.  As we learn from the past, it's also important we don't live in the past - or in our regrets.  That's a recipe for unhappiness and ineffectiveness in the education profession AND life.  Let it go.  You deserve it and so do the kids you serve.