We teachers tend to always want to make sense of things. Every question has an answer. Every problem has a solution. That's why it is so easy to get frustrated when things start to go south in the classroom. It is fitting that the last book in this best-selling series (and in our Elephant and Piggie Book Club) is The Thank You Book in which and Piggie is determined to have a 'Thank-O-Rama!' With special appreciation to our colleagues Laura Flocker, Katie Nelson, Celeste Starr, Jaime Corliss, Julia Barto, Shanda Lung, Joanie Cutler, Becky Leber. Creating guidelines with your students provides an opportunity to establish a positive culture for talk. It also enables you to dispel any negative, perhaps unspoken, misconceptions students may have about discussion, such as: 'She always does well on tests, so I'll just say what she says,' or 'He's my friend, so I shouldn't disagree with him.'.
- Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Quotes
- Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Wishes
- Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Birthday
Scripture calls us not to forsake our friends (Proverbs 27:10), and right now, teachers may feel like they have to tackle this pandemic head-on and alone. We can show them the opposite by offering. But, surprisingly, our schools don't teach happiness. Instead, our education system focuses all of its energy on measurable learning, standardized test preparation, and career training. If everyone's goal in life is to be happy, why aren't we teaching that?
Is your goal in life to be happier? Do parents want happiness for their children? Do teachers want happier classrooms for both themselves and their students?
Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Quotes
Of course, the answer to all of these questions is yes. But, surprisingly, our schools don't teach happiness. Instead, our education system focuses all of its energy on measurable learning, standardized test preparation, and career training. If everyone's goal in life is to be happy, why aren't we teaching that?
A new movement in positive psychology has led to a surge in positive education techniques used in the classroom. Contrary to what you might think, implementing positive education into your classroom doesn't mean that you no longer teach content.
In fact, positive education techniques can infuse a classroom or school with happiness and require an average of only a few minutes per day. Many techniques require no extra time at all, just a rewiring of how things are done. Let's take a look at 3 research-backed ways to make your classroom happier.
1) Greet students by name and include a positive statement at the beginning of class
Research has shown that just hearing your own name activates unique areas of the brain. Imagine if every time you entered a room in your house, there was a smiling, familiar person there to greet you and give you a sincere affirmation. You'd probably like going into that room more than the other rooms. In fact, one study showed that this practice can increase engagement in class by 27%.
2)Decorate your classroom with calming pictures and colors
When you decorate your classroom in a way that helps you feel at peace not only will you be happier, but your students will be too. Blue, which is my (boring) favorite color, has actually been shown to promote calmness. Nature, whether it's the view out a window or just an image, also helps promote happiness and sustain attention. Also, one of the best sources for decoration is your students! If you do a creative project, hang up exemplary work. This motivates all students and makes your room look great.
3) Practice mindfulness and awareness with your students
There is an overwhelming amount of research that supports the role of mindfulness in promoting happiness. And mindfulness isn't just meditation. That's one thing we see people get wrong a lot. In fact, mindfulness can take many forms. Journal writing allows students to get in touch with their feelings and listening exercises allow students to express themselves and interact compassionately. We recommend starting every class period with a few minutes of mindful breathing.
Want some help? Contact us to see how we can help classrooms and schools integrate techniques that will grow happy and engaged students and teachers.
Kim Thomas has taught math for more than two decades. Most recently, she joined the staff at Woodruff Alternative School in Peoria, Illinois, where she's been for the last four years. Woodruff serves students who have been expelled from their former school, and many of them, Kim says, face challenging life circumstances outside the classroom.
Kim sees each student as worthy of love and respect, and nothing matters more than inspiring a joy of learning when they're in her classroom. She lives by it.
Here is Kim, in her own words, on the 8 keys to her teaching philosophy – and how she brings a positive parabola to students' faces every day.
Come into the classroom each year like it's your first.
You have to be that excited every day. I really have a hard time sleeping before the first day of school. I'm so excited to meet the kids that I'm going to have and the things I thought of to do with them. I absolutely love it.
Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Wishes
Happiness above all.
Students have to be happy before they're ever going to learn anything. If I see a kid who looks upset, I ask, 'What can I do to make you happy?' Because if you say, 'What's wrong with you?' then you're assuming something's wrong with them. 'What can I do to make you happy?' really turns them around.
Play to the student's interests.
It's so important to keep up with the trends of what kids like because then they will pay attention. If you can't make it valuable and interesting, it's not going to work.
Our Classroom Teach To Be Happy Birthday
Make it fun.
I know sometimes lessons aren't the most fun. But I also think it's about how things are presented. I'll say, 'OMG, you guys, here's the truth about triangles. You're not going to believe it.' And they're very interested. I call them my 'mathttention getters.' I have my kids for 10 x 9 minutes. That's a long time. They've got to have that fun.
Make it relevant.
Everybody is going to have to deal with money and budgeting. I always try to bring in real world examples of how they might use math: ordering a pizza, using coupons at the grocery store, etc. Basic stuff that I feel sometimes falls through the cracks in teaching at school.
Embrace mistakes.
I make mistakes every day, and I'll say, 'I'm sorry.' It's okay for students to make mistakes in my room. You're learning when you do that. You shouldn't know this material yet.
Love hard.
Everybody deserves to be loved, even the toughest kids. Family tree maker mac manual. No matter how tough a kid is, they deserve to feel loved.
Give second chances.
That's what our school is for. I believe in those second chances. Everybody deserves them. I'm here to help my kids figure out how to be successful when they go back to their other school. I always tell them, 'This isn't your ending. This is your beginning.'
This is the final installment of a four-part series on the mathemagical teacher Kim Thomas, Illinois' 2016 Teacher of the Year. Empire full episodes free download. Read Part 1:Mathematics Month: The Contagiousness of Kim Thomas' Mathilicious Teaching; Part 2:Mathematics Month: 5 Practical Ways to Mathivate Kids; Part 3: Celebrating Teachers: Why I Love Being a Math Mom.
