Addition to Teaching Tip #35

They know each other well. Even if you understand how they learn, they still see things from a peer's point of view which is essential to learning. And "differentiating" your lessons to appeal to all is EASY when you roll with the punches and go with the flow of their mindsets. And the feedback may produce more positive results.

Today, in a different class than from #35:

Most of class: "All I see are triangles.  I can't figure out what you're doing."

Student [Who should be a teacher]: "You need to do it in different colours like in the book."

*I do it, which helps, and I continue but while they see it & follow me, they don't understand how to get there*

S: "Do it like the book, with the letters."

*I feel dumb, knowing that this class loves to do letters, and forgetting.*

Me: "The problem is that I have to grayscale it for the review and test."

S: "highlight it then or colour it because they can't see it otherwise."


I know this class.  I know that they love colours and do have trouble visualizing things that aren't in front of them.  I felt very slow and not with it today.
And you know what?  I know I'm going to go through 20 review packets and 20 tests and highlight the figures for dilations.  Because while they understand the difference between P and P', they can't determine scale factors without understanding which colour. 

An Addition to #7

So I wrote #7 after I had called some parents & grandparents, mostly about positive issues.  I had a grandparent call me back and thank me for giving her good news. Any time she had been called about the student in the past, it was about something bad. She was shocked and pleasantly surprised to hear something good.

So call about the good!

Teaching Tip #7

Talk to Guardians

It's a bit different for me as I work in a private school, so guardians send their children here out of desire, not requirement.  However, I think that guardians should be contacted for a variety of reasons, no matter the school/district.

- If you are having discipline or grade-related issues with a student, the guardian should know.  This way, when report cards go out, they're not surprised.

- If a student starts slipping even though they were doing well before.  There might be something going on at home or other issues.  You and the guardian can work together.

- If a student is doing extraordinarily well.  People like to know that their children are exceeding expectations, and it could be the thing that will brighten their day.

- If a student who was doing poorly is now doing better.  Improvement! That's the point of communication.  Again, guardians like to know if someone is doing better, or pinpointing a problem.

- Behavior issues should also be brought up, good or bad.  Has the student's behavior gotten better so that they are now a better model for the school?  Or is it decreasing?  Again, you and the guardian can work together to pinpoint issues or to enhance good behavior.


**Never assume that the student is living with two parents.  Even in "upper-class" districts, things happen and the student can be a foster child, can have one or both parents gone or dead, might be living with grandparents or aunts/uncles, etc. This is very, very important - and ties in with communication with other teachers (and administration).**

Teaching Tip #6

Talk to Other Teachers

Whether it's about approaches that work best with a student (from the year before)  or how a student is doing in a different class (to pinpoint if problems stem from certain material or outside factors), communication between teachers is key.  This isn't about ragging on students- if you have that much of a problem, you need to talk to the principal and the parents.  NEVER disrespect a student with the other teachers.

You're teaching because you want students to learn and because you care for the youth. Communication with other teachers is a sign that you do care and are concerned.