Basic Needs:

Children need these basics: 1) to feel loved, 2) to feel accepted, and 3) to feel adequate. How do you know that your students' basic needs are met?

I asked Eddie one day why he thought he was doing so much better than last year. "It's because I like myself now when I'm with you," he replied.

(A teacher quoted by Everett Shostrom in Man, The Manipulator)

Click on the "Dream Builder" and the "Trouble Terminator" links (below) for resources your students can use today.

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An Inviting Classroom:

How inviting is your classroom? Do your comments, behavior, ways you phrase questions, and physical environment invite students to risk trying and failing? If your students start the day out badly, is it made better when they see you? If your students feel stupid before coming into your class, do they feel smarter when they leave?

For outstanding tips to make your classroom more inviting, see Mychal Wynn's book, Building Dreams: Elementary School Edition. It is full of reproducibles for things like interest/personality inventories, posters with excellent classroom rules, sample "class mottos," sample class pledges, super bulletin board ideas, effective discipline ideas, an outstanding end-of-the-year student survey, and much more!

Click on the "Dream Builder" link (below) for a resource your students can use today.

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Desire:

What and how much children learn is directly related to whether or not they WANT to come to school. How do you know if your students want to come to your classroom?

Click on the "Solutions" link (below) if you have some students that dread coming to school because of behavior problems displayed by other classmates.

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Likes and Dislikes:

When was the last time you seriously asked your students what they like and dislike about the classroom and the way their days are structured? When was the last time you administered a learning styles and interest inventory? Do you know what interests them and what they want to learn? Ask your class what is the most frustrating thing that happens to them in class every day.

Click on the "Dream Builder" link (below) for a resource your students can use today.

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Independent Thinking:

Do you allow time for children to do their own thinking, explore their own ideas, and come to their own conclusions?

When fourth graders in a variety of classrooms (representing a range of teaching styles and socioeconomic backgrounds) were asked what their teachers most wanted them to do, they didn't say, "Ask thoughtful questions" or "Make responsible decisions" or "Help others." They said, "Be quiet, don't fool around, and get our work done on time."
(Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards)

What do you think? Are we rewarding children for mindless obedience?

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Procedures:

"A smooth-running class is the responsibility of the teacher, and it is based on the teacher’s ability to teach procedures."
Harry Wong

Are you looking for fantastic classroom management ideas and successful classroom procedures? Harry Wong's book, The First Days of School, is a great way to get started! (Your media center probably has a copy somewhere on a shelf.)

Click on the "Classroom Management" link (below) for online teacher resources.
Click on the "Solutions" link (below) for valuable information on managing behavior problems.

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Stress and Threats:

Brain researchers point out two cardinal rules to follow in the classroom if we want our students to learn more and retain more: 1) remove THREAT and STRESS from your classroom and 2) enrich like crazy!

Are you conscious of teaching habits that could make your students feel "threatened?" Do you make every effort not to embarrass children in front of their peers, parents, or other adults? Have you been working on ways to enrich your students' learning by increasing the abundance and variety of student options in your classroom and providing choice?

Click on the "Teachley’s Believe It or Not" link (below) to learn a variety of quick and easy teaching strategies, based on brain research, that enhance classroom instruction. You will be amazed at what you learn!

Teaching with the Brain in Mind, by Eric Jensen, is an easy-to-understand book that outlines highly effective and practical instructional strategies that you can use to promote increased learning that is retained longer.

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Dreams and Aspirations:

Do you listen to the dreams and aspirations of your students and nurture them toward achieving those dreams and living a full life?

"The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires."
-William Arthur Ward

For outstanding tips to make your classroom more inviting, see Mychal Wynn's book, Building Dreams: Elementary School Edition. It is full of reproducibles for things like interest/personality inventories, posters with excellent classroom rules, sample "class mottos," sample class pledges, super bulletin board ideas, effective discipline ideas, an outstanding end-of-the-year student survey and much more!

Click on the "Dream Builder" link (below) for a resource your students can use today.

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Precarious Self-Respect:

Do you assume that pupils come to school with distorted self-images? Are you cautious in situations that affect their precarious self-respect? Do you monitor your comments because you know how they can trigger delicate inner feelings?

Unlike ships, human relations founder on pebbles, not reefs. A teacher can be most destructive or most instructive in dealing with everyday problems. "Good discipline is a series of little victories in which a teacher, through small decencies, reaches a child's heart."
(Haim Ginott, Teacher & Child)

Click on the "Teachley’s Believe It or Not" link (below) to learn more about what happens in the brains of your students when they are subjected to painful or threatening experiences.

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Fairness versus Sameness:

Discuss with a peer the concept of sameness versus fairness. Are you working to be more aware of your tone of voice, your body language, and your expectations as you interact with all students (regardless of who their parents are)?