Teacher’s Corner

• When explaining or enforcing classroom rules watch out for criticism in your words, tone of voice, and facial expression. Children will focus on that, not on the rule or the purpose of the rule. Keep everything “matter of fact,” don’t point out past mess ups or future concerns about more mess ups. Expect the best.
• Make sure your rules match what your students can handle—their age, self-control, and ability to make good choices. Your job is to pay attention to their abilities. In many ways it is like driving a car. It’s something you learn to do, not something you automatically know how to do. You can get tips from other teachers you respect. You must stay alert and pay attention to signs of trouble.
• Discuss what  will happen if the rules not followed. Individual consequences? Whole-class consequences?
• Take questions from the students to test their understanding of the rules. Explain how the rules will help each of them and their fellow students.
• Have the students write their suggestions for changes or additions to the rules or consequences and turn them in to you.  Let them know you will give their ideas consideration and when you will report back on both their suggestions and how the rules are working overall.
• Lastly, stick to the rules! You might as well not have any rules if you aren’t going to insist they be followed. Having no rules or not enforcing them is harmful for children. They deserve to have rules that protect them and teach them. It is worth your time and effort to spend time thinking of reasonable consequences for the breaking of rules. It will help you stick to the rules and your students to learn from the rules.

1. For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:
   • Use the blog for discussion topics
   • Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.
2. For all courses, especially English Language Arts:

• Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:
• Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?
• Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?
• What would be your advice on this topic?
• What was left out of this article?
• If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?

Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?

• Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.
• Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.
• The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.
• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.
• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.