Category: School Challenges

Teachers are some of the most impactful individuals in a person’s life from childhood. With an excellent educator around, they can forget the problems at home. The students can also gain a second parent in them, which is significant, especially for kids who come from a broken family or are standing at crossroads.

The same goes for children with learning difficulties. Perhaps more than their classmates or parents, the teachers can understand and see their academic struggles the most. And considering they are past the preschool age, the students spend at least one-third of their weekdays at school. Thus, if there’s someone who can encourage a troubled learner to make progress, that may be a teacher.

Check out a few essential messages an educator should – and can – convey to students with learning difficulties below.

You Are Not A Failure

The first thing you may notice with kids who can’t keep up with the class academically is that they often look at themselves in a bad light. If you ask such a student to describe himself or herself, it’s possible to hear self-deprecating words, e.g., dumb, idiot, and letdown, come out of their mouth.

As their teacher, you need to correct this perception over and over until the children can accept that they genuinely are not failures. This path may be a bit rocky in the beginning, but its fantastic effect on the learner will make it worth all your effort.

It’s Not Necessary To Learn As Fast As Others

Students with learning disabilities also tend to get angry or frustrated when they realize they are falling behind the rest of their peers. That’s when the rebellious side goes to the surface and causes more distractions in their life.

One way to avoid that is to instill in your student’s minds that it’s irrelevant to compare their learning speed with other people. There will be individuals who will always be better than them at something, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have the same knowledge as others. Once they persevere, nothing is impossible.

The Disability Is Only A Hurdle You Can Jump Over

Regardless of your religious beliefs, it cannot hurt to think of the difficulty as an obstacle that the student can crush as soon as he or she is ready. Aiding the learners to see the issue as such is highly essential for their improvement. Kids, in fact, may appreciate that kind of simile, mainly if they are into games.

We Are Here To Help You

Last but not least, reassure the student that you, along with their friends, family members, and batchmates, are available whenever he or she requires assistance. It is far too easy to feel inferior during this situation, as well as have that emotion play tricks in their minds. That may result in loneliness and depression, which can only make matters worse.

Open communication is highly vital to allow them to realize that you’re not merely saying it on a whim. Give the child a number where he or she can call or text you to clarify things about the previous lessons. In addition to that, offer remedial classes and create lesson plans that will be extra beneficial to them.

The first blog titled Qualities Of A Dedicated Teacher talked about three values that an educator must possess. These values or qualities were Fairness, Accessibility, and Organization.

Continue reading “More Qualities Of A Dedicated Teacher”

My husband is a teacher, and so is my mother who has been teaching since she was 22. She is now 58 years old and still imparting Math to young kids. My grandmother was also a professor and one of the “terror” educators in the English department of a prestigious university here in our city. Today, she is the Principal of a preschool at 83 years old; strong and sharp. As for my grandfather, he was also a professor and well-loved by his students and colleagues before he passed on.

Continue reading “Qualities Of A Dedicated Teacher”

 

As educators, we need to instinctually put into mind that a student’s poor academic performance doesn’t always mean he or she has low IQ or is a slow learner. Low grades could be more than just numbers. And misbehaviors could be more than just a bad attitude.

Continue reading “Family Disintegration And 3 Other Factors That Adversely Affect Children’s School Performance”

Each student is different. As a teacher, you will encounter all sorts of fruits in the basket—the energetic one, the smarty-pants, and the closed-off one. You will never run out of personality types. However, more often than not, the challenge is to deal with the deafening silence when no one is participating in classroom discussions.

Classroom participation is a highly important aspect of school learning. If only a few students raise their hands and engage in discussions, the class loses the opportunity to learn from each other. Participation also improves critical thinking and social skills of students.

Here are five ways to encourage your students to participate in class:

1. Peer Activities

Let your students interact and learn from each other through peer activities like games, debates, reports, and others.

Group them randomly so that no one will feel left out if they are not a part of a circle. Doing this will provide an opportunity for each student to come up with an input individually and then later synthesize everything together to produce their final output. Having them discuss their work among themselves will make them feel independent while still having a sense of cooperation and working together.

2. Listen And Respond

Be aware of how you, as the teacher and the grown-up in the class, respond to your students. You are the one who first creates the atmosphere within the class.

Practice effective verbal and non-verbal cues. Encourage; don’t intimidate. Making eye contact is vital when speaking with students to let them know that you are engaging with them. Knowing that you are listening to them, they will have the courage them to express their thoughts.

As much as possible, do not interrupt when a student is speaking. Even if his/her answer is off the track, let him/her finish speaking. Do not bluntly dismiss a wrong answer. Use questioning or redirection, which will eventually point to the correct answer.

3. Study Buddy

Aside from group activities, assigning a study buddy at the beginning of the class will help students adjust and make friends easily. Moreover, students speak more with their friends, so having a buddy whom they can talk to and who can evaluate them can help encourage participation in class.

4. Give Rewards

Giving rewards doesn’t always mean giving material gifts to the students; sometimes, a simple “Well done!” could go a long way. Giving praises and words of encouragement to students will let them feel that participating and speaking out are worth it.

5. Make The Classroom Setup Engaging

This tip might already be a given, but make sure to memorize the names of your students. Ask them if they have a nickname in mind that they want you to call them. Referencing them by their names helps build a connection between you and them.

Creating an environment where students can speak their minds, work with other people, and explore each lesson will help improve their interest and engagement. Most children have a short attention span. Knowing this, you have to create an atmosphere that will be challenging for them.

The right amount of effort will get students to participate in class. Remember that they rely on you, so every action that you do inside the classroom will affect the students. Knowing the right strategy in dealing with your students will, later on, result in active participation and fruitful discussions.

Being a teacher or professor can be one of the best things that can happen in your life. It feels great to get an opportunity to teach your students and even change the course of their lives. Unfortunately, there are some challenges that you have to face the moment you enter this kind of profession. While it can be rewarding, there is also a possibility that it can be stressful, especially if you are still new to it. At this point, you have to understand the reality that, according to psychology, kids will always be different from one another.

 

 

No matter how much you try to make an effort to find common ground among your students, you will still end up encountering problems because of their differences. Aside from this, you may also find it challenging to deal with the parents of your students since they also have a different opinion on how to raise their children. It is also possible that you will have difficulty in dealing with your work colleagues who may have different views from you. Do not fret nor worry because there are tons of solutions to these problems.

 

In today’s article, we are going to share the top five things that every new teacher must remember. Make sure to know them by heart so that you will live a happier and better life as you start your journey in teaching:

 

Believe In Yourself

 

You have to become confident in your new career. Stop thinking about the possible issues or concerns that you may encounter as you begin your professional journey. Instead, focus on improving yourself and believing that everything is within your reach. Eliminate self-limiting doubts because these can hold you back and prevent you from becoming an effective educator. Always remember that not everyone is given a chance to teach in school. As such, you are one of the few who are talented enough to instill new knowledge and learning to the kids.

 

 

Be Nice To Your Colleagues

 

As much as possible, maintain a good relationship with all your workmates. Do not be the kind of person who is snob on her first day. Instead, make an effort to be friends with everyone. However, it is essential to note that you must not try too hard. It means that there is also a necessity on your part to take things slow. Do not be too condescending when communicating with them, especially if you are not yet aware of their personalities. The best thing to do is to act friendly to everyone and avoid saying negative things to each other. You must accept the fact that not all your co-teachers may be instantly accommodating. Give them more time to get to know you before you give any judgment or make any assumption.

 

Act Like A Second Parent

 

One of the essential rules that you must always keep in mind when it comes to dealing with students is that you must do things and say words like you are their second parent. Remember that during class hours, you have the sole responsibility to care for these students. If something terrible happens to one of them, you may be asked to explain the circumstances surrounding the said occurrence. What you have to do is to see to it that your students are not only kept safe but also loved and taken cared of. Just like any parent, try to increase your patience and understanding in dealing with them.

 

 

Understand Your Lessons

 

Before you come to class, be sure that you are prepared with a lesson plan. You must not come to the classroom without any new topics to introduce to the kids. As already mentioned above, you have the responsibility to see to it that your students learn something new from you. If your school has a directive as to the types of lessons to teach, it is best that you stick with the said directive so that you will not be lost during the academic year. Do not force your students to learn everything in your lesson plan overnight. Give them sufficient time to process new information before you bombard them with questions or tests.

 

It is worthy to reiterate that being a teacher is truly rewarding. The teaching profession allows you to earn money for a living while helping others shape up their future. As a new teacher, you need to see to it that you are excited and happy with your chosen career. Once you do this, everything will start to fall in the right place.

 

It’s true when they say schools serve as a second home and teachers are second parents. Because of this, we educators should show great compassion and care towards our students. This concern means keeping an eye on their well-being, including their mental health.

But it isn’t always easy getting kids and teens to open up. So how can we check on our kids and get them the help they need? Here are some creative ways.

Journaling

Continue reading “Creative Ways To Check On Your Students’ Mental Health”

Teaching is a noble job. A teacher must be patient enough with their students, especially those with behavioral and mental health issues. Instead of labeling people with mental illness, there are other means on how to deal with these students and help them out with their struggles.

Continue reading “Tips For Teachers: Ways To Help Students With Mental Health Issues”

No matter how much you put effort into all your relationships, there will come a time when challenges will arise that would lead to more significant problems. During these times, do not make a mistake of blaming yourself for the wrong things that will take place. Take note that having issues in any relationship or friendship is only typical since each person can have different thoughts and beliefs. In this article, we are going to provide you with a quick guide on how you can resolve issues with a friend.

 

Here are some of the ideas or things that you need to do in case you get into a fight or encounter a conflict with a close friend:

 

Stop The Blame Game

The first thing that you need to do is to be mature enough to prevent yourself from blaming the other person for whatever happened in your friendship. Remember that many factors could have contributed to all the issues that you have with each other. Take note that you are not going to heal if you keep on blaming your friend for the misunderstanding or fight.

 

Remember The Happy Times

It can be easy to get mad or furious at your friend during times when you feel that he has betrayed you or has done something that you dislike. Do not worry because what you are feeling is only normal. Keep in mind that you are merely reacting to the negative situation. However, it does not mean that you have to remain angry for a long period of time. Instead, find a way to remember the happy times that you shared together. These good memories can help a lot in fixing your problems.

 

Be Open Minded

Now is not a great time to keep on insisting about what you want to happen, even if you know that it can hurt or provide an inconvenience to your friend. The best thing to do is to have an open mind for whatever may come your way. Be flexible enough to handle all unexpected situations or scenarios that may arise because of the conflict. In so doing, you will find it a lot easier to accept anything that may be contrary to what you expect or look forward to.

 

Talk To Each Other

Communication is an essential ingredient for a fruitful friendship. Just because you are not on good terms with your friend does not mean that you will keep on ignoring each other. While it is best to give each other a time and space to think about the problems, it is still best to exert efforts in starting a heart-to-heart conversation. Let your beloved friend why you felt bad about what he did or said. Be transparent to him, so that he will have an idea of what you genuinely think about the friendship. It will inspire him to keep on doing better.

 

Resolving an issue with a friend does not have to be a complete struggle. You must attend to it as soon as possible so that you will not be late in saving the friendship.