In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less.
--Lee Iacocca
There's no word in the language I revere more than 'teacher.' My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I've honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher.
--Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection which is noblest second, by imitation, which is the easiest and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.
--Confucius
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.
--Leonardo da Vinci
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed from the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Mark Twain
Write it on your heartthat every day is the best day of the year.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don't judge each dayby the harvest you reap ... but by the seeds you plant!
--Robert Louis Stevenson
Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever!
--Mohandis K. Gandhi
Life is not important exceptfor the impact it has on other’s lives.
--Epitaph on Jackie Robinson's headstone
When one teaches, two learn.
--Robert Half
Although we all learn
from experience, more and
more experience does not
guarantee more and more
learning. Twenty years of
teaching may not equate to
twenty years of learning about teaching but may be
only one year repeated
twenty times.
Beaty L (1997) Developing your teaching through reflective practice (Birmingham: SEDA)
FIVE FACTORS THAT CAN HELP BOOST MOTIVATION
I must credit Ellen Shraeger and Laurie Clarq for the inspiration behind most of the ideas listed below. Their posts on FLTeach are the ones that most get to the heart of language teaching.
1. Do I share the purpose of every activity with students?
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 06:36:11 EDT
Reply-To: Foreign Language Teaching Forum
From: Ellen Shrager
Subject: Ellen's thoughts
I do link everything we do to its purpose. This will help you to get to know new friends better, this will help you to express what you need in a restaurant, this will help you or someone else is lost, this will help you to recall the vocabulary better, etc. After I greet the class each period we go over what we are doing today. The students have a weekly assignment sheet that also tells what we are doing in class, the purpose of the class and homework. I also make sure that most of the ctivities appeal to their self-centeredness and self-absorption. They want to learn
about one another and tell others about themselves.
I work really hard to ___not____ say "You need to listen to this because it will be on Friday's test". Well that kind of logic leads them down the path that this is just a useless activity to keep students busy so I can have a teaching job.
When a student asks if its counts, I look them in the eye and tell them "absolutely."
At the beginning of the year, if someone does press as to how it counts, I tell them that it will make them the best and smartest possible, it will help them to be able to date and marry millions of more people who speak another language, it will help them to help others if they are in the medical field, it will help them to take control of business negotiations, it will help them to understand that their perspective of natural language order is
just an accident of their birth, some claim it will help them to acquire another soul, it will help them to enjoy more songs, poems, books, and movies in another language, it will help them to feel a part of this planet and not just of this country…and on and on. Points seem pretty puny and insignificant after that talk!
Ok, off to teach the kids some new house vocabulary cuz when they are rich and famous athletes and they want to buy their old profe who believed in them a fabulous summer house on the coast in Spain, I want to make sure they get my room requirements right.
Peace
Ellen Shrager
2. How do I start and end the class?
Start each day consistently.
How can students show mastery of the lesson’s take-aways?
End in a calm, controlled way…this tone will carry over to the next lesson.
3. How well do I know my students? How well do they know each other?
Ice Breakers / Classbuilders / Teambuilders
4. What kinds of homework and activities are parts of my class?
Evaluate the value of the activity or assignment
Variety of ways to present and practice a skill
Personalize, Personalize, Personalize
5. How do I communicate high standards and expectations for my students?
Model high standards through thorough lesson planning, selection and
Development of quality materials, follow-through on responsibilities
Participation system clearly explained in writing
Share positive daily messages
Sincere Praise
I don't give candy and prizes. I give hi fives...whoo hoos...and MAN THE BLUE TEAM KNOWS HOW TO ROCK AND ROLL!! (I give fun!)
--Laurie Clarq, FLTeach ListServ
Where everybody knows your name: Too often the teacher is the only one who can name all the students in the class. The following techniques call for students to learn each other’s names and perhaps a bit more.
Name Quiz: A respected colleague, Lois Stewart, told her classes they would have a quiz over the students’ names in the class as soon as she learned them. This encouraged students to learn each other’s names quickly and before the teacher did. As for the quiz, you can have them fill in a copy of the seating chart or randomly pick out and give numbers to ten students in the class and have students write those names on their quiz paper. Don’t count off for spelling—this is an excellent way to build rapport and good will in the class.
Name Game: Have five to ten kids each day introduce themselves or have another student introduce them. Then ask the class to identify these students and information learned about each one. Review the next day and continue with another five to ten students. Continue until the entire class has been introduced and students can identify all students and at least one fact about each one. Randomly at different points in the lesson ask students the name of one of the selected students. Continue throughout the semester to lend an element of surprise to a lesson.
Name Game #2:Students say their first name along with a target language word that begins with the same letter. For example: William - Willkommen; Mark- montaña; or Lisa - livre.
Student I.D. cards: Let students make their own versions of a student I.D. card, passport or driver’s license. Each should have a photo, their name, likes and dislikes, and one or two items of information that they can express in the target license. Display in the classroom.
How well do you know the teacher? (Dave’s ESL Café Cookbook)
Check out the first website listed below for detailed instructions to this cute game that could be played with upper-level students. Students write 3-5 questions about things they would like to know about the teacher. Write all students names on the board or on an overhead transparency. Have one student come forward to answer the questions of another student as he thinks the teacher would. Mark an X for any answer they get wrong but give one point for each correct or “pretty close” answer. Proceed by having another volunteer come up to answer the questions of another student. This is a clever way to build rapport and use lots of the target language.
Get more ideas at:
CUESTIONARIO
First and last names (English):______
Birthdate:______Age: ______Class in School: Fr So Jr Sr
I live with: Mother Father Both Parents Other(specify)______
Address: ______
Phone Number: ______Parent phone number during the day:______
Brothers and Sisters: (Put a check by those who have had Señora Lilley in the past.)
Name______Age______
Name______Age______
Name______Age______
Name______Age______
Friends in this class: ______
Pets: give name, age, and specify what kind of animal
______
The kind of music that I most like to listen to is…
My favorite sport is…
The best thing I did during summer or winter break was (List something besides sleeping or doing nothing!):
I think that three adjectives that best describe me as a student are:
Three adjectives that I think my friends would use to describe me are:
My mother or father would say that I am:
I would describe myself as:
I have a job: Yes No If yes, where?______Hours per week?______
Extra-curricular or non-school related activities I participate in are:
Something you should know about me is:
I need to sit close to the board or overhead screen: YES NO
Who have been your previous Spanish teachers?
Spanish I—Spanish II—Spanish III—
What are your reasons for taking Spanish 4? (check all that apply)
___To gain entrance into a college or university___Spanish will be beneficial in getting a good job
___My parents made me___I like learning about another language and cultures
___My friends are taking it___I should be able to make a good grade in the class
___It makes me more interesting___Spanish will be useful to me to travel to other countries
___I am interested in using Spanish to do charitable and/or missions work
Other (please describe):
10 GOOD READS ABOUT GOOD TEACHING
Harry Wong The First Days of School
Wong, H.K. & Wong R.T. (1998). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications
This is a must-have for every teacher to review before the start of each school year.
Fred Jones Tools for Teaching
Jones, F. H. (2000). Tools for Teaching. Santa Cruz, CA: Fred H. Jones & Associates, Inc.
This book goes beyond the content of the Wong book to help you with the day in and day out situations that one encounters as a teacher.
Deb Blaz Foreign Language Teacher’s Guide to Active Learning
Blaz, D. (1999). Foreign Language Teacher’s Guide to Active Learning. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
This book shows how to create a classroom in which students can actively experience, experiment and discover a foreign language.
Timesavers: Ideas prácticas para la clase de español
EMC/Paradigm Publishing
This book can save you lots of your time. Inside you’ll find 120 copy masters, from a map of a city metro system, hotel reservations, menus, calendar, recipe sheets, schedule sheets, weather charts, certificates & more.
“What Makes a Good Teacher?” by Marie F. Hassett, Ph.D.
The author explains eight traits commonly found in good teachers.
“Motivating Students” by Barbara Gross Davies
Some very practical ideas to implement to build student interest in the course.
Competitive Edge
Competitive Edge is a website geared principally to coaches and athletes but there are many articles in the archived newsletter section that are applicable to all teachers.
Teacher’s Network
There are many good articles of interest to teachers wanting to adjust their teaching style to meet the needs and abilities of their students.
Education World Teacher Diary: Reflections on Teaching and Learning
Read diaries of three different teachers as they reflect on their classroom practices
The Myth of the Silent Teacher (Robert O’Neill IATEFL April, 1994)
Article on the effective use of “teacher-talk” in the language classroom.
A man who is "of sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key...
---Paul Valdry
1. Make a notebook for your own things: Get a big 3” three-ring binder plus dividers to organize your own things. Inside you can have a section for To-Do lists, staff and departmental meetings, professional development, memos, committees, etc. Whenever you go to a meeting, grab your notebook and you’ll have everything you need. Keep a pen inside.
2. Eliminate nameless papers: Next to the spot where you have students turn in papers, keep a few highlighter pens. Students must highlight their names before the paper goes in the box. Another option is to use the target language to have the kids draw a shape or object around their name. Ex.: Put your name inside an apple, a triangle, a car, etc.”
3. Classroom Inventory: In light of recent natural disasters and vandalism to school sites, this may be the most prudent tip of all. Make a list of what items you have in your classroom or take photos with a digital camera. Open up desk drawers and closets to photograph what is inside. Keep a copy of your supply order sheet, lists and photos at home. Hopefully you’ll never need to refer to this information, but think of the time and confusion it could save if it ever was needed.
4. Don’t let those great ideas escape! Keep a notepad in the same place on your desk. As you work on lesson plans or while you are teaching and some thought comes to you, jot it down. Review your notes each day. File ideas for future lessons in the appropriate notebook or folder so that you’ll have it later.
5. Don’t lose your originals: Use a yellow highlighter to make a small mark or even write “original” in the upper corner of a handout. The mark won’t show on the copies that you make. That way you won’t give out the original by mistake.
6. Label away: To designate the items you bought out of your own funds vs. those that are school property, use the free labels you receive from charities to label personal items.
7. Baby Wipes: Keep a set near your overhead projector to clean transparencies quickly or to blot off an error. You can also laminate a bathroom pass and fill in the name and date with an overhead marker. Use the Baby Wipes to erase the info. when the student returns. Place a copy of your seating chart into plastic page projector and track participation by marking when a student contributes something to the lesson. Wipe off after you have recorded points and you’re ready for the next time.
8. Students track their grades. Give students a grid that allows them to track their grade in your class. As each graded assignment is returned, they are to record their score vs. the possible points and keep an ongoing total. Students and parents can know what the student’s grade is at any moment. A sample is included in this handout.
9. Check out You’ll find rubrics, lesson plans, worksheet tools, generators for all kinds of forms, calendars, and much, much more!
10. Student numbers: Speed up alphabetizing papers by assigning students a number that they must write above their name. You or a student assistant can easily put them in order before you begin entering grades into the gradebook or computer program. This method also quickly allows you to spot if someone failed to turn in a paper. You can also keep a baggie containing slips of papers with all of the numbers on them. Draw a number to determine who does a particular task in the class or the order of presentations.
11. Immediately evaluate your lesson plans. After you finish a lesson, make notes on your lesson plan regarding what worked well and what would need to happen to make something work better. Note where extra copies or materials are stored because you’re sure to forget before you teach the lesson again.
12. Substitute Folders: Plan for those unexpected absences. Have a folder with your class roster and seating chart marked with names of helpful students. Leave instructions for operation of the DVD/VCR and TV. Make viewing sheets for a couple of videos that can be used whenever and note where the video/DVDs are stored. Include the names and room numbers of teachers who can help with questions. Include the schedule, a school map and detail any extra duties you have been assigned.
13. Keep extras on hand. You know that bulb on that overhead projector will go out right in the middle of a lesson. If you can’t get an extra bulb, keep the box on hand so that you’ll know the bulb type needed when it is time to replace it. Keep a file with copies of the forms that you use frequently.
14. Kill clutter before it starts. Commit yourself to spend a few minutes each day to do some quickly filing or pitching. Once a pile of paper gets started it tends to grow higher and dustier!