We are Hampden Christian School in Baltimore, MD.We seek to develop flourishing children who love God and become strong community builders. We do that through our K-8 program and daycare program.We currently have an opening in our daycare for a floater, someone who could assist teachers, substitute for teachers taking off, and give breaks. The position offers variety and lots of time with children. If you are gifted in the office, we have some work available there too.We would like to fill this position as soon as possible. Please contact Darrell Hershberger (540-292-6827) if you are interested.

I have to wonder at what point in history the raising of hands for permission to speak became such a ubiquitous part of the classroom. It’s really a bit odd when you think of it, yet it is a helpful signal that can serve us well if we use it wisely.

Certainly, the practice of speaking in turn is a vital skill for students to learn. In conversation with some teacher friends, we have wryly concluded that if by some magic students would always speak up when we want them to, and if they would never talk or whisper without permission, the single most frustrating aspect of school teaching would be eliminated. If such magic exists, I have yet to discover it. Instead, I walk the daily delicate balance of trying to maintain order while making my classroom a safe place for students to converse and to share their thoughts.

While the raising of hands can be a useful signal, it is important to remember that raised hands should never control the classroom. First, we should never feel obligated to answer all the hands that are raised. Students should know that raising their hands is not an automatic ticket to get to talk at that particular moment. While I don’t want to shut down the enthusiasm of youngsters eager to share their thoughts, sometimes it is necessary to say, “Ok everyone, put your hands down. For now, you need to listen instead of talk.”

My students use different hand signals if they need a tissue, need to sharpen a pencil, etc., so I don’t need to be afraid of ignoring needs by not answering every raised hand. It still takes good discernment to know when to call or not to call on some of those persistent hand raisers. At times when I have found myself falling into the ditch of answering unnecessary hands that take a lesson off track, I have often recognized that it is because of laziness or lack of preparation on my part.

The flip side of this is that it is also important to call on students who are not raising their hands. In his excellent book, Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov calls this practice “Cold Call.” Out of the forty-nine practical teaching techniques described in his book, Lemov says “Cold Call” is the “single most powerful technique” that fosters high classroom achievement. If students know that they may be called on at any point in a lesson, it will keep them on their toes. The goal of this should never be to put students on the spot or to embarrass them when they weren’t paying attention. Instead, the goal is to drive classroom engagement and to give every student the chance to share their thoughts, even the shy students who are reluctant to raise their hands.

I have found “Cold Call” to be remarkably effective in my own classroom. I tell my students plainly, “I might call on you whether or not you are raising your hand. It’s ok if you’re not sure about the answer. You can give it a try, and if you get it wrong, you can learn from your mistake.” Consider the difference between these two approaches to a very simple question in math class:

1. I ask, “What is the eighth month of the year?” Five hands go up. I call on someone who is raising their hand, and they give the answer.
2. I say, “What is the eighth month of the year? Use our Months of the Year chart to figure it out if you don’t know by memory, and soon I’m going to call on someone to give us the answer.”

In the first approach, maybe half the class is engaging with the question. Using the second approach, suddenly everyone is engaged, because they know that they might be called on to give the answer. “Cold Call” keeps students accountable and encourages everyone to interact with every question.

Managing the raising of hands (or not raising hands) demands constant wisdom and attentiveness for us as teachers, and it is an important part of everyday life in the classroom. It is our responsibility to guide classroom discussions in a way that will maximize engagement and learning for our students.

Your students know if you care, and I think they know if you don't care, and I think they know if you don't care and you try to fake it. Their radars are pretty good with that. So I would encourage you to do everything you can to prepare to care for them and to be a blessing.

All right, types of teachers. You can't pigeonhole everybody. These are a little bit caricatures, but I want you to think about them because you may fit into one of these and you don't think you do. All right, I have, and I ain't going to tell you which ones. So, um, kind of making light of some things that we want to avoid and then some of these that I hope that we can all grow into as we mature.

“Trying to Be Cool”

The "Trying to Be Cool" teacher. It's important to them to be relevant to the student. And this is not a thing for 22-year-olds or 18-year-olds. Oftentimes it's 30, 35, 40, where we start feeling like, “Well I kinda would still like to be kinda cool.”

You're not.

And so we're kind of relevant. Some problems with it, and you know what it is, so you dress like it was cool when you were cool 20 years ago. I'm not trying to teach you how to be cool, but not only are you not, but students are like, "This is really awkward. If you'd just be a man or a lady."

Part of this is oftentimes these kind of teachers have short lived popularity. They need to be very popular for three weeks of school, and then something just clicks, and it's not that attractive to students, really. I've noticed that these kind of teachers can gain classroom management quickly because the students think they're pretty cool, and then after two or three weeks, you're pretty cool, doesn't help them to know when they can or can't talk or when they can or can't do anything. And then it's a nightmare, and they don't favor that teacher anymore.

“Trying to Be Just Like a Student”

So teacher B is "Trying to Be Just Like a Student." This is different than trying to be cool. Remember, even if you're an 18-year-old teacher, the students probably view you more closer to the age of their parents than you realize. They really do.

My band director who I loved in high school, he was about 28 years old. I was 14. My parents were 34, 36 years old, and I was pretty sure they were all the same age. Think about that. I added eight years to the guy's life. They were just all adults.

So I know some of us think, “I'm 28, I'm young.” Students are looking at you thinking, “You're 28, whoa.” Know what I mean?

You're old. And so I just wouldn't worry about it.

It's tempting sometimes even for older adults to try to dress and act like students and do the things that they do. Remember when you were that age, which is such a valuable resource: remember what you did. Oftentimes they're doing things because the other students are doing it. Not really because they even think it's that cool. That's what you do.

And so I think there's some destabilizing effect for them trying to see adults try to be like they are when they're being like they are, just to fit in, and they might just hate it.

So my band director, he was 28, which in my mind, honestly, he was the same age as my parents. He showed up once, there was a musical performance, and we saw him, and it was outside, and he came up, and it was in the mid- eighties, and he had these super long short pants, and that's what people wore, and he said something about it. He said, "Do you like my short pants?" We didn't say that. We would of just said shorts. And I just was thinking, “I can't believe he did that.” And it wasn't immodest or anything. I mean, they were longer than short shorts or whatever, but I mean, he was trying to look young, and I just remember thinking—I loved him, I still do, I love all my teachers—and I just think I thought, “This is just weird. Why is he doing that?” I was really disappointed. It kind of took him down a few levels because he was really trying to be relevant that way.

Anyways, my children—and you don't need to try to guess who I'm talking about. I've taught in a Baptist school, a non-Anabaptist evangelical Baptist school. I've taught in Mennonite schools, I've taught in a Beachy school, I taught in a Charity school, and now I teach in a school where we have everything. We represent about 30 different churches, Mennonite denominations, and about seven or eight different Mennonite denominations within the 30 churches.

So don't try to guess.

So my children said once they had a chapel and a teacher got up and started talking about how young he was and how he was actually closer in age to the students than he was to the rest of the teachers. And he was very relevant with technology, and he said, "I'm just like ya'll. I have Instagram." So we all have Instagram, okay? And Facebook. And he went down the list of things, and my children came home just like "I just can't believe he said that. Why was he trying to show us that he was just like a student?" And honestly, if he was two years older than them, they probably thought he was 22 or 23 until that.

So if you are one of those adults that can be relevant just because you are, then that's one thing, but don't try it. Don't try to be just like a student.

“Trying to Be an Important Authority”

"Trying to Be an Important Authority." This is the person that's like, “I am a professor.” And you can tell when you meet them that they're the professor. They're smart and you're dumb. I mean, just simple things that they say in life are just "I'm smart." It's all with authority. And they tend to view teaching as an opportunity to be in charge of other people and to be important. And they want to appear very wise, but then they're like it's like a sage, like just this wise old person and that's like their thing.

Why would you want to do that?

It's very important that you view them as smart and they use big words to try to impress you. Have you ever known somebody who was truly intelligent, that was really smart? And they didn't use big words and you can just tell it as soon as they open their mouth: this person is really quite brilliant. And they don't try to use words or use fancy words wrong. Makes it worse.

“The Flirt”

The next one tends to be a guy, doesn't have to be is "The Flirt." And I don't want to make light of this one. It's "creepy teacher" and I don't think you realize this, why it's happening. And I put this somewhere else. Anyways.

This very well could be the first time, when a guy teaches, that women have ever paid him any attention in his life. Suddenly you're in charge and you're the teacher and you're speaking and girls are looking at you.

In some ways you can make it humorous. I just don't think guys process it all. And I think it can lead to irreverent, probably at first, for sure, accidental behavior or something like that. We're going to actually talk about this more specifically.

So I just put: don't sit with girls. Don't sit with girls. I don't like to sit with lady teachers. It's just weird and inappropriate anyways. Don't ever be in a closed room. Billy Graham Rule. We'll talk about that in a minute. People are watching you. Even if you feel like you're keeping it professional, when you talk to the same person over and over about school, it's awkward and it's just not right. And it's, I think, pretty hard to shake that image even if you mend your ways.

“The Mature, Secure, Stable Human Being”

"The Mature, Secure, Stable Human Being."

Usually interesting people. It can take a little while of maturing to get to be that way because you do want to work through being cool, being like a student, the important authority guy—if you are a flirt than that.

So at one point in my life I was like cooler than I am now. Don't laugh, okay? I was. All right, I was in my early thirties, and I really thought I knew how to relate to students and young people better than people that were older than me. And I was a music teacher and I dressed a little bit cool. Don't mock me, okay? I'm just saying. And so I noticed that sometimes I had one or two students, like drop my class for this other teacher that was about 45 years old, little man beard, kind of nerdy hair, if you know what geek hair is, and soft spoken. He's very, very intelligent and he taught advanced math and he taught psychology. And I'm just thinking I'm the one that kind of--forgive me. Okay, I don't think like this. It was a long time ago and I just thought, “Why are they going to his class? I'm like cool and I'm more relevant than he is.”

And I thought about that for years and it just makes perfect sense to me. He's a stable guy. He could be most of those students’ dad’s age. He was interesting. He's pretty caring. I remember observing a class of his, it was an advanced math class, and the students were all talking, talking a lot, talking a lot, talking a lot. And he went up in front of class and he went there and he said, "Okay, we're going to start class now, if you can open your book." And it was silent.

That's awesome. To me, that's more than having a class silent when you walk in there the whole time--is if they can talk and if there's enough respect and culture there, that when you start talking, it's done. I've striven for that actually, in our high school.

So just think about that. It's interesting. It's kind of a dad. I think it would be a goal for us men to be at some point in your career, a big brother and work on our way when you're 35 or older, really to be the dad.

And the ladies, the same thing. They're your little sisters. Even if you're in the same youth group and you're their teacher. Big sisters. And then if you're still teaching, ladies, and you’re a career teacher, the mom figure—it's a blessing to be that way.

“The Youth Counselor”

Okay, "I Want to Be Your Best Friend" / "Youth Counselor.” In the 1990s and 2000s, evangelicals really got into this culture of youth pastor and youth pastors were very charismatic and it's still around and I think it's crept into our cultures a little bit. Younger people with young families, a lot of mentoring. Mentoring is good. It just needs to be structured and mentors need to have mentors.

And so they were adults that were pretty cool. Spending an inordinate amount of time probably with young people and I've seen that sometimes even in our schools.

And so what that can cause is that the teacher that does this and the students that he's involved with kind of view themselves as cooler than everybody else and cool becomes a big deal. And it's hard to relate finally to that teacher's authority because the relationship was built on that and then really hard to relate to other teachers who are just normal trying to do their thing.

My students are my friends. I don't tell them that until they graduate. My children are my best friends in the whole world. Even when they're like five. Some people say they're not their friends until they graduate. I just don't tell them that. But they are. We just love them. And I love my children so much. My biological children, I love them and they're my friends. So, yeah, our students are our friends.

But the best friend thing, that's just not appropriate, I think, when you're their teacher.

“I Make Fun of Mennonites”

The "I Make Fun of Mennonites Guy." You've probably heard of teachers that are just getting a little frustrated with our culture so they make fun of Mennonites to the students.

So I'll bring up the second point first. You probably shouldn't be teaching Mennonites because you don't like Mennonites. Right?

That's funny. Why is he here?

Second one is, I mean, there's a teacher and he just kept giving digs at the plain suit, digging at the plain suit, digging at our culture. And the crazy thing is, some of the youth that were in a part of—well I won’t tell you, don’t want to give anything away—but anyways but I knew some of these youth, even some of the cooler youth that might not have been huge plain suit fans, they're kind of offended that their teacher was just giving those digs to plain suits.

We get so whacked out comparing ourselves with the world. If you're a worldly person, it's like cool to wear a plain suit. It like always has been. That's like what famous people do. But we look at it and think, well, we have to. And so the whole thing, just wear the thing. Anyways.

So we just shouldn't give digs at our own culture like that. That's a terrible thing. I understand other digs, if you're in a school and you don't like the curriculum for whatever reason, just don't do digs to our culture. We're here to build up a culture that I think is a beautiful thing that we have.

And the last one—the outline I gave you is like five days old. Teachers edit these things until like an hour ago. My notes have more than yours.

“The Cheerleader”

"The Cheerleader." Just be a cheerleader. Can you think of a blessing? I realized that we don't want to make our students all proud by blessing them. I'd rather bless my students. I just love them. Especially since I get to teach K-12 every day. Especially those little ones. Just bless them.

Our students at Shalom wear uniform. So all I've got to bless them on is the girls, how they braid their little hair, the guys and their little belts, and their shoes, and their watches, and the girls and their shoes. And I love shoes anyways.

Be a cheerleader. Tell them how much you like what they do. It's okay. I really don't think that's going to make them egomaniacs. I just think it's nice.

Isn't it nice when somebody says something nice to you? It feels good to me. If I get a bad note from a child and I can't tell what the writing is and I don't know what the picture is that they drew, my day is made. That's it. It is made. I got something—a piece of candy on there, a poorly colored picture of a horse. My day is made. It's so nice.

Think Barnabas the encourager. Can we be that way to every single student you have? Every single day? Even the cool, tall basketball guys. It feels good.

I had one guy I told him—I love shoes. I like Vans. Childhood thing. Anyways, and Converse. And I just said, "You got Vans on. That looks nice." And he told me years later, he said, "I felt like I was on cloud nine because you said that to me."

And I really meant it. I really do like Vans. I don't like Dude shoes as much, so I won't say that, but they're interesting. But you know.

I had no idea it impacted this guy. He said, "I felt so good." That was the first day of school. "You found me and you met me and you said you like that so."

How can I develop and grow in compassion? I remind myself that God loves each child – God loves everyone, and I need to see people through His eyes, and love with His love. Each person is valuable. I should pray for my students by name. I will pray for myself to be compassionate. I will make an effort to find positive things in each student and let them know what I see. I can purposefully reach out to the students, talk to them, and take an interest in their lives. I should think about their lives. Maybe there is a new baby at home, or a special needs sibling, and my student isn’t getting as much attention at home just now. I will try to give them extra attention at school. I will empathize with the children. Think of all the kinds of people that Jesus talked with, loved, healed, worked with, and had compassion on! I want to follow His example.

When a student rolls his tongue in his mouth, I think he is feeling nervous and unsure of himself. Maybe I have been pushing him too much, and not showing the compassion that I should. I need to remember to gently remind him what he needs to do and guide him in following directions. I will listen to his stories that don’t fit in with anything and give him importance.

I think Ephesians 4:32 embodies this desire to be “full of compassion.” “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (ESV)

*Song: “O to be Like Thee” by Thomas Chisholm

This is the story of how two plastic cups, a coat hanger, and some string revolutionized the way I teach algebra.

It started one year when I was teaching my sixth graders some introductory algebra—basically a lot of solving for unknown variables in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations by using the inverse operation.

My students were struggling with the concept, and I couldn’t figure out why. One breakthrough came when I realized they had a fundamental misunderstanding of an equal sign.

It seems so basic, but in the lower elementary years, students are subconsciously trained to think that an equal sign means you need to do something. They are given pages of math facts like “9+1=__” and told to solve them. Most of their experiences with equal signs require them to write the answer following the sign, hence the mindset that seeing an equal sign calls for an action from them.

Really, though, that is not what an equal sign means. Rather than being an instruction for action, it is a description of reality. It is simply saying that what is on one side of the sign is the same as what is on the other side of the sign. 9+1=10 because 9+1 is exactly the same thing as 10; it’s just a different way of saying it. Helping students understand this is essential to their ability to understand algebra.

A helpful analogy is to compare the equal sign to a balance scale—what is on one side of the sign must be exactly the same amount as what is on the other side; otherwise it isn’t truly equal. After spending some time looking at balance scales on Amazon and deciding they were out of my price range, I crafted a simple DIY version out of two cups suspended from either end of a coat hanger.

It’s not perfect, and it’s certainly not completely precise, but it gets the idea across.

I used marbles as my “numbers,” but you could use any objects as long as they are all the same size, shape, and weight as each other.

I started at a basic level with my students, as I wanted to break down their root misconceptions about the equal sign. We spent some time physically placing marbles in the cups and having them answer questions like the following:

If I have 4 marbles in the first cup, then I add 5 more, how many marbles would I have to put in the second cup to make the scale balance? What is the mathematical equation for what we just did? (4+5=9)

If I have 7 marbles in the first cup, then I take away 2 of them, how many marbles would I put in the second cup to make the scale balance? What is the mathematical equation for what we just did? (7-2=5)

If I put 3 groups of 5 marbles into the first cup, how many marbles would I put in the second cup to make the scale balance? What is the mathematical equation for what we just did? (3x5=15)

I spent as long as I needed to on this step until I was sure my students understood the concept. Once they did, I knew they were much better prepared to understand conceptually what an algebraic equation is saying.

The beauty of the balance scale goes a step further, however.

I prepared my scale before class with something like this:

In the left cup, I had five loose marbles and four concealed to be “x.” I simply wrapped four marbles in paper towel and used a marker to draw an x on the package. You could hide the unknown amount however you wish—I like paper towel because it’s fairly lightweight and shouldn’t throw off the equilibrium of the scale too much. (Although since the coat hanger scale is questionable in its exact accuracy anyways, you can get away with more than you could with a real, precise balance scale).

I then filled the right cup with 9 marbles so that the scale was balanced.

When class time came, I showed the students what was in each cup. We worked together to write an equation to illustrate what was on each side of the scale. (x+5=9)

Then, I said, “Now, you might already know what x is in this equation just because of your knowledge of math facts. Pretend that you don’t. Your task is to come up with a way to know how many marbles are in the x package without using math facts and without opening the package. You may simply add or take away marbles from the cups.”

And then I let them wrestle over it together. We tried their ideas until we found one that worked. I found it was such a great way to force my students to engage with the underlying concept, not just give them step-by-step instructions of how to solve the problems.

There are different ways the students can think of to solve the puzzle, and that is fine. Like most things in math, there is more than one path to the right answer, and it’s good for them to see that.

However, regardless of their method of solving the problem, I always conclude by taking the time to walk through exactly what happens when we do the steps we will learn to solve the equation x+5=9.

1. We want to get x by itself, so we take away the 5 other marbles, leaving only the x package.
2. Notice that the scale is unbalanced. We don’t want that, or else our equal sign isn’t true.
3. Do exactly the same thing on the other side (remove 5 marbles), so that the scale balances again.
4. Count how many marbles are left in the cup on the right side. Realize there must be 4 marbles on the left side, too.
5. Check if we’re right by opening the x package.

And suddenly, for my students, algebra was no longer this strange, nebulous world where we inexplicably added the alphabet to math and nothing made sense anymore. It took more time and effort than teaching them a list of steps would have, but the pay-off of them actually understanding what was happening was priceless.

I used the same visual representation to teach multiplication equations. To illustrate 3x6=18, for instance, I made three paper towel x packages with six marbles in each for one side of the scale. The other side got 18 loose marbles. We then solved by taking the 18 loose marbles and dividing them into three even groups, resulting in six in each group.

I found it worked best for showing addition and multiplication problems, though you could illustrate subtraction and division too, if you wish.

Another time the balance scale helped my students was when they first encountered an equation that was written backwards of what they were used to. After seeing equations such as x+3=12, suddenly having it written as 12=x+3 can be confusing for them. All I had to do was walk over to my balance scale and flip it around. The understanding that dawned in their eyes without me even saying a word was a beautiful thing.

Sometimes, knowing how to counter student confusion can be difficult, especially when it’s rooted in deep, conceptual misunderstandings. But for me and my students, confusion about algebra was solved with a few simple household objects and a bit of imagination. I hope it can do the same for you.

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Guys Mills, Pennsylvania 16327
United States of America

dock@thedockforlearning.org

Dedicated teachers should be able to make just about any curriculum work well for their students. It may be challenging, frustrating, and take some extra time, but the rewards are well worth it. Your students will be able to comprehend the material in a more meaningful way, their grades will improve, and you will feel more effective as a teacher.

The first and probably most common problem is that the material is too complex and over the students’ heads. Their earlier years haven’t prepared them for it, or perhaps it’s just a very progressive curriculum. Sometimes the concepts in the curriculum aren’t that advanced, but the examples in the book are complicated or confusing to students. Because it is still your job to help them to comprehend the material, you do have a few options in this case.

1. Read the teacher’s guide and see if there are suggested chapters you may omit as the publisher has deemed them “optional.” I’ve used pre-algebra textbooks that recommend alternatives such as skipping the chapters on base ten numbers, computer programming basics, and beginning calculus concepts.
2. Teach the concepts as clearly as you can and find alternative ways of presenting them. I’ve developed and used my own examples of material in my lessons, found more basic worksheets for recognizing and diagramming verbals, typed out worksheets, and made study guides or slideshows to help students understand the textbook material in a more palatable way.

The second issue is often that the concepts presented in the texts are within the students’ grasps, but the homework assignments are too tedious and repetitive. In this case, students get bogged down. The first page or so of the exercises or homework they do well, but then they get brain fatigue and begin to get careless. If several of your students are spending hours on homework, that is probably the case. I asked a more experienced teacher a question about this once, and got some great advice: just have students do the odd numbered problems.

A third issue may be that students lack the ability to sift through major concepts, details, and effects. They aren’t sure exactly what the important facts are, and what are just supporting facts or information. Often just focusing on main concepts can really help students comprehend the material in a more organized way. Study guides, outlines, and writing primary concepts on the board will help those students, although they should be encouraged to be able to do this on their own over time as they follow your modeling.

The last issue is that sometimes the material is just too easy for the students (or for some of the students), and they tend to not try as hard because an A is almost effortlessly achieved. In these cases, the material needs to be supplemented, and students need to be challenged. There are several ways to do this.

1. Find the weak spots in the curriculum or textbooks and add to it. If an English curriculum is strong on grammar content but weak in other areas, assign short daily writing or journaling assignments, focusing on a variety of styles. If it’s weak in literature, find additional short stories, trade books, or anthologies you could use to supplement it.
2. If you finish an entire book and have time left over the last month or so of school, find a unit study and delve into a more specific topic. You can add science experiments, a building or writing project, or anything else that you or your students want to learn more about.
3. Challenge students to do more. If students are required to have three variables for a science fair project, challenge them to have five.

If the textbook requires a four-page written report and forty notecards, challenge them to have five or more pages and fifty notecards. I once had an eighth grader turn in an eighteen-page research paper after I issued this challenge.

Teachers have the responsibility to teach their students the chosen material, even in situations where it might not be ideal. Dedicated teachers will work diligently to find ways to adapt the textbook contents to better fit the needs of their students, whether it be breaking it down into manageable portions, presenting the material in different ways, or challenging students to achieve more. It can be done, and your students will benefit greatly from it!

When I think back to when I was in school, I think science was my least favorite subject. It didn’t make sense to me, and I thought it was boring. Now that I’m teaching, science is one of my favorite subjects. Doing these five steps made the difference.

1. Do every experiment in the book. You’ve got to plan a little ahead to do this, but it is so worth it. Before school starts, get a bin and collect everything that you will need to do the experiments, or at least look a day or so ahead and get the supplies that will be needed. Students learn about four times as much when they see actual things being done rather than just reading it in the book, although we should always read it in the book, too.
2. Keep science sketchbooks. Give each student a blank sketchbook with no lines. As you are going over the lesson, encourage students to draw (using colored pencils) and label the main points of what you are studying that day. While my students do write the vocabulary terms and short definitions for them in these books, most of the content in the sketch books consists of drawings with color and arrows to show movement. I always tell my students what to draw and model it for them on the board or in my sketchbook. That way they can see exactly what I expect them to write and draw, and this avoids many questions.
3. Learn outside of the books. Grow plants in the classroom. Place a bird feeder near a classroom window and identify birds. Encourage and even reward students for finding fossils, bones, unusual leaves, or anything from God’s creation. Have them bring these into the classroom for everyone to see.
4. Find as many tangible examples of what you are studying in the book as you can. These can be found inexpensively at garage sales, thrift stores, online, or for free if your students find them and bring them in. To look at pictures in the book is nice, but your students will learn much more if they identify the types of clouds at recess or hold a piece of granite, a cow femur, or a fossil in their hands.
5. Go on nature walks during recess. While we will often find examples of what we have been studying in science on our nature walks such as windmills, rock samples, plants, insects, mammals, etc., sometimes we will not, but we will always look for and find some type of interesting science item and enjoy the fresh air and exercise while we do.

In the early 1900s, the town of Winona Lake, Indiana, was a summertime destination for many Christians. Cultural Chautauqua speakers and events mixed with a three-week Bible conference in a beautiful lakeside setting to provide a summer vacation for Christians from around the world.

One of the drawing attractions for the visitors was a series of natural springs gushing from the hillside around the lake. The most unique spring was called the Tree Spring. Every day, guests would line up with their metal cups to get the fresh water that gushed from the spring in the middle of a maple tree trunk. The tree spring was reported to have vital minerals that could bring healing to various ailments. But many years later when the tree was cut down, a pipe was exposed running through the ground and up the trunk. The “tree spring” was nothing more than a pipe coming up from a spring that had a tree forced to grow up around it, a man-made imitation meant to attract attention.

I am sometimes reminded of that tree spring as I see ideas and fads that make their way through education. They look refreshing and exciting. It seems that they will provide the answer to all the educational ills. Yet they end up failing because they are based on man-made facades instead of true wisdom and teaching. They will fade away because they are not true representations of Biblical education.

So where can we find the true springs of education? Jesus, who was called Rabbi, Master, or Teacher, gives several examples of educational principles that will never fail. In Mark 12, he says that the greatest commandment is to love God, quoting Deuteronomy 6. This passage in Deuteronomy also tells parents to teach their children God’s principles and always remind them of God’s Word. The first Biblical principle of education is that God’s word is the Truth that will never change; anything taught in schools or at home should be first based on the Bible. So educational trends such as teaching evolution or transgenderism, while they might look as if they are the solution to current problems, will eventually fall through.

A second principle that the Master Teacher Jesus shows is what content to teach his students. He met his audiences where they were, teaching and preaching with parables and stories that they could understand. His lessons met the specific needs of the people to whom he was speaking. Education based on Jesus’ style focuses on what the students will need to know for life on earth and eternity. Current classes (especially in colleges) that focus on unnecessary topics such as contemporary celebrities or entertainment will soon fade in popularity. And in K12 education, time spent unnecessarily on topics such as excessive testing or extensive focus on athletics takes away from the time that could be used to meet the children’s life needs.

Jesus as Rabbi also knew how to relate to His students. He was personable and relational—children wanted to sit on his lap—yet he provided discipline as needed. He called out sin in people and provided a framework of order. Contemporary educational fads that focus on a discipline-free classroom, teachers behaving as students’ friends, or administrators who are afraid to confront a child for misbehavior do not provide their students with boundaries they need to learn to respect authority and ultimately follow Christ. Christian educators should certainly build warm relationships with their students, but also guide them with proper authority and discipline.

So while the educational trends that flow out of modern philosophies look attractive and refreshing, they will not give the “true springs” that students need. A teacher rooted in God’s Word who provides educational content that his students need and leads the students down a disciplined path will make a difference for eternity.

As a teacher, I’ve always struggled to find suitable consequences for classroom misbehavior and have usually resorted to time off recess. However, overuse of missed recesses brings its own set of problems. Last summer one of my co-teachers introduced our staff to the Smart Classroom Management website and the books of Michael Linsin. Most of his practical advice was not new to me, but his method of in-class time-out became my standard consequence for classroom infractions.

This post is on how I carried out the time-out and its effectiveness for me. However, I want to make clear that the consequence is not what made it effective. Without the basic principles of having a plan, consistently sticking with the plan, communicating the plan, and calmly executing the plan, no consequence will be effective. Those are foundational to making any classroom management plan work well.

Reasons why I don’t find time off recess a good idea

• Students (and the teacher) need a break. Exercise helps stimulate the brain. Everyone functions better with periodic breaks.
• Supervision is an issue if you are responsible for students in two places at the same time. Students who are left in the classroom can get into more mischief. It’s also not wise to let students be unsupervised on the playground for long periods of time. And, depending on the age of the students, they need help getting their games started.
• The more times a student stays in, the less effective the consequence. For some students this becomes a habit, and it is just one more thing they don’t like about school.
• Keeping a student in at recess is sometimes necessary. You may need to talk with them or occasionally, missing recess will be the consequence that will make the student sit up and take notice.

Reasons for an in-class time-out

• It is a simple technique that the teacher subtly monitors.
• It allows students time to process and take responsibility for their actions.
• Even though students in time-out are not allowed to participate in class activities, the student will still have access to needed teaching and time to work.
• This method works best with lower elementary students (up to about fifth grade). Older students find it below their dignity.

Implementing the in-class time-out

There are steps to take to make an in-class time-out effective. It needs to be part of your classroom management plan. You need a place that is the time-out spot. You need to know what your expectations are for the student in time out.  You need to let students know what you expect from them when they are in time out. You need to deliver the consequence with little fanfare or commotion. You need to be consistent.

Classroom management plan

• Keep it simple—just a few rules that cover a multitude of infractions. Here are mine from last year. Almost any classroom misdeed will fit under one of these rules.
  • Listen and follow directions.
  • Have permission to speak and leave your seat.
  • Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
  • Respect your classmates and your teacher.
• Have a hierarchy of consequences that start over each day. Let students know the steps and the consequences. Here is what I used last year.
  • First and second offense were warnings. This was for first grade, especially at the beginning of the year when they are still learning new habits. Other classrooms used only one warning.
  • Third offense (or second offense in grades higher than first) was an in-class time-out.
  • Fourth offense was another time-out plus a letter home to the parent, giving them a brief synopsis of the rule broken and asking for a signature and return of the letter.
  • Certain misdeeds such as cheating or fighting, are covered by a school-wide policy and have different consequences.
  • The teacher has the right to skip any step if they deem it necessary. However, this is reserved as an extreme measure.
• Introduce and implement the plan from day one of the new year. For first grade I do some extra reminding the first few days. We also start over more frequently—such as after every period, or at lunch—for the first week. It is important to make first graders successful those first days, so giving them a clean slate more often still reminds them of what is expected but sets them up for a taste of success. After a few days I use the plan as intended.
• Remember, the success of any classroom management plan is in communicating the plan to the students. Talk about, model, practice the various points of your plan. Students like if you model unsatisfactory behavior and then let them tell you what was wrong. They’ll remember it better too. Review frequently during the beginning days of the school year.

A place for time-out

• You will need an extra desk that is reserved as a time-out spot.
• Ideally this would be placed at the back or the side of the classroom where a student can still see and hear what is being taught.

Expectations for a student in time-out

• When a student is in time-out, they become “invisible.” They are expected to pay attention to the teaching and complete all work, but they are not allowed to join any activities or discussions or ask for help from the teacher.
• A student in time-out will sit quietly and work for at least fifteen minutes.
  • It is important that you have previously modeled expected time-out behavior.
  • Fifteen minutes is about what it takes for students to come to terms with their behavior. Students should not be informed of how long they need to stay in time-out. That defeats their ability to take responsibility for their actions. You as the teacher will make the call for when the student can be released.
  • The fifteen minutes start once the student has settled down and is quietly working.
  • You do not need a timer. It need not be precise. Just keep an eye on the clock.
• When the time is up, you invite the student back to class. It can be a quietly dropped word when you are near the time-out desk. “You are welcome to ask if you can join us again.” However:
• Once you invite them back to class, the student must raise their hand and ask permission to join the class when they are ready to do so. This is part of them taking responsibility for their actions.
• Once permission is requested, simply tell the student that you would be happy to have them join in again. No further remarks, reminders, or unnecessary comments should be added.

How to send a student to time-out

• The fewer words you can use, the better. The more matter of fact and non-confrontationally you handle the situation, the better it works. This is true whether you are giving a warning or sending a student to time-out.
• Simply say, “Johnny, you forgot rule number X when you talked without permission. Please take your work to the time-out desk.”
• Turn and walk away. The psychology behind this is simple. Students can’t argue with you if you aren’t engaging with them. It’s not perceived as a dare that they need to best. It works with the most contrary student. Besides, the subtle idea that you will probably take things to the next step should they ignore your request, will have them wondering.
• Give the student time to respond. It worked for me every time—especially with the student who would not have obeyed if I had stayed to see that they moved. However, you may have a student who will want to see if you really mean it. You then have the option of giving the next consequence.

Consistency is a virtue

Any classroom management plan is only as good as the teacher’s consistency in enforcing it. Therefore, if you make exceptions once you will always be struggling to maintain your plan. Students will feel the need to make sure you continually mean what you said.

However, there are things that come up that you realize you’d never made clear that you did or didn’t want to happen. Address them. Tell the class that you’d not informed them that this habit is one you don’t want to see. Use it as a teaching moment and then apply consistency thereafter.

A dilemma

What about the child who does not want to ask permission to rejoin class? A few students have found this the hardest part of time-out. It’s not usually hurting them to stay seated if they choose. You can entice them to want to rejoin the class with an enjoyable classroom activity. And if recess time comes, they can continue time-out on the sidelines if they’d prefer.

Again, the consequences are not what make the rules of your classroom work. The manner you present your plan, the matter-of-fact way you handle infractions, and how consistently you enforce your plan are much greater than consequences. However, I am grateful to have discovered a consequence that works in my classroom without needing to keep students in from recess.

Much of what I’ve written can be found on the Smart Classroom Management website or in any of the classroom management books by Michael Linsin. While I don’t endorse everything he says, he has much practical advice that empowers a teacher to excel.

Resources:

Website: https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com

Book: The Classroom Management Secret, Michael Linsin

There are many different publishers and textbooks available to schools, but all curricula are not created equal. Some are superior, some are mediocre, and some can cause major problems in the classroom. We should be wise and well-educated on what these different publishers are offering so that we (or whoever is choosing the curricula) can make good decisions for our students. Here are a few of my thoughts on the topic of choosing curricula.

1. Those who are choosing the curricula for schools should be extremely knowledgeable about it, and if they aren’t, they should check with trusted others who are.
2. The best curricula have content that is not too simple or too complex for most of the students in any given class to understand.
3. The best curricula are well-paced and don’t move too fast or too slowly.
4. The best curricula do not have tedious, repetitive tasks that cause students to tune-out because of the length of the exercises.
5. The best curricula have good visual presentations–not necessarily colors–but the font is large enough and there is enough space between lines in the homework section (not the text itself) so that there is no visual overload which can lead to confusion.

When I think of curriculum and understanding content, my Algebra I teacher always comes to mind. She was one of the best teachers I ever had. She was very intelligent and easily understood the material, but she was wise enough to know that it wasn’t that easy for us, because we were learning new concepts.

She would slowly present the new material at a rate where our brains could have a few seconds to think of which step would come next, rather than having her show us or tell us all the time. She paused and gave us time to think. She would also present enough examples that by the time she finished the sixth or seventh one, we completely understood the concept and were itching to do some on our own. I loved English–not math–but she presented it in such a way that I began to love algebra. Our books had exercises that focused on the one skill that we had learned that day. It was a perfect combination–a good book and a good teacher for Algebra I and II.

I don’t remember the name of the books we used, but they were extremely well-paced. We only learned one new concept a day, and we had the time to master that concept before we applied it in a different way, such as dividing when we had been multiplying.

I’ve seen some curricula that in one day taught a new concept, gave only one or two examples, and then quickly showed how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using the same advanced concept. Besides not giving enough examples for students to completely understand and master the concept, throwing in the other ways to apply the concept just confuses students and leads to one of the major problems with some curricula today: exposure vs. mastery.

Many educators or school boards seem to be impressed with curricula that do this very thing. They expose students to many different concepts, usually rather quickly, without giving students the time to master them. Students feel frustrated and confused, but the teachers/school boards/whoever chooses the curricula think that the curricula is superior because it moves quickly, has lots of advanced concepts in it, and exposes the students to many more concepts earlier in their school careers.

The problem is that usually a majority of the students aren’t truly understanding the material and certainly aren’t able to master the concepts. They are usually just confused, struggle through it for a day or two using their short term memories, but cannot accomplish the skills on the test as week or two later.

Most curricula end up at the same place by the high school years. I feel it is detrimental to students to have complex concepts presented to them too early, when having a slower-paced, solid foundation will much better prepare them for these same concepts in later years.

I also feel that in a school situation, what is best for the majority of the students is what we should be striving to use. Why should a majority of the students suffer and be confused because we are using an “advanced” curriculum to benefit the top 10-20% of the students? That’s not fair.

I also have seen some curricula that move too slowly and are way too predictable and simple for students to use. Students need materials that are challenging but attainable.

Every teacher has his or her own favorite curricula, but there are a few danger signs in choosing these that I’ve noticed over the years.

1. Teachers like to use curricula that they used when they were in school because it is familiar to them.
2. Teachers like to use the curricula that they have already taught because it is much easier to teach it again the second or third year.
3. Teachers say that it’s hard on the students to change curricula.

I would disagree with all of these reasons, because the most important thing should be that the students can understand the material well. If we are using books that confuse the students (look at their grades to see if they are confused) just because we as teachers have already used them and it’s easier for us to use, then that’s just being selfish on our part. We should do what is best for the students.

I have found that it is not hard for students to change curricula. I’ve done it with them numerous times. There may perhaps be a different term here and there, but I’ve never seen a normal student struggle just because he is using a new curriculum. I think this is often referred to or used as an excuse because certain students struggle with academics in general, and thus it is easy to blame the curriculum, when the real issue is that the student generally struggles in school.

My next blog post will address the issue that good teachers can make any curriculum work.

1. They can lie and say, "I'm not doing that," when they are.
2. They can say, "I am doing that, and I'm so sorry."
3. Or they can say, "I'm not doing it. It's the truth. I didn't mean to. I didn't even know what I was doing."

The first day of second grade arrives. The eager students appear at your door with confidence. They know what school is about. They know the routines and procedures. They know where the rest rooms are and where to put their lunch boxes and coats. They can find the kick balls and know how to play the recess games. They can read and write, add and subtract. They are not the little people in school anymore.

Then the school day starts. Suddenly some of them realize that they don’t know so much after all. Those words that were so easy at the end of first grade now elude their memory and the long pages of print look daunting. The facts on the math sheet are stored far back in their brains. The pencil feels clumsy in their hands. And this new teacher doesn’t do things like the teacher last year did.

You, as the teacher, may also be wondering what these second graders learned last year. You may be thinking that you’ve been handed a class of struggling learners. Even if you were the teacher who taught them in first grade, you may be surprised at how much they’ve forgotten over the summer. Things that were easy at the end of first grade are often difficult at the beginning of second grade. You will need to build a bridge over the gap.

The learning loss during summer is more apparent between the first and second grades than any of the other grades. The gap between the reader and the non-reader is also more noticeable when second grade begins. Some children—especially those whose interests lie outside the school walls—will spend very little time with letters and numbers during their summer vacation. The students who find reading easy and enjoyable probably spent time enjoying reading. Reading takes practice and those who practice are better at it than those who don’t. For many children, summer is about exploring the outdoors, helping mom or dad, playing with siblings, enjoying the release of the constraint of school. It is not about sticking their noses in the books. For them, second grade begins with a bit of a shock.

The beginning of second grade can be frustrating to the teacher and the students alike. The schoolbooks are on a second-grade level while the students’ skills may be closer to the end of the third quarter of first grade. It will take patience and perseverance for both the teacher and the student but eventually it evens out and dependent students become independent workers once again.

Following are some ideas that can help take the frustration out of the first weeks of second grade.

• Expect that most of the students are going to find the work difficult to begin with. They are adjusting to new books, new methods, and possibly a new teacher.
• Depending on your curriculum, plan to do a lot of work together as a class instead of independently during the first few weeks.
• Second grade will start off by reviewing some of the things they’ve learned in first grade. Ask the first-grade teacher how they taught those things. Maybe they used a slightly different terminology or a certain chart. Help link this year’s material to what they learned last year.
• To help bring reading skills back to where they should be, use choral reading practice. Read directions chorally (all together). Read story problems chorally in math. If students are not ready to silently read a bulk of material, read it chorally. Choral reading can include the entire group, or divided up into smaller groups for various selections. You need to be attentive during choral reading so that not only the strong readers are doing the reading. The teacher should be the leader. Everyone needs to participate and should read at a pace that will not lose the slower reader. If done well, choral reading gives practice and feedback to the struggling reader¹.
• Make use of flashcards and extra drill for math facts. If the facts were learned well in first grade, some extra practice will soon bring them back to mind.
• Recognize that adjusting to school schedules and routines is tiring to bodies and minds. Provide breaks as necessary.
• Explain, model, and practice your routines, procedures, and rules. They might be different from what students knew last year.

Eventually you will look back and realize that your class is not one of struggling learners after all. They just needed time and practice to settle into second grade.

________________

See this article for more choral reading helps:

A trove of information, tips, songs, and rhymes, this document helps teachers train young students to read confidently. Originally presented at Faith Builders Teachers Week 2022.

Written prayers are a way to come to God when our own hearts feel reflective, silent, confused, overwhelmed, or exhausted. They allow us to speak true things that help to align our hearts and minds with what God is doing and what He wants to do through us. These “Prayers for Teachers” can be prayed by individual teachers or collectively as a staff team as a way to commune with God throughout different seasons of the school year.

Our Father,

The One who knows all things, we long to learn more about You this year.

We long for You to open our eyes to Your grace and goodness.

We long to see You all around us.

We long to feel You leading and guiding within us.

We long to recognize Your hand at work in the lives of our students.

We know that You are already present in every part of our school year, but we ask for a deeper awareness of Your presence.

This school year stretches before us, open with opportunity.

We know there will be many delights—moments of joy and laughter and excitement. We ask for open hearts to revel in these gifts from You.

We know there will be many challenges—moments of frustration and despair and disappointment. We ask for the courage to face these situations with grace.

We know there will be successes and triumphs this year. Give us the humility to remember that we may plant and we may water, but it is You who gives the increase.

We know that we will experience personal failures and weaknesses this year. Give us the perspective it takes to remember that You are a God who can work out all things for good.

Help us to care about the things You care about. May the minutia of our daily tasks not steal our focus from the opportunities You give us to speak life, build character, and make Your name great.

Help us to love our students as You love them. May we see each child as uniquely, beautifully created by the One who makes no mistakes.

Help us to view all things as service to You, whether it is preparing our lessons or playing soccer or cleaning up after a sick child or emailing an upset parent.

We want to be Your hands and Your feet.

Thank you for the incredible privilege we have to impact these lives. We cannot do this alone. Thank You that You are always with us.

Multiply our small efforts. We are excited to see how You will do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think this year.

We walk gratefully into this school year knowing that You are here.

Amen.

Poetry is a wonderful addition to any classroom. Children are naturally drawn to rhyme and rhythm, and poetry has an inherent sticking power. It fosters enjoyment of language, it builds vocabulary, and it can help children to find a voice for thoughts and feelings that they are otherwise unable to express. For these reasons, I have worked to incorporate more poetry in my classroom, and here are two of the easiest ways I have done it.

1. Have a poetry reading time every day. I typically do this after our morning break time, since it’s a nice way to transition back into class. Sometimes I call it our “mini story time.” I have several books of poetry especially for children, and I simply read a poem aloud from one of them. Sometimes I read several, depending on the length and on how much time I want to take that day. I might make several comments to introduce the poem, but not always because good poetry speaks for itself. I can put as much or as little planning and forethought into this as I want. I like to include seasonal poetry or poems that have to do with something else we are learning that day. For instance, I read Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” when we learn about Paul Revere in history class. But often I choose the poem on the spot or just keep a bookmark in the poetry book and read whatever comes next. So even if you have a tight schedule and feel like it’s impossible to fit in one more thing, you may be able to squeeze in a bit of poetry reading. It can take less than a minute out of the school day, and all it requires from you is a bit of planning to have some books of poetry readily available.
2. Plan ahead for poetry memorization. Before school begins, I choose a set of poems to memorize with my students that year. I aim for one poem per month, though we spend less time on short poems and more than a month on some longer ones. I provide copies for the students, and we recite the poem together every day, usually at the beginning of language class. Like the poetry reading, this takes very little time out of class and demands no planning or preparation on my part after the routine is established. With the daily repetition, most students are able to recite the poem by memory within a few weeks. Following is a list of some of the poems I have memorized with my third graders:

“My Dog” by Marchette Chute

“A Vagabond Song” by Bliss Carman

“A Tale of Two Conquerors” by Charles Ross Weede

“God Is Like This” by Rowena Bennet

“Look at the Snow” by Mary Carolyn Davies

“The Eagle” by Lord Alfred Tennyson

“Somehow, Not Only for Christmas” by John Greenleaf Whittier

“The Chickens” (anonymous author)

“The Year’s at the Spring” by Robert Browning

“The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson

“The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe

I have found memorizing poetry with my students to be delightful and rewarding, and most times the students love it.

How will you include poetry in your classroom this coming school year? It only takes a bit of forethought and a few minutes out of each school day to gift your students with poetry that may stick with them for life.

We purchased the revised Living History Threads and I would be glad to share the first editions, which we don't need now.  I have Teacher Guides, an Anthology, and some of the read-aloud books.  Let me know if you are interested and I'll give you more details!

Teaching is demanding. We constantly look for ways to be efficient and reduce stress. But in all this, we need cultivate a servant heart – one that honestly asks, “What is best for each student?”

Tens of billions of brain cells work in delicate balance, giving us the ability to think, memorize, express emotions, and enjoy social interactions. We will consider how technology effects these important abilities.

This talk explores the effects of confessed and unconfessed sin on the four main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter: Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Pearl Prynne. Confessed sin does not equal repentance. This session is taught from the perspective of a high school teacher.