I've always wanted to be a teacher, but my experiences in the classroom made me change my plan. I substitute teach and have my own business as tutor. When I have success teaching, I share it in a Squidoo lens or an article on Wizzley. http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/YourFirstTime Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:07:15 -0600 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.squidoo.com/classroom_management_strategies There are many strategies for dealing with misbehavior in the classroom. They can focus on reward and punishment, assuming a more dominant role, Time Outs, withdrawing desirable activities or, in the worst case scenario, removal of the problem children from the classroom. In reward and punishment systems, students are offered bribes for their complacency. Black stars counteract gold stars, popsicle sticks gracing the offending student's name are added to a bad choices cup, or minutes are taken from recess time. The loss of recess is probably the worst tool choice as it reduces the amount of exercise and free play that the disruptive child gets and they probably need it more than other students. In each of these cases, students must decide for themselves if the offending action is worth the punishment or loss. If the price isn't high enough, the behavior will continue. If the punishment is too harsh, the student will learn injustice. Since none of these options addresses the cause of the misbehavior, they are doomed to failure, sooner or later. education Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:39:14 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/math-turoring We assume that because we know how to do something, everyone else knows how to do it too. Likewise if we find something easy to do, everyone else must find it easy to do as well. However, the only reason we're able to do anything with ease is because we were shown and taught how to do it properly. Who sees a bicycle for the first time and instantly knows how to ride it? Why then, do we assume that kids know how to do their math homework when in reality they have probably never been shown how to do it correctly? education Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:57:35 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/what-is-executive-functioning We've all seen students who are continually late to class, turn assignments in late and incomplete, and just don't follow through on anything unless someone takes them by the hand and becomes their taskmaster. Often this is put down to laziness or carelessness, but researchers who study this behavior believe it has more to do with executive functioning. Executive functioning is a term that describes a person's ability to follow through on tasks and think and act independently. While all of us have these abilities in varying strengths. a person with executive function disorder seems unable to do them at an adequate level. In fact, some experts believe that children who do not learn to exercise executive functions early on, are misdiagnosed as having ADHD. education Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:05:47 -0600