Teacher Resources

Before I became a teacher, I had never envisioned the extent of what teachers have to do to be truly successful. Teaching consists of much more than lesson plan preparation and delivery. Cultivating relationships is a vital component to a student’s success. Improving relationships with administrators, parents, and support staff, will provide students with the best education possible. These tips will enhance the overall education that a teacher can provide to students. Read the full article at http://www.davestuartjr.com/better-relationships-administrators-parents-support-staff/

1. Foster all relationships with humility, gratitude, and encouragement.

2.  Focus on teaching well, not succeeding on evaluations.

3. Gauge your administration’s culture and organizational structure.

4. Deal with most problems in the classroom; only send students to office when it is absolutely necessary.

5. Assume your administration has good intentions.

6. Foster good relationships with parents.

7. When communicating with parents, impress upon them the key role that THEY play in their child’s education.

8. Call parents with good news about their child.

9. Use a grading system that is growth-oriented; encourage students to resubmit work with corrections.

10. Classroom management should be simple and fair.

11. Consider sending parents regular emails to keep them updated.

12. Show gratitude to secretaries, aides, building service workers, cafeteria staff, etc.

13. Focus on what YOU can control; practice patience when others make mistakes.

14. You are not above any task that will make your school a better place. 

“In these Welcome-to-America schools, the global community shows up in our classrooms every day, inviting us-even requiring us- to grow as we learn from and with our students and their families.”

This resource gives helpful information on how schools can adapt to the rich diversity that may walk through their doors. As a teacher in South Florida, the district I teach in is lucky to have culturally and linguistically diverse students from all around the world. Because of the diverse student population, schools should find ways to transform their current teaching and administrative practices to serve all students well. This resource illustrates 5 phases that can be implemented to provide an environment that will benefit a culturally diverse population. Real the full article at http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar07/vol64/num06/As-Diversity-Grows,-So-Must-We.aspx

Phase 1: Building Trust

Phase 2: Engaging Personal Culture

Phase 3: Confronting Social Dominance and Social Justice

Phase 4: Transforming Instructional Practices

Phase 5: Engaging the Entire School Community 

With a diverse classroom, comes a diverse set of issues in classroom management. Culture plays a significant role in learning and education. In order to successfully manage a diverse classroom, teachers must understand the cultural background of the students. Classroom structure and learning can be re-designed to accommodate the students' learning and education styles. 

This resource discusses individualism vs. collectivism. The United States is more of an individualist culture. Haiti has been said to be a collectivist culture, so its culture falls on the other side of the spectrum. Because of this, teaching styles and assignments may conflict with students' learning styles. Although this resource details examples of the collective culture of Latino students, lessons can still apply for Haitian students as well. Find the full resource at http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107014/chapters/A-New-Way-of-Thinking-About-Classroom-Management.aspx

The following is a set of guidelines that one can follow to ensure that management strategies are tailored to the culture of the classroom. 

1. Recognition of one's own cultural lens and biases

Teachers should reflect upon their own culture, and how it might cause them to misinterpret behaviors. 

2. Knowledge of students' cultural background

Teachers should learn about the different elements of their students' culture, such as communication styles, etiquette, rules about behavior, etc. 

3. Awareness of broader, social, economic, and political context

Examine how current policies and practices in discipline could discrimiate against the children. 

4. Ability and willingness to use culturally appropriate management strategies

To establish clear expectations, teachers should: 

-Be explicit about expectations

-Engage students in discussions about rules

-Model expected behavior

-Provide practice opportunities

-Avoid inconsistency when applying consequences

When communicating with parents, teachers should keep in mind that, "Some families don't see direct involvement in schooling as part of their responsibility, although they are committed to their children's education."

5. Committment to building caring classroom communities

Student teacher relationships are an important factor in how students will conduct themselves in the classrom. In order for teachers to build rapport with the students, they teachers can: 

-ask students for feedback on the teaching style of the teacher

-get to know students personally with out of the classroom conversations

-set the tone in the morning by greeting students, and perhaps sharing a word in their first language 

-show personal interest in students' lives outside of school such as home life, extracurriculars, imporant events, etc. 

For the full article, please follow this link: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/005/121/Culturally%20Responsive%20Classroom%20Mgmt%20Strat2.pdf

In order to provide the best education to students, a teacher must learn to accommodate for the cultures that are represented in the classroom. Teachers can learn more about each culture, and incorporate cultural elements into the classroom environment. Culture can affect behavior, and if teachers learn more about just how a specific culture is affecting the behavior of their students, they may be able to design a more appropriate structure and behavior management system for the classroom. 

This resource provides great insight and tips on how to investigate the role culture plays in the classroom, and how to foster relationships between students and parents. For the full resource, follow this link: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/connect-kids-and-parents-different-cultures-0
 

How to Develop Positive Communication with Parents

-Establish rapport with parents

 Create opportunites for parents to share their culture with you. Fostering relationsips with parents will establish trust, and      parents will be more willing to listen when you are contacting them to discuss their child. 

-Let parents know that you care about their child

 By demonstrating that you care about the students in your classroom, you will show that you have the childrens' best    interestes at heart. 

-Be consistent and honest

 Consistency and honesty will help to create better relationships with parents, and provide a more structured environment in  your classroom. 

-Help parents locate community resources

 Parents that need specific community resources might not know how to access them, or might not even know of their    existence. Ensuring that families have full access to a wide range of resources will provide the most benefical learning  environment for the children in your classroom. 

-Plan activities that bring parents to school

 Parents will be more receptive to come to events that are important to them and their child. Plan events that relate to the  culture of the children you are working with. If events have low attendance, change up the event themes or marketing  strategies. 

-Recruit parent volunteers  

 Impress upon parents the importance of their involvement in their child's education. Recruiting parents as volunteers for    different activities and events can foster better relationships between you and the parents, and the parents and their child.