Jo Richards's Public Library

Energetic – Let’s face it, teaching is a high-energy job. The lifeless need not apply. The kids we teach have energy to spare. We need to be able to keep up with them.



Not boring – These are kids’ three most common complaints about teachers: 1 - "He has no control over the class," 2 – “I'm not learning anything,” and 3 – “He’s so boring.” It’s impossible to be boring when you’re excited about what you’re doing.



Tough – Teachers need to be tough in a couple of ways. Teaching is not a job for sissies. You have to be tough physically and mentally because it’s a demanding profession. There are also times when you have to be tough on kids. Not mean, but tough. We need to hold them accountable, and they need to know we will.



High standards – Good teachers maintain high standards in both behavior and academics. It’s important to put those standards in writing, to let kids and their parents know what’s expected, and to be consistent in following through.



Understanding – By this I mean understanding what’s going on in kids’ lives – having empathy for them. It’s important for teachers to remember their own days as students. What was it like on a bad day? When were you distracted? What got you fired up?



Sense of humor – You’ll die without one. People of all ages love to laugh, and kids laugh about ten times more than the average adult. Someone once said that laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Never miss an opportunity to laugh with kids and at yourself. Imagination – Even Einstein said imagination was more important than intellect. This is especially true of teachers because teaching is an art. It requires a certain degree of creativity. Always look for new ways of presenting things in the classroom.



Always prepared – If someone asked me what the most time-consuming aspect of teaching was I would answer with one word: preparation. It would have terrified me to walk into a classroom with being completely prepared. At the same time, be flexible. We need to be able to capitalize on those serendipitous moments when they occur, no matter how solid our lesson plan is.



Story-teller – In my first year of teaching one of the best teachers in my school gave me some invaluable advice: “If you want to make a point with the kids, put it into a story. They’ll listen to a good story. They’ll tune out a lecture.” There’s nothing like a good story to get your point across.



Motivated – “Real motivation comes from within.” That’s the title of Chapter 11 in my book, Life’s Greatest Lessons. Good teachers understand this. They keep a fire burning inside rather than wait for someone else to light one for them.

we need to fully recognize their individual efforts.

Unless we praise effectively the associated benefits will be lost.

1) When you give verbal praise to a child – make them really feel it.

Mine is simple: If I say there is to be no talking, then there is to be no talking.

I will not tolerate being interrupted without taking action.

I seldom enforce this rule for longer than a few minutes – just at those key times when I am either explaining something, starting a new task or taking a register etc.

- but if I tell a group that I want total silence, then I mean it.

And any pupil who ignores this is dealt with straight away.



For example, never let a pupil shout out without reminding them to put up their hand.

Never, allow pupils to continue talking at the start of a lesson when you’ve started explaining the objective.

Never, let pupils interrupt you without reminding them that it is unacceptable to do so.

4. Have ‘settling work’ ready for them when they enter the room

Routines are one of the best preventive tools you can use.

Routines hone down our broad rules into specific step-by-step plans and make them applicable to an almost unlimited range of activities and situations.

Here are five simple rules:

Always face the teacher when he or she is talking.

Follow instructions first time.

Take part in activities and complete set tasks

Use materials correctly and safely

Use polite language

1. By facing the teacher you are showing respect – this skill is needed throughout life, regardless of who you are talking to. By listening you stand more chance of succeeding and gaining important information. You will need to know how to use equipment properly and safely, you will need to know about forthcoming trips, visits and deadlines and you will need to know how to do certain tasks. We want you to do well, so it makes sense to listen.



2. Life is full of rules which we have to follow in order for the world to operate smoothly. E.g. why do we have traffic lights? What would happen if we ignored the red light?

This approach eliminates the tendency to slip into power struggles and having to repeat instructions and commands over and over again. It also eliminates the need for lots of complex rules such as “No calling out” etc. because it can be re-stated in response to any infraction once an instruction has been given. Finally it allows pupils more responsibility to choose their behaviour and prevents them feeling they are in an overly restrictive environment.



3. I understand that some people work faster than others so I will give you a set task each lesson to be completed. The only way you will succeed in life is if you actually take part and by taking part in the lesson activities you have the best chance of completing your task.



4. We have this rule so that equipment does not get broken – nobody wants that, otherwise we can no longer do certain lesson activities that rely on the equipment. We also have this rule to stop anyone getting hurt.



5. Nobody likes being sworn at - we have this rule to stop people from being verbally abused. Also, it gives us chance to practice communicating in the correct manner – an essential skill as you go through life if you want people to take you seriously and view you favourably.

Successful teachers have the attitude that they are in control, that they can succeed and that they can deal with any problem that besets them – calmly and swiftly.

The calm, approachable teacher knows it is she who is in control. She has no need to yell and threaten because she knows there are a wide range of strategies she can use to get compliance before she needs to even think about punishment or threats.