What Great Teachers Do Differently: Part 3

Chapters 12-19 
As a team, our time engaging in the concepts discussed in What Great Teachers Do Differently has come to a close. To finish out the book, I asked my virtual mentors the following questions and received the following responses.

How do you determine when is an appropriate time to address teasing/taunting?

I will address these items any time that it becomes concerning to me- I would rather have a talk with students and find out there friends and that's just how they communicate, than overlook an issue and there be real teasing/taunting. Additionally, anytime it interferes with the classroom it is a problem no matter what.

How do you address it without giving the student the satisfaction of your attention? I alway address these types of issues/concerns away from the other students such as calling them out into the hall or asking them to stay a few minutes after class to discuss the issue

How do you accommodate for high-achievers/gifted students? This is something I admit I am not as good at: I have found that my gifted students will dig deeper themselves and make some of those deeper connections between the curriculum and other course work.

What can you do to give high-achievers/gifted student the satisfaction of doing good work while pushing them to exceed the expectations without deflating their self conscious? Once you develop a rapport with those students it will come naturally- my classes have anywhere from 15-30 students that range in abilities from major IEP accommodations such as a 3rd grade reading and writing level to having the class valedictorian… I have found that you have to stay on your high achieving students as they will tend to slack quicker in a diversified class, where they may not feel the pressure to perform- that pressure has to come from you as the teacher- it may be comments or conversations about how they can improve an assignment or project. Additionally, sometimes the hands on components of our programs  are a nice “brain break” for the high achievers that in my opinion we expect to much of at times.

What are your opinions on standardized testing? They do a poor job of indicating a students knowledge- they only cover a small part of what students learn and in limited subjects.

How do you feel about the NOCTI? It is an ok tool for specialized programs but not for general programs with limited availability to teach all components that may be offered.

Do you feel as the book describes- standardized testing only covers a small percentage of what schools should be doing? Yes- I firmly believe that schools are designed to prepare students for embarking on society and standardised tests limit a teacher's ability to prepare students for these situations as there is so much pressure for teachers to increase test scores  

In addition to these questions, I also came up with the following comments that allowed me to connect the concepts within the book to what I will be teaching and how I can put these concepts into my own works. 

- Appeal to students emotions. In order to get a reaction that you are hoping for, you need to appeal to students emotions. Everything is driven by emotions. If we make it cool to care, there will be no wrong-doing. (In my classroom: utilize all of the fun things about FFA, make students want to engage in SAE projects and FFA activities.)
-Students first.

-Great teachers put themselves in their students shoes and are sure to approach all types of learners. No matter their home life or background. (Variability is key, get to know your students and tailor to their needs- if "Becky" is on the cheering squad, relate some instruction to that area that interests her, or if "Billy" love animals, highlight jobs that he could have in the future.) -The wording that you use can impact the kind of response that you get. Be careful not to send out negatively written notes. When people become uncomfortable, they change. (When sending letters home to parents, make sure that you are always utilizing positivity even if the letter is of a disciplinary nature- NEVER accuse students.)