Listen to Ming, btw. He knows what he's talking about. Find something that works for you to deal with the anxiety. For me I run it eyes front, with the students having active participation. I have made them sit for a half hour before to make the point that we need to be paying attention to the class, after a few students complained about excessive chatter. I also confiscate phones if I catch you checking one
That happens once a term then everyone sees it and they don't do that again.
Do it right away, tell them about it and most important - stay consistent through the term. Students are going to want to drift off, but they will be much more accepting of a 'tough' teacher who's the same every time than someone who's tough and then not tough. I personally am not that 'tough', but the students listen to me so. They don't really notice it because they are used to it by the end of the term.
Also, I will start at the bell, if you're late you miss out. 5+ minutes, you're waiting outside. Got complaints about it before, but I pointed out that we have to start on time and the best way to start on time and not get behind is to you know, start on time. I will let them out early if we finish up early - so there is incentive to sit and listen and be productive. I have one lesson plan that consistently runs over, which I have to work on this year to try to figure out a way to fix that one. Aside from that, the others are appropriately paced.
I'm not tough because I don't assign homework, and I think that's a fair trade off for paying attention in class and making good use of your time. If you're falling behind and need extra help, I will schedule time with those students outside of class. I might have a student or two a year that needs the catch-up time, so I try to make sure they get it.
Some parents are skeptical about the approach and I try to explain that they are more likely to learn if it isn't drudgery.

Do it right away, tell them about it and most important - stay consistent through the term. Students are going to want to drift off, but they will be much more accepting of a 'tough' teacher who's the same every time than someone who's tough and then not tough. I personally am not that 'tough', but the students listen to me so. They don't really notice it because they are used to it by the end of the term.
Also, I will start at the bell, if you're late you miss out. 5+ minutes, you're waiting outside. Got complaints about it before, but I pointed out that we have to start on time and the best way to start on time and not get behind is to you know, start on time. I will let them out early if we finish up early - so there is incentive to sit and listen and be productive. I have one lesson plan that consistently runs over, which I have to work on this year to try to figure out a way to fix that one. Aside from that, the others are appropriately paced.
I'm not tough because I don't assign homework, and I think that's a fair trade off for paying attention in class and making good use of your time. If you're falling behind and need extra help, I will schedule time with those students outside of class. I might have a student or two a year that needs the catch-up time, so I try to make sure they get it.
Some parents are skeptical about the approach and I try to explain that they are more likely to learn if it isn't drudgery.
Comment