Modelling good behaviour based around routines can minimise the potential for unruly behaviour and ensure that both pupils and teachers enjoy their school day. Meet Naomi. Naomi wanted to be a primary school teacher all her life, so when she finally qualified it was a dream come true. She’s now in her second year. However, there’s a problem: [...]
Establishing a routine whereby your pupils put up their hands every time is pro-thinking, pro-participation and pro-community. It also places in you in control. "Let them call out, I say. It gives the lesson a bit of dynamism and pace. It’s fun. It shows them you’re cool, not a fuddy-duddy.” The person I‘m quoting is me, back when [...]
Be under no illusions: your first day with your students is the most important of all your days with them. You see, day one is where you lay the foundations for appropriate student behaviour. Get day one right and you’ll be much more likely to get the rest of the year right too. It’s as [...]
Hi Behaviour Buddy, I’m really struggling with a “Simon”, a Year 6 pupil. He’s noisy, chatty and distracts others with lots of silly behaviour. If I challenge him, he’ll debate with me why he’s right and why I’m being unfair. He enjoys winding me up and frankly he’s good at it. To give just one of [...]
Your mindset shapes your life. It affects your intelligence, your behaviour, your choices, your happiness, your relationships, your physical health, your mental health, your bank balance, your life satisfaction. If you’ve got a growth mindset, it affects these things for the better, if you’ve got a fixed one, for the worse. In fact, if you [...]
Are you cooperative or oppositional? Dominant or submissive? Examining your natural style could improve the way you teach Let me tell you half a story. Judd likes to have things his own way. If challenged, he likes to explain why he is right and why the teacher is being unfair. Ten minutes into a lesson, [...]
Disciplining students for telling lies is one of a teacher’s most important duties, but it must be handled sensitively. Here’s how Lying is common. Really common. The average person is lied to as many as 200 times a day. That’s a lot of lies. For teachers, given the numbers that pass through our doors, it could be a [...]
Faced with a challenging child, it’s all too easy to morph into Arnold Schwarzenegger. Follow our tips to keep your countenance. Lisa (the teacher) is walking around the classroom checking work. She sees that Billy isn’t working. She asks him if there’s a problem. This is what Billy says: “The lesson’s boring. It was more fun with our old [...]
