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By Terry Lawler
Contributing writer
Tips from the Managing the Classroom (From a presentation by Teresa Lien, instructional facilitator, Baraboo School District) • Start the class with an activity, such as a vocabulary word of the day to define and use. • Play a short piece of music between activities to signal the students to sit quietly and wait for the next activity to be introduced. • Never assume that all students know how to “clean up” or settle down after an activity. Instruct them. • Perfect your “presence” in the classroom. Use body language, poise and tone of voice as part of your classroom management. • Say what you mean in a clear, non-threatening tone. Working with Parents (From a presentation by Laurie Kowalke, K-5 guidance counselor, and Ann Renn, 9-12 guidance counselor, both from Baraboo) • Choose appropriate meeting times and places. On the way into the building first thing in the morning is not a good time. Set up a meeting outside the school day that is best for you and the parents. • If a parent becomes hostile in a meeting, remain calm and polite. Tell the parent you will need more time to solve the problem and offer to set up another meeting. • Seek to work with the parents to solve problems. Empower them to defuse control issues. |
Never underestimate the influence that you have on your students.
That was the message businessman Eric Wolfe delivered to more than 50 new teachers and their colleagues at a unique New Teacher Academy August 8-9 in Baraboo.
Wolfe, CEO and president of Erbert and Gerbert’s Subs & Clubs, a restaurant chain begun in Eau Claire in 1987, recalled how he began to struggle with math in 3rd grade. “My teacher, Mrs. Jean Hegman, took me aside. She told me I was a full year behind in math. Mrs. Hegman took it upon herself to mentor me. Over the next several weeks, I was scared, frustrated, often crying, but Mrs. Hegman always encouraged and challenged me. I have never forgotten that experience.”
It was that kind of story that inspired participants who took part in the first New Teacher Academy, a collaborative effort between many Baraboo District staff members and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The conference covered a wide variety of topics from classroom management to working with at-risk students.
Veteran educator and UW-Platteville instructor Paul Gasser, said that in his work as a counselor with Mayo/ Franciscan Health Care he often deals with some of the more difficult aspects of teaching. His presentation, “Calming the Chaos and Increasing Instructional Time in the Classroom,” demonstrated techniques for ending arguments with students, avoiding power struggles, holding kids responsible for their decisions and building healthy, cooperative relationships with “tough” kids.
He offered these tips for neutralizing arguments:
He also offered these rules for giving choices:
Also, he said, phrase choices carefully, such as:
Referring to the increasing challenges that teachers face in the classroom, Gasser noted that one-third of America’s students come from families in which one or both parents suffer from chemical dependency.
“These parents can’t build relationships with their children, and those children don’t trust other adults,” Gasser said. “New teachers have to realize that many difficulties in the classroom can’t be solved by writing better lesson plans or improving the curriculum. Teachers need to be trained to effectively deal with these students.”
Many of the breakout sessions over the rest of the academy addressed that need for training. Laura Love from Lodi and Brian Kersten from Waunakee, both 9-12 principals, conducted a workshop centering on building and maintaining relationships with high school students.
Shannon Stein, a 9-12 principal from Lomira, demonstrated methods for working with at-risk students. There were also sessions on classroom management skills.
Acknowledging that new teachers have questions which don’t pertain to the classroom, Lien and her fellow planners set up some atypical workshops. Derek Haroldson, Sauk City Education Association vice president, led a discussion titled “The Teachers’ Union: What Does it Do for Me?” Laurie Kowalke, a guidance counselor from Baraboo, presented “Working With Parents,” in which she showed the wisdom of working with parents as opposed to dealing with them.
Lien said participants found the conference to be enlightening.
“Presenters commented on how they have never heard of anything else like this in the state or in their area that brings together new teachers from across the state,” Lien said. “Each brought their own experiences into the sessions and felt the discussions were about authentic issues. They felt the new teachers did not feel intimidated and were very engaged in learning more. ...
“The feedback from the new teachers, after the two days, was very positive. They were all able to walk away with authentic and practical ideas that they will use immediately in their teaching this fall,” Lien said.
“The experience of collegiality was stressed as we firmly believe we need to learn from each other and build relationships across the state.”
Sidebar: Filling a need for new teachers
The New Teachers Academy had its roots in the Baraboo School District’s experience with a strong mentoring program.
Baraboo instructional facilitator Teresa Lien and district English teacher Kim Bockenhauer, along with other mentors and new teachers, developed the idea last winter.
“We talked about the problems and surprises new teachers encounter in their first year because they are not fully prepared for the realities of teaching,” Lien said. “Even with high-quality mentoring and coaching, there is still a great deal new teachers need instruction and training on.”
Lien took her ideas to Paul Gasser, a marriage and family counselor with Mayo/Franciscan Health Care, and the two of them worked out the specifics of the Academy.
Lien believes this comment from a participant sums up the experience best: “For five years (in college), I’ve been listening to people tell me about teaching who have not been in the classroom! These presenters were the real deal talking to us about the real things we will dealing with...it’s overwhelming.”
Posted September 6, 2007