13 Common Sayings to Avoid - Modern School (for teachers)

Ez a cikk főleg nevelőknek, szülőknek szól, mert arról már sokat beszéltünk, hogy a diákok hogyan viszonyuljanak és álljanak hozzá az élet és a suli ügyes-bajos kérdéseihez.  És ugye nem titok, kettőn áll a vásár. Szeretek beszélgetni a szülőkkel is. Sokat tanulhatok tőlük! És ugye nem is olyan meglepő már, de a diákoktól is! :-)

Ez jött szembe, akkor, amikor kellett, megosztom veletek:


Social and Emotional Learning

When I was a new teacher in middle school several centuries ago, I occasionally said things to students that I later regretted. In the last few years, I have witnessed or heard teachers say additional regretful things to students. Recently I asked students in my graduate courses (all practicing teachers) if they ever told their students anything they regret. After hearing these regrets and talking with children about what teachers said that bothered them, I compiled a list of things that never should be said.
I've narrowed my list to 13 representative items. Some of these are related to control issues, others to motivation, and still more to management. All reflect frustration and/or anger. Let's start the upcoming school year by wiping these sayings out of our vernacular.

1. "You have potential but don't use it."

Students feel insulted when they hear this, and while some accept it as a challenge to do better, more lose their motivation to care. Instead, say in a caring way, "How can I help you reach your full potential?"

2. "I'm disappointed in you."

Of course we occasionally are disappointed in things that our students do. In addition, the result of openly expressing that disappointment depends as much on the way we say it as the words we use. But students have told me that they hate hearing a teacher say this. The problem with this saying is that it looks to the past. A more helpful approach looks to the future. The alternative might be more like, "What do you think you can do to make a more helpful decision the next time you are in a similar situation?"

30 Questions to Ask Your Kid Instead of “How Was Your Day?”

Ez itt most nekünk, szülőknek...


When I picked my son up from his first day of 4th grade, my usual (enthusiastically delivered) question of “how was your day?” was met with his usual (indifferently delivered) “fine.”
Come on! It’s the first day, for crying out loud! Give me something to work with, would you, kid?
The second day, my same question was answered, “well, no one was a jerk.”
That’s good…I guess.
I suppose the problem is my own. That question actually sucks. Far from a conversation starter, it’s uninspired, overwhelmingly open ended, and frankly, completely boring. So as an alternative, I’ve compiled a list of questions that my kid will answer with more than a single word or grunt. In fact, he debated his response to question 8 for at least half an hour over the weekend. The jury’s out until he can organize a foot race.

Questions a kid will answer at the end of a long school day:

1. What did you eat for lunch?
2. Did you catch anyone picking their nose?
3. What games did you play at recess?
4. What was the funniest thing that happened today?
5. Did anyone do anything super nice for you?
6. What was the nicest thing you did for someone else?
7. Who made you smile today?
8. Which one of your teachers would survive a zombie apocalypse? Why?
9. What new fact did you learn today?
10. Who brought the best food in their lunch today? What was it?

Can your child bounce back from failure?

Building resilience in kids. Photo: Getty

Do you consider yourself to be resilient? Can you bounce back from failure, dust yourself off and power on? The good news is that research shows resilience can be learned, and children are learning how to cope with failure from the adults in their life, both at home and at school.
In its simplest form, resilience describes something that reverts to its original state after it has been bent or stretched – and we're not talking about yoga. Being resilient doesn't mean that you don't experience hardship or feel stressed, it just means that you are able to recover.