DearAnxiousTeacher

Don't rely on other people to discipline your students. Once that door closes, they won't be in the room with you. Your behavior management plan and system should do the "talking." Relying on security and principals to remove students (unless they are distracting the class, fighting, or being extremely disrespectful) will simply undermine your authority.  You'll be viewed as less. You need to have a classroom management plan: a set of rules and a general list of consequences posted somewhere in your classroom. ISS and detention doesn't really work today; sometimes it feels like a reward for a student.  Students getting an "out of school" suspension is like a mini-vacation.  I create a participation grade category that credits students for being focused and respectful during the lesson. If a student is sleeping, changing their seat, or being disrespectful (off task), I take points off their weekly grade. Students have come up to me asking about their ...

 Artificial intelligence--right? It's gotten scary for us teachers. Plagiarism, generated essays, and student answers that seem too good to be true are everywhere. This intelligence is baked right into their phones. College must be a joke today, but accountability and AI "catching" software is available to use for educators. My advice for dealing with AI is the following:  Don't let students take home some select assignments  Have students complete assignments in pen/pencil on paper   Use free AI detection software on the web  Be clear about your grading policy and student use of AI       Be careful what you send home with them. Assignments that you want authentically completed, should stay and be completed in school. Unfortunately, some students will use AI to answer multiple choice questions, fill-in assignments, short-response, and essays. My own son one time showed me AI to complete math problems by taking a picture of it. I sound old now...

Teaching today is tough. Kids today do not respect educators like they did 20-30 years ago. Sometimes "wheeling and dealing" and bargaining with students feels like the discipline today. You are balancing 30 plus personalities in your classroom, and now you have to fight a massive phone addiction which seems impossible. You think your lesson is engaging and fun only to find students "check-out" immediately. You say good morning to students only to be left unacknowledged at times. Where have social skills gone? People complain about our profession, but they themselves couldn't handle all these challenges. Teaching has highs and lows. There are days you'll think about the rest of your career, and there are days that you'll just want to forget the moment you leave the building. This blog is really designed to teach you how to handle the highs and lows of being a teacher. We're emotional beings, right?  Take nothing personal from any student. Try to atte...

Have you been told not to talk about family and life with your students--sports, video games, and music too? My advice on this topic is to keep a balance. Sharing yourself with limits definitely has its benefits. Students like relating to their teachers; moreover, s h aring your interests and who you are with students builds relationships. Everything today in education is about relationships. Discipline is struggling to survive in schools today. Being honest and authentic with students will help you develop rapport, and this will lead to a better managed class. Remember: often, students don’t like the subject matter; they like you, the person teaching it. When students like you, they like your class. They will try harder. Do what you feel comfortable with. I have no problem talking about my two sons and the funny moments from the weekends. Giving advice to students relating to outside of the class is something I include also. This shows you care. Each class you have is different t...

Happy Holidays as we wrap up the 2025 year! As we end the month of December and march forward into the new year, consider the items below to set yourself up for a great second half. Having time off is a great time to get away from teaching all together. Spend time with your family and friends. Toward the end of your break reflect about change in your classroom. Think about your current class procedures. What is working? What isn't? Are all the students successful in their current seats? What do you like that you're doing? What is not working? I also recommend checking in with yourself: how do you feel about teaching? Do you have stress and anxiety? Consider January a restart and a refresh for your classroom.  I recommend the following for the January re-entrance in 2026.  Welcome students to the new year!  Change Seats Map out the remainder of your semester or quarter  Reteach Procedures Add New Procedures if necessary (nothing major)  Begin new content Consider...

  Hey friends! It's been a minute! Last year, I decided to transfer from my middle school to high school. I really like the idea of helping teens right before they graduate, and perhaps my impact could be even greater at this level. Funny though, students ask me questions: Why do I like to teach? Why would you want to work with teenagers who can be disrespectful? Why would you want to work here? After hearing these questions, sometimes they do make me question my resolve today. Why do we do what we do? Remember that your passion is to help people and make a difference. This is a service-oriented job. Maybe today you will just help one person in the classroom. If you succeed in helping that single person, today was a job well done. It’s an emotional job at times. You’re trying to teach students content that may or may not connect to real life. Our aim is to always relate the content to their lives, but how much can we alter and change our lessons to 100% relate? It’s impossible. Wha...