Welcome back to Learning With Leslie.  Thanks so much to those who took the time to visit my blog and offer your support for my first posting.  Please feel free to pass the link on to those you think might be interested.  Your comments were much appreciated.  I especially liked hearing how you tried my strategy for remaining calm and responding right and found it worked.  Keep giving me feedback.  It will only help me make the blog better.

What's Happening In The Education World
Bus Monitor Bullied on School Bus

When I saw the video of the bus monitor being bullied on the school bus by students, I knew it was something I had to comment on.  Thanks to video and social media, bullying has become a hot topic and something that seems is becoming a social movement in how it should be addressed.  Bullying has been around for all time but we are much more aware of it and its effects.

Anyone who watched the video had to have a gut reaction to what was happening.  It was painful to watch for so many reasons - an adult who is being shown a complete lack of respect; children who believe that it is OK to verbally attack someone in a vicious way are just a couple of the reasons.  The reaction was as expected once the news grabs it.  There was outrage that this could be allowed to happen and a call for some very extreme consequences for the children.  There was an out-pouring of support for the bus monitor.  For me, I had a few questions.

1. Why did the bus monitor feel so powerless to do something to stop the children?  She was the the bus monitor and supposed to be there to address behavior issues that arise.  This leads to my next question.
2. What training and support is provided for the bus monitor?  This could not have been the first incident of bullying on the bus.  From my experience in education, anyone working with children has some type of training provided.  If anything, the training is done for liability purposes. 
3. What is the bus driver's role in this?  Does the bus driver have any responsibility here?  I find it so hard to believe that the bus driver sits passively and lets the behavior happen.  
4. What initial instruction was given to the students (all students) on appropriate behavior on the bus?  I have found in my work that many adults assume that children know what the expected behavior is.  Does this excuse the bullying?  No - but I wonder if they had been instructed on the correct behavior. I do know it's not enough just to tell them what the appropriate behavior is.  They have to practice it.

I was pleased to hear that parents of the students were upset with their children's behavior and did not try to excuse it - which so often happens.  I was also pleased to hear that the school district did not try to down play the incident and was doing a thorough investigation.  The school district has decided on consequences (or punishments if you desire that word) for the students - 50 hours of community service; suspension from school for one year (although they will be transferred to a special alternative education program); suspension from riding the bus for one year.  I leave it up to you to decide if this is appropriate or not.  Me?  I can only hope that there have been lessons learned by both adults and students and that these lessons will continue to be taught in the future.

Tips and Strategies for Classroom Management

Avoiding Power Struggles

This strategy follows up on the one I had in my last post "Remaining Calm and Responding Right".  As a former middle school teacher there were always power struggles that came along in the classroom.  Hey, we're talking about middle school students!  They are so out of control with all the hormones starting to kick in that they are trying desperately to find some control any way they can - hence the power struggle.  I've also used this strategy with adults who annoy me with their own sense of power.  I love to watch the expression on their faces as they realize you're not going there with them.

To avoid power struggles, try a "Diffuser" - make your job fun!  Just watch for the expression on their face.

• You can either take on the power struggle and climb up the staircase or you can diffuse the situation and respond right. 
• Send the message that learning won’t be derailed by challenges.
• Send the message that “I hear you” and “So what”.

Try these Diffusers  (I bet you have some of your own.  Please feel free to comment and tell me which diffusers you use.)

• I understand
• Probably so
• Nevertheless
• I’m sorry (my personal favorite)

By using a diffuser you acknowledge the student; you are not just ignoring them (which could be the worst thing you could do), but you are also saying (without uttering the words)  "So what" and move on.  Try not to smile or even giggle (remember, the student is deadly serious about their intent to have you climb that staircase with them) when you see how it works for you.

Still can't seem to wrap my head around how I want to present my lesson plans.  So in the mean time I will share a couple of websites I like that can be useful when it comes to lesson planning.

First is www.schooltube.com.  I like the different categories for finding different areas I might want to use.  One caution - I find that there are many education service providers that also post and they aren't necessarily offering something you can use in a lesson but promoting their services.  

The next one is one I've been using to help me get back up to speed as I study for my area Praxis testing  in middle school Language Arts.  It also has promotional things for you to buy (just about everything does these days), but there are free lesson plans available and I really like the short and sweet content videos.  Go to www.grammarbook.com.

I'll keep looking for more websites I think would be helpful.  If you want to know more about my consulting services for classroom management, go to www.learningwleslie.com.

Until next time, enjoy those fabulous teaching moments!

Welcome to Learning With Leslie!  This blog is intended as a resource for teachers and educators with an emphasis on what's happening in the education world (i.e. politics, research, new trends), tips and strategies for classroom management (thank you Time To Teach), and lesson planning (think core standards).  As an educational consultant, I'm finding there is much to comment on.


I hope you find future postings informative and helpful.  I'm going to try and post bi-monthly.  I know that's a tall order, but there's a lot out there in education to talk about.  I'll make no promises, though.  Also, I want to thank my niece Lauren, who gave me the idea to do this blog.  I have been following the one she created  for some time (http://passtheplateblog.blogspot.com/) . She has a passion and enjoyment for recipes and good food and wanted to share that with the world.  I have a passion for education and have thoughts I feel compelled to share (thank you for indulging me).


If you'd like to learn more about me and my consulting, go to www.learningwleslie.com.  That's all I'll say about that.


On to today's post!


What's Happening in the Education World
Dropout age requirement


I was catching up on my newspaper reading from yesterday (I love the News and Observer on Sunday) when I came across an article ("Idea to raise dropout age tanks" by Shannon McFarland, Associated Press) about a proposal by President Obama in his State of the Union address to raise the age that students would be eligible to dropout of high school to 18.  I thought this was great.  Finally, something that would be a no brainer.  Wouldn't we all like students to stay in school and graduate?  Studies show the longer you stay in school the better chance you have for success.  I was surprised to learn that it isn't as clear cut as it seems.


The article mentioned that only one state (Maryland) has raised its dropout to age 18 and it won't take effect for five years.  Of course, what was cited as one of the biggest concerns is the cost - cost on extra counseling and remedial courses with no guarantee that these teens will graduate with a diploma because of poor grades.  Some states have considered legislation to raise the age but have wound up going nowhere.  The White House is unable to give any details about the proposal.


After reading this article my first reaction was - "It always comes down to money."  I'm tired of having the money card played for every woe education suffers.  Don't get me wrong.  I think the cuts that are being made in school budgets across the country are going to have a huge impact on the type of education offered to students.  I believe, however, that there are numerous schools with reduced budgets that are able to give a quality education to students and have it be engaging so the students want to stay in school.  These schools have figured out what they need to do to help students learn.  The teachers have a connection with their students that lets the students know that they are there for them to help them, no matter what, with the learning process.  The administration and support staff have the same commitment.


Anyone who has been a part of education the past couple of years has probably seen the acronym DI (Differentiated Instruction).  It seems like a new term, but those teachers who have recognized that their students learn in different ways have been doing it for years.  (For those who may not know what DI is, I'll be talking about it in an upcoming post.  If your school district hasn't already jumped on the DI bandwagon, there are plenty of websites that explain it.)  When I started reading more about DI, all I thought was that was how I always teach.  I bring this up because I see it as one way to keep students engaged without a high cost.  If students believe you are truly invested in their learning, they will be invested too.


I put this out there for thought.  There are ways to keep students in school until they graduate and have it be an experience that meets their learning needs as well as having them feel engaged.  It doesn't need to cost a lot of money and it doesn't need legislation.  All it needs is an understanding of what a child needs to succeed in their learning environment.  Any teacher in a classroom can figure it out.


Tips and Strategies for Classroom Management
Remaining Calm and Responding Right


This is a strategy that is near and dear to my heart.  It took me the first couple of years teaching in middle school to get this down, but once I did, it was amazing the control that came to my classroom.  I am amazed it took me so long to figure out that if I was out of control, my class would be out of control.  Oh, this also works for parents.  Here's your strategy.


Calm is contagious, silence is powerful.  (My students learned when I was the quietest they were in the most trouble.)

• The most powerful thing you can do is remain silent.  When challenged, try not to say anything.
• Turn to the side and model cognition.
• If you respond, you are taking the bait and climbing the stairs to an unbearable limit, where you lose it.  Don't dance with them.

During the silence, be thinking about what you are going to say.

• What limit are you going to set?  Be clear, concise, and make sure your response is easy to understand and enforceable.
• Make sure it is also proportional and reasonable.

Never say something to a child you can't pull off.

• The consequence should make sense and be related.  When kids can see the validity and fairness, they respect you more.

Wait Time

• Try to allow 3 seconds of wait time, to allow kids processing time.

Personal Space

• Always make sure you keep 1 1/2 - 3 feet of space between you and another human being.

There you have it.  It takes some practice and I promise you will have those students who test you more than once.  Once they get the idea you're not going to go there with them, they are easier to work with and everyone is calm - you especially!

That's it for this post.  I'm still trying to decide where I want to start on the core standards and lesson plans.  Until next time, enjoy those fabulous teaching moments.