Teaching High School

amother

Tanzanite

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 9:10 am

Firstly- much hatzlacha! From s o who has taught hs girls for most of my adult life (30 plus yrs) :
1. First impressions count. The girls will come to their conclusions about you very quickly. Smile but lay out classroom rules, your testing schedule etc
2. Listen to your students. They have much insight (and a bit of drama) that adds to the class- validate and move on.
3. Use the smart board often. That medium sparks their interest in addition to frontal teaching.
4. Admit when you do not know an answer to a question. Look it up and come back to respond the next day. Students appreciate genuine candor.
5. Know that your role is a pivotal one! You will make a difference!

amother

Moonstone

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 10:28 am

Love the above advice…
I’m teaching HS for a few years.
1- be decisive. When the girls ask if they can go to the bathroom, have extra time, etc think about it quickly and confidently say the answer. if they see you don’t have a strong stance on things they’ll take advantage.
2. Nip the shmoozers in the bud early on and separate them. Otherwise it will continue to a problem and escalate throughout the year.
3. Show them that you value them and respect them. If you respect them they will respect you.
3. Be fair and flexible when you can within reason.
4. Anything hands on or anything extra that you bring in will peak their interest. A video, a simple demonstration to bring out a lesson, they go crazy over it lol.

simcha12plus

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 10:38 am

teach a LOT.
girls respect teachers who teach a lot of material and make them think.
students value teachers who think the girls are intelligent and capable.
don’t wast time, every minute belongs to the parents who paid for school.
have very clear rules and boundaries and stick to them.
Get help for a discipline strategy

amother

DarkGreen

Fri, Aug 23 2024, 10:58 am

1. I find that students’s attention spans are way down- straight up lecturing doesn’t work anymore. I divide my class into 1/3 lecture, 1/3 discussion and 1/3 activity/ small group work.
2. Be structured and prepared- students respect teachers who know what they’re doing and have a nice balance of support vs expectations (aka not too rigid and not to permissive
3. At the same time, they want to know that their teachers care about them and see them as people so be flexible within reason
4. Clear and predictable are key terms- I start my year with an intro, syllabus, and class expectations and keep them consistent throughout the year. No one feels targeted etc. they know I have rules but that I’m also fair and understanding. For example, there’s a penalty for late work, but if a student reaches out for an extension with a reasonable explanation, I give it to her.
5. Many students struggle with anxiety and other invisible situations. If they’re acting chutzpadik, ask yourself why and what the source is and react based on that.
6. Pick your battles - ex if a student with ADHD needs to move around a little but isn’t bothering anyone, I ignore it. Same with if a girl is doodling (it’s affecting her, not anyone else). A whisper here or there to a friend is better off ignored, but anything above that gets a firm, “quiet please.”
7. If you do have an issue with a student, address it privately. Never publicly embarrass a student, it’s extremely hard to recover from that and can do more damage than you’d expect
8. Differentiated assessments allows students who don’t excel on traditional tests to shine.
9. Find a way to have give every student positive attention and reinforcement
10. Be real with them but find the balance between friendly and friend (you’re a role model, not a friend). Share, but don’t over share

amother

Strawberry

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 5:46 pm

amother Moonstone wrote:

If you're going to be thinking quickly and sticking to it about letting them go to the bathroom, please let the answer be yes.

amother

Chicory

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:08 pm

amother Tanzanite wrote:

4. Admit when you do not know an answer to a question. Look it up and come back to respond the next day. Students appreciate genuine candor.

This reminds me of some semi-serious advice I once got.

When a student asks a question to which you don't know the answer, first of all commend them on an excellent question. Then tell the whole class to write down the question, and find out the answer for homework!

amother

Honeydew

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:19 pm

amother Strawberry wrote:

If you're going to be thinking quickly and sticking to it about letting them go to the bathroom, please let the answer be yes.

Point to ponder: when my students ask to leave I ask them whether they need to use the bathroom. The answer is yes in less than ten percent of these instances.
(I let them go to the bathroom. I don’t let them go call their friends from the other classes because they don’t want to do their work)
Anonymous because I’ve told too many people about this gem.

amother

Purple

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:22 pm

amother Chicory wrote:

That would be the last time I ever asked a question in class.
And I can guarantee that the girl who did ask questions would be bullied terribly.

The way to encourage questions is not by loading them up with more homework.

amother

Tiffanyblue

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 12:00 pm

a couple years ago a mentor helped me with classroom management ideas.
I have since implemented a "3 times per term" bathroom rule. I know I will get slack for it, but I work in a school where girls aren't that serious and will take advantage. even right when I walk in, right after lunch... This way they think twice -- are they serious they need to go out, or are just taking advantage??
Yes, there are girls who will go beyond 3x and as long as it doesn't get too crazy, I honestly would leave it.
the way I do it, I have a class list and if they leave to the bathroom, they have to put a check next to their name.

amother

Copper

Sun, Sep 08 2024, 12:06 pm

My tips:

1) Have a seating chart and use it to learn their names ASAP. Either give assigned seating, or on the very first day, let them choose their seat and fill in a seating chart. Have it passed back to you and start using their names immediately. If you learn their names quickly, they feel valued and are impressed, because most teachers don't.

2) Be firm in the beginning. You can always loosen up later, but it's much harder to firm-up later.

3) Grade tests/essays quickly. It shows that you value their work.