Thanksgiving Break 2008 Personal by Joel Wagner - November 26, 2008July 1, 20102 As I've written in the past in How Not To Waste Spring Break (or Summer Vacation, or Christmas Break, or Saturday, or Tonight!), I prefer to spend my down time doing things productive. I am fortunate that my school is off for this entire week. So what have I done? Caught up on housework As a single guy, housekeeping just doesn't seem to find its way to the top of my priority list all the time. This weekend, I caught up on laundry, cleared out some space in my spare bedroom and made it a functional office, completely cleaned the living room, and just got caught up on things that fall behind. Mariachi practice Mariachi has become my
You Better Smile Before Christmas! Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - December 8, 2007May 29, 201610 The common classroom management wisdom we all hear is, "Don't smile before Christmas." I believe that advice is good advice when taken metaphorically. If taken directly as written, it is about the worst advice you can follow. Good advice In the middle of my fourth semester of teaching, when I was learning how to really get a handle on classroom management, I asked lots of questions. Among the answers I got was this little gem: Never smile before Christmas! I asked further questions for clarification, and my mentors advised me that basically my job as a teacher is to educate the children. It is not to be their friend. The funny thing is that when you are strict, they will like you more than
Habit 2: Classroom Habits Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - July 10, 2007July 5, 20103 This is the second in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Classroom Procedures The procedures that you lay out in the classroom are the most outwardly evident procedures that you have in place. For this reason, they are key elements of your overall classroom management plan. Much of the procedures really depend on the age-group you teach. Since I teach middle school, my procedures are very middle-school oriented. These procedures can be broken up into three categories: Beginning of class Middle of class End of class Beginning of class The tone of the entire class is established before the students walk in the door. We've all heard the old adage, You never get