Aug12

101 Ways to Encourage Students

Posted on August 12, 2013 by daunaeasley

Whoopee!

Today marks my 100th blog post!

I could lead a cheer, set off fireworks or send 100 helium balloons into the sky. Writing one hundred posts is quite a commitment. When I first began writing a blog I didn’t even know how to attach a picture.

But I have a passion for inspiring teachers to help students learn to live successfully. I want teachers to understand the power they have to change a student’s life forever. It is for these reasons that I’ve decided to write a post titled 101 Ways to Encourage Students. I believe this is the best way to celebrate my 100th post. I’m going to list 100 ideas for encouragement plus one extra idea which demonstrates my commitment to keep on blogging for teachers.

Tweak these suggestions to meet the needs of your own students, and most importantly implement these ideas in your classroom. Print this page and refer to it often during the school year. Make a commitment to try at least one idea each time you read through the list. Here we go…

101 Ways to Encourage Students

Brag about your students to others when the students can hear your comments.
Tell them you were thinking about them over the weekend. Be specific about what your thoughts were. Students feel validated when they know you think about them outside school hours.
Make eye contact. Don’t just look over their heads or at a slide when you are teaching a class. Make eye contact with individuals.
When they have the courage to raise their hand to ask a question, reassure them with, “That’s a great question.” Then explain the answer fully and patiently until you are certain they understand.
Tell a student about something the two of you have in common.
Talk about a failure you have faced. Students can accept their own setbacks better if they know adults who they admire have also faced failures.
Joke with them. Never joke about them. Assess their sense of humor and then have fun with them.
When you see them in the hall, smile at them and speak. Don’t just limit this to your own students. Often we can encourage a student in our school who is not assigned to us by developing a relationship with them just passing in the hallways.
Tell their parents how much you admire their kid. Be specific. These comments always get back to and encourage the student.
If you see a student reading a book you’ve also read, comment on what they are reading.
Never belittle or use put downs with any student. All students judge teachers by the way they treat the most disenfranchised kid in the class.
Look for ways to build a rapport with every student. Is It music, movies, a favorite TV show, sports or video games? How can you connect with each kid by talking about something they enjoy?
Tell them about something great you heard someone else say about them.
Admire a talent that they have. Tell them you wish you could draw or ______ like they do.
Make fun of yourself. Let them see you vulnerable and laughing at yourself. It will make them feel like they don’t have to be perfect either.
Praise progress. Don’t wait for and insist on perfection before you praise.
Smile when they least expect it.
Teach students how to study successful people. Biographies, documentaries, DVDs, and online resources put successful people within reach for our students. Success breeds success.
Do anything it takes to defuse a tense situation. Kids goof up. Always work to de-escalate a mistake. Never, never escalate a negative situation.
Make them feel like you are the teacher who is on their side. You don’t have to condone unacceptable behavior to make the student still feel like you are on their side.
Be available for chit-chat. If you are approachable, students will seek you out. Be available before school, after school, during break times.
Put their work on display.
Focus on their strengths. We all are too aware of our weaknesses. Students know clearly what their deficits are. They need to be reminded of their talents.
Step up! Intervene EVERY time you see a student being teased or bullied. NEVER allow it to continue no matter whose student they are.
Teach with enthusiasm. If you aren’t excited about your class, they won’t be either. (Yawn).
Look for students who are not easily accepted by their peers. Befriend them. When other students see that you enjoy the ones they don’t engage, it will influence their opinion.
Go to your students’ extra curricular functions. Let them know you came to watch them. It will matter more than you will ever imagine.
Who is your greatest challenge in the class? Catch them doing something right and compliment them on it. Smile at them when they glance your way.
Put a positive quote on the board and discuss it each day. Let them give examples of how they see that quote illustrated in their lives.
Never, never act shocked when they share a problem from their lives. They’ll never approach you again if you over react. Listen, empathize and problem solve, but don’t act shocked.
Ask a student for help. Students love helping a teacher. My high school students taught me most of what I know about technology. As a side benefit, they felt valued. “I taught the teacher something. Yeah.”
Watch for teachable moments and try to capture them. We all learn best when we want to learn a particular skill. Not every learning possibility can be scheduled or planned ahead of time.
Bring in your favorite song. Play it and explain what you like about it. Invite them to share theirs. (Caution: Make them aware that songs must comply with school standards).
Every once in a while bring your students a treat. Try to make it unexpected and then they will appreciate it.
Supply small items you see that some students need: paper, pencils, poster board, pens, etc. Most will really appreciate this. This says “I care about your success.”
Tell them about something funny or stupid you did when you were a kid.
Finish this sentence for any one of them. “You know what I admire about you? I admire…..”
Never allow students to gossip or complain about a student who isn’t there. Shut it down. They will notice. They’ll know that you “have their back” when they aren’t around.
Find something positive about every effort a student makes. You can address improvements needed only after first recognizing strengths. Criticism without any praise = discouragement.
Orally share inspiring stories with your students. Yes, you CAN read to high school students.
Tell them about a time you were afraid to try something and how you gathered the courage to do it. It will help them be courageous.
Put a compliment in writing and give it to them. Written compliments have 10 times the power of spoken compliments. They can keep them and read them whenever they feel discouraged.
Stop at their desk and sit down next to them. Comment on their work or just ask about something going on in their lives. This will build a positive relationship even if issues arise later.
Use learning games in your classroom. When learning is fun a positive relationship builds between students and their teacher. This encourages students to learn.
Notice a talent the student has and ask them to share that talent with the class.
Do everything you can to build friendships inside your classroom. Assign partners who are welcoming and encouraging to others.
Be an advisor for a club or start a club. I once started a friendship club between my Teacher Academy kids and the students with special needs in our high school. Many new friendships were formed.
When you read an article about a student in the newspaper, bring it in and post it in your classroom. Buy an extra paper and give a copy to them.
If you have someone in your room who has artistic skills, hang one of their paintings, pictures or posters in your classroom.
I’ve often complimented a student on their writing skills telling them I want an autographed copy of their first book when they become an author. I know those books will be on my shelves someday.
Call a parent to brag about something their child did in the classroom or around the school.
Ask a student to speak in front of a group about one of their experiences or accomplishments.
Ask a student to organize an event. This lets them know you notice their organizational skills and trust their abilities.
Notice kindnesses you see in your classroom. Compliment the student performing the kindness privately or in front of others. What is recognized expands.
Technology can greatly enhance learning. However, don’t update your website while ignoring the child standing next to you waiting for help. You don’t like it when they text their friends while you are teaching. Being attentive works both ways.
Teach students to surround themselves with their own encouragers. This is a skill they will need for life.
By sharing a problem from your past you will let your students know that you have been through tough times. They will be more apt to seek you out for encouragement when they have tough times. Be certain to walk the lines of professionalism on this one.
Recognize birthdays, yes even in high school. I knew a teacher who kept a box of candy bars and soda pop for students with birthdays.
Visualize future successes for your students and describe those visualizations to them. Students often picture their own successes first through the eyes of someone they admire.
Ask yourself the “magic question”. “What is one thing I can do today to encourage success for this student?” Pick a challenging, quiet or struggling student. Ask yourself that question and act on it.
Put an index card on your desk. Give yourself a mark every time you smile at the student who is the biggest challenge in the class. No one has to know the reason for the card. How many points can you earn in a day? Challenge yourself.
Listen when a student speaks. Really listen. Listen for clues beneath the surface. What are they really saying?
Next time you see a student ask them about something they shared with you previously.
Encourage a student to share their dreams with you. Listen carefully. Become their dream partner as you encourage them to take the steps toward their dreams.
Find a positive mentor for a student in the field of their interest.
Always talk positively about a student to other professionals. I believe students sense when you’ve “got their back.” If you hear another student or adult say something negative about a student, interject a positive comment. Students feel it.
Be consistently upbeat. When students have to tiptoe around a teacher’s fluctuating moods, it can be very discouraging for them. A teacher should always be the adult in the classroom.
Say “I care about you.” Sometimes say it verbally. Sometimes say it with your actions.
Write encouraging comments on their papers. In my job I had to evaluate hundreds of essays. Sometimes when they would write something particularly well, I would write, “Wow! I wish I had written this!”
Explain to your students the power of focus. Students can accomplish more if they zero in on their most important goal.
In the classroom, call on everyone to speak. Don’t just call on those who you know have the correct answer to keep the lesson moving swiftly.
Think of dozens of ways to say “I believe in you.” You can demonstrate your belief in a student by giving them a responsibility. They will want to rise to the level of your belief.
Laugh together. Nothing builds a positive rapport, better than shared laughter.
Give your student a “do over.” Whether it’s a bad choice they’ve made or an assignment they’ve bombed, everyone deserves a do over once in a while.
Treat every student as you would want another teacher to treat your own child. Pretend there is a little bird in the room watching you. In these days of electronic devices, there may be.
Give choices in your assignments so that every student has a chance to shine using their strengths. Students learn material in many different ways. Choices encourage them.
Teach your students the power of the word “yet.” I’m not good at math yet. I can’t write well yet. When you hear them announce something they can’t do, YOU put the word yet at the end of their sentence.
Be a hope vendor. Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Great teachers sell hope everyday. How can you sell hope today?
Make students aware of their negative self talk. Have them write down what they say to themselves. Then show them how to turn those thoughts around…on purpose.
Use uplifting music in your classroom. The right music can enhance any lesson.
Be relentless about looking for ways for students to shine, Look for awards, competitions, recognitions, scholarships, and contests. I gave my own token awards. It is the recognition itself that encourages.
Students spell the word “love” this way… T-I-M-E. If you are always in a hurry or reading emails on your computer, you aren’t giving them the time to connect with you. They want your time and that includes eye contact.
Tell them a true story that applies to any lesson you are teaching. People connect by sharing a story. A story lives inside someone longer than any worksheet.
Use quiet words. Quiet words sink in. Yelling shuts a student down. In fact shouting shuts the whole class down. Quiet words encourage a student and helps him breakthrough to understanding.
Share your goals with students. Let them know when you have taken a step toward your goal. Share it. It will inspire them to work toward their goals.
Walk your talk. Be a role model. Don’t expect them to accomplish what you won’t expect of yourself.
Try to add value to each student’s life. Students need us in very different ways. Know them well enough that you understand what they need most from you. Then deliver.
Do whatever it takes to build a community within your classroom. If one student is estranged, you don’t yet have a community. Keep working at it.
Go the extra mile to make a memory in your classroom. Memories last a lifetime and inspire students for years. Some will happen spontaneously. Others need some forethought. Use props, activities, guest speakers, projects, and field trips to build special memories.
Be careful what you “see.” If you believe a kid is a loser, he will know it and live up to that. Find any strength you see and focus on that. How could that one strength lead to some future success?
Teach students how to mentally replay the successes they’ve had in life. Human nature has them replaying their failures. Show them how to interrupt and replace those negative memories with positive ones.
Know your students well enough to choose partners carefully. When pairing students for a project put diplomatic and willing encouragers with someone who may need assistance. But insist on the contributions of all members of the group. No slackers.
Demonstrate diplomacy in everything you do. When you teach students diplomacy you set them up for success in life.
Make the most of moments. Teachers don’t have much time; so try to make moments matter. A student once came to me and told me at length about how much it meant to her when I passed her in the hallway and said, “Hey cutie!” Two words. One moment. Huge impact.
Give a student “wait time.” When you call on them for a response, don’t expect them to answer immediately. When you give them “wait time” it really says, “I know you can do this.”
Ask a student if you can keep a paper or project that they have done well, to show to your students the following year.
Teach students to build an encouragement folder or box. Have them gather quotes, poems or stories that inspire them. Have them keep positive notes or important keepsakes from others in this box. Share items that have encouraged you.
When a student explodes within the classroom, defuse the situation by staying calm. Talk to him later when emotions subside. Don’t attack back. Try this opener. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Make your classroom so safe that students are willing to push outside their comfort zone in your room.
Join your students in an assignment. When I give a writing prompt, I frequently will write my thoughts as the students are writing. If asked, I’ll share what I wrote. Students will value your assignments more because you’ve given them importance.
Teach for the “whatevers” in life. Every day in every way. teach your students to handle future difficult situations. Here is the message you must give them. Whatever comes your way you can handle it. Your classroom discussions and activities must say to them, “I know that you are resilient enough. You are creative enough. You are intelligent enough. You are valuable enough. You are tenacious, worthy and strong enough to get through whatever life hands you. Sometimes it won’t be easy but in this classroom I have given you the tools to handle whatever comes you way.”

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities the author: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Dauna Easely available for teacher keynote addresses or in-service meetings

dauna@cinci.rr.com

Aug5

Great Teachers Put Compliments in Writing

Posted on August 5, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

As you begin your school year, I want to toss a challenge to you. Every chance you get to compliment a student, do it. Don’t just think good thoughts. Voice them. But my challenge goes further than that. Give your compliments ten times their power by putting those positive comments in writing.

At a graduation party I attended a few years ago, I noticed a small note I had written rather spontaneously to this particular graduate. It was framed and on display on a table among items that defined the graduate’s life. This note meant so much to her that she wanted to share it with others. That simple gesture humbled me. When I saw that hastily written note, I was a little embarrassed at the old note card I had quickly selected to use when I wrote to her. That particular note card had actually kind of yellowed a little. It was one that had come from the bottom of a box and had clearly been sitting in that box for years.

Yet while I stood there berating myself for not choosing a fancier stationery, the bigger more important message gradually began to occur to me. This quickly written message was so important to this young lady that it was framed. She wanted everyone who came to her graduation party to read it. At this writing I can’t even remember what I wrote; but it still chokes me up that she framed it and put in on display.

What touched and frankly scared me so much was the importance that she gave to that note. It gave me a mental reminder to always picture this note when I wrote to a student in the future. I wanted to remember the power of even my quick notes and promise myself to only use stationery that wouldn’t shame me if a written message turned up framed and on display at a future graduation party. I feel certain this young lady will never forget the contents of that rapidly composed note. Written words have a way of branding our hearts. What it said took me minutes to compose, but the message will encourage her for a lifetime.

Written words from a teacher have such power to push our students toward success.

Use that influence. Don’t passively wait for the chance, make the opportunity.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Jul31

What Great Teachers Do in the Summertime

Posted on July 31, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

The Myth

Every great teacher knows too many people who believe teachers only work nine months a year. Critics point to the calendar and talk about what a cushy job teachers have. What bunk.

Using this reasoning, baseball players work only half the year. Clergy work 52 days annually and players in the NFL work less than 20. Tax accountants work from January 31st until April 15. Construction workers work only on sunny days.

Why is it only teachers are singled out and accused of having an abbreviated work year?

I can hear the uproar from the professional football players. “Twenty days? What about all our training days?”

Exactly. What about all the teacher training days? Many teachers train all summer long. They take summer classes to get an advanced degree. They take classes in new technology or a new curriculum. They have to accumulate college hours to renew their teaching license. They have to accumulate in-service hours to fulfill their school district’s requirements. They pay for these classes out of their own pockets, by the way. How many professional football players pay for their own training? They are paid hefty salaries TO train.

Many teachers do home visits during the summer months. Some have Open Houses or accompany students to competitions during “their breaks. ” I’ve sanded school desks and painted my classroom in the summer time. I once worked for a school district that required teachers to scrape all the gum off the bottom of the school desks. No I’m not making this up.

Teacher Conferences that share new teaching strategies are held during “vacation” months. Textbooks are reviewed, discussed and adopted. Websites for student use are designed. The class syllabus is written. Guest speakers are contacted and learning field trips are scheduled. Some teachers teach summer school all summer long. I know a teacher who welcomed her students back to school today. (It’s July 30th as I write this). Hello Annie. I hope you have a wonderful year with your students!

A Great Time

Last week I had the chance to do something I love to do. I had lunch with a young lady who had just been hired for her first teaching job. She will be teaching first grade beginning in August. She was just bubbling over with enthusiasm. She simply can’t wait to get started. It made me think back to the very beginning of my teaching career. What a thrill that was to walk into my own classroom. Her enthusiasm had me reliving my love for the teaching profession.

What is she doing now? She is going to garage sales to buy books even though her teacher salary hasn’t started. She is grouping those books into skill levels so her students can make the best use of them. She’s looking for inexpensive ways to decorate her classroom. I put together four tubs of books for her to use in her classroom. I looked around my house for items she might be able to use to help her get started. I doubt that NFL players have to purchase their own helmets. If they did, they would have the resources to do so. Teachers spend so much of their own money simply to buy learning materials for their students.

It made me feel wonderful to pass along some tools this new teacher’s students might use to learn. Next week she’ll begin meeting with her teacher team to set learning goals and write lesson plans. Great teachers begin planning for their students’ success long before they walk into the room. And she is going to be one of the greatest teachers ever.

Before you throw things away, think about a teacher who might value your cast offs. Even better, purchase a gift card to a school supply store for your child’s teacher. And if you hear someone spouting off about how much time off a teacher has…educate them.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Jul6

Absent from School

Posted on July 6, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Life’s Unexpected Detours

Sorry. The teacher (writer of this blog-Dauna Easley) has been absent. Quite suddenly, almost a month ago, my mother had to have emergency middle-of-the-night surgery. Her condition was critical so I have been staying with her day and night in the hospital.

A few days ago she began to improve slightly. She is now in a facility for acute care until she is strong enough for rehab. I hope you understand I will return to my blog writing when she is stable. However, she has made great strides in the past few days. Thank you for your understanding.

However, if you are visiting my blog, please know that there are many wonderful teaching posts for you to read. Take the time to browse through the ideas and stories I’ve shared during the past year. There are almost one hundred posts for you to look through. You’ll see them listed by month along the right margin of this page.

I’d love it if you send me a comment about which ones you enjoy the most.

If you are an experienced or new teacher who is committed to changing lives in the classroom, I’m certain you will enjoy my book, TEACH…To Change Lives.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author (dauna@cinci.rr.com)

Also available at Amazon.com

May20

Teaching Strategies

Posted on May 20, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Making Lessons Meaningful

Ask any teacher. What is the most common question students ask?

Why do we have to learn this?

In junior high and high school you have to add a whining voice or a sneer…and two more words to the end of that question…

Why do we have to learn this stupid stuff?

Now you’re moving closer to the dilemma that teachers face everyday. The most effective assignments are meaningful to the students. What’s even better than that? Classroom assignments that are meaningful to both the students AND their families. If you can lasso a lesson like that you are sitting on a throne right on top of the learning pyramid. Yay you!

Let me describe three lessons I’ve run across in the past couple of years that fit smack in the middle of that category. As a grandparent who also is a teacher, many school projects the grandchildren are assigned are routed in my direction for guidance and encouragement. Here are three of my favorites. My hat is off to the teachers who planned these lessons.

Let’s Talk About Love

A few years ago my seventh grade granddaughter, Taylor had to build a poetry folder. She had to select a topic and find poems of all kinds to include in that folder. Her idea wasn’t unique. The topic she chose was Love. I wondered how many hundreds of seventh grade girls over the years had chosen love as their topic?

But the assignment was well constructed and this made the project so much more meaningful. Yes, the students had to gather love poems and tell why they selected those particular poems. But they also had to write their own poem about love. Additionally they had to ask two other people to write love poems that they were to include in their portfolio.

This opened up all kinds of meaningful dialogues about love between my granddaughter and me. I wrote one of those love poems. I wrote about what love is and what love isn’t. I told her a story about the boy I secretly “loved” in high school and how I ended up the maid of honor in his wedding…and how I survived that to love again. We had so many great conversations as we worked on this project together. I know those conversations will stay with Taylor forever. Thank you to Ms. Shannon King from Liberty Junior High for that great lesson.

Looking into the Future

Many teachers wisely look into the future to come up with an authentic assignment for their students. When my grandson was a junior, he had to write an essay that he might later use as a college admissions essay. The teacher required them to describe themselves and their talents. What made them unique?

My grandson, Austin came to me for assistance with this task. He doesn’t like to write and he especially didn’t want to write something “bragging about himself.” Those were his words. He chose to write about his background in sports first. (High school boys like to talk about sports as much as seventh grade girls like to talk about love).

Then he hit a wall. After he wrote about his experiences in sports he didn’t know what else to say. He counted the words and found his essay wasn’t long enough. He stewed. He was completely unaware that he has leadership skills. And he didn’t have a clue about his greatest talent. He has a unique gift for making others feel valued. He brings people together. I watched him do this his whole life. I had marveled about it to myself many times.

Why had I never put this into words before? Why didn’t he know that about himself? That assignment gave me a vehicle for putting this into words. He was amazed at the things I was saying. I gave him many examples from his life to make my point. He listened and nodded. You could see it was the first time he recognized this ability within himself.

I know this is another conversation that will stay with a grandchild long after I am gone. Thank you to Ms. Erin Schneider from Lakota East High School for this authentic assignment. This essay helped him craft future college essays. In only a couple of weeks he graduates from high school and he was accepted by the college of his choice.

Looking into the Past

The most recent authentic assignment happened this past week and was a reminder and the motivation for me to write this post. Memorial Day is just ahead. My eighth grade granddaughter, Kiley, was given an assignment by her language arts teacher. Each student had to find out about a relative who had died before they were born. They had to interview family members and ask them a list of questions to learn about their deceased relative and give a speech about them. What a great way to draw families together to discuss their shared past.

This was an especially significant assignment for Kiley. My youngest daughter, Kelsey, died of cancer at age 16. She happened to pass away one week before my granddaughter, Kiley was born. Kiley is her namesake and was given Kelsey as a middle name. Kiley has heard stories about Kelsey all her life. However, she dutifully wrote up her interview questions and I filled them out completely. She even remembered a couple of stories I had forgotten to include. She asked me to repeat those stories to her. We did a lot of gathering photos and she assembled her display board. She emailed me a picture of her poster before she glued things down.

She made it through her speech but her voice quivered a quite a bit. When her chin started shaking she said to herself, “I can’t cry in this class. There are too many boys in here!” Everywhere she looked kids were getting tears in their eyes. She had to skip one of the stories she wanted to use, but she made it through. A success!

But the greater lesson is what she learned by preparing the speech. That is the hallmark of an authentic assignment. Meaningful assignments grow the student. They are memorable in a significant way. They open channels of communication. We think about those assignments for years. I can picture Kiley decades from now helping her own grandchild with a speech. I’m sure she’ll tell her grandchild about her quivering chin in her speech when she talked about her Aunt Kelsey whom she never met. Thank you to Ms. Brooke Schreiber from Liberty Junior for your meaningful lesson.

Thank you to all the teachers who take the time to create authentic assignments.

Choose to TEACH…To Change Lives.

The choice is yours.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Apr29

Why Teach?

Posted on April 29, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Are the Payoffs Worth the Challenges?

Let’s be honest. In many ways teaching is more challenging than ever. It has always been a profession which demands a person accept a salary which doesn’t reflect the amount of education, dedication and preparation it requires.

However, it used to be a profession that earned the esteem of parents, community members and the public at large. That is no longer true. Today’s teachers are blamed for, and at the same time required to heal, all the country’s challenges…test scores, broken homes, illiteracy, hard economic times, school calendars, the increase in disabilities and second languages, drug dependency, unemployment, latch key children, and hunger in America. They are maligned by politicians, billionaires, and celebrities. That is the teacher’s new reality.

So Why Teach?

If you look at just the dismal numerical facts and current public opinion, it can’t be explained. However, I have been retired from full-time teaching for three school years now. I do still work with student teachers at the college level, so I am in and out of schools all throughout the school year. I feel so “at home” whenever I’m in a school building. Each one has its own unique personality. Listen to some things I am experiencing right now.

Yesterday I was invited to the wedding shower of a college grad whom I had taught in high school. Four years after she left my classroom I am still important in her life. She turns to me for advice with frequency. She values the role I have played in her life and the opinions I have. She tells me so.
Not a week passes that I don’t hear from at least a half-dozen former students. They share their successes, life milestones, and challenges with me.
I received a beautiful thank you note this past week from a former high school student who is now a college graduate. Four years later, she thanked me again for being her teacher.
A week ago I noticed a plastic container in a corner of my bedroom. I couldn’t remember what was inside. When I looked inside I discovered dozens of thank you notes from students. Three years ago when I first retired I decided to put thank you notes from students and their parents in a notebook. I filled a three-ring binder that was three inches thick. These (that I rediscovered in the corner of my bedroom) were the left over notes. I had run out of steam before I finished the job. I decided to finish the task. I took another two-inch binder to complete the job.
When my former students change jobs, (and sometimes even careers) they write and ask for my advice. Many times they solicit input from me that they won’t accept from their own family members. That’s not exactly true. When they were in my classroom, we became a family.
My retirement years may not be flush with funds, but it is a wealth of appreciation and valued relationships. I can live contentedly with that.

Can You?

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Apr22

The Danger of Test Scores

Posted on April 22, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Is This Wise?

There is a great fable about an imagined animal school which decides to adopt the design structure of schools for humans. Humans have greater thinking and learning power than animals, right? Someone erroneously believes they can improve the performance of ALL animals by modeling animal schools after a learning institution for people. But is this wise?

In this new animal school, rather than the teacher being satisfied with the beaver’s ability to chop down trees and build dams, the teacher also insists the beaver learn to fly. The results of the beaver’s efforts to fly are, of course, frustrating and even ludicrous. Facing such a failure the beaver is no longer even proud of his innate ability to build dams better than any other animal.

What Are We Doing?

Take a discerning look at our schools. Isn’t that too close to what we really do? Instead of identifying and capitalizing on a student’s intrinsic talents, we reduce the time he spends in a pursuit in which he excels and simultaneously increase the amount of time he spends being tutored in a skill for which he has minimal talent. Think for a moment about this.

In a culture in which we are being driven by only test scores, we remove a student from his favorite class to tutor him/her for a class in which s/he is failing. Did it work for the beaver? What a scary philosophy this becomes when you consider the implications not just for individuals, but also for our country.

Why do we put all our efforts into forcing students to remediate to obtain mere passing scores in a subject area in which they are weak? Why not use those same efforts to encourage and push them in an area of their brilliance? What our country really needs is people functioning at the top of their form in the areas in which they excel. Ignite the flame in the area of their strengths and watch them catapult forward. If and when we finally do that, our entire nation will benefit.

Great teachers know this. They search and search until they discover and reveal a student’s talent. They frequently are the first to reveal that talent to the student. They give voice to it, encourage it and often push the student to heights they didn’t believe they could ever achieve.

I’m not the national Secretary of Education, but I think one of the things we need to be doing in every school district in America, is identifying individual student’s areas of brilliance and finding ways to encourage, enhance and grow that talent. Flying beavers are not the answer.

Want to help stop test score obsession? Please share this blog post with someone.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Apr16

Finding Ways to Make Students Shine

Posted on April 16, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Against the Odds

One morning in our sheet of staff announcements, there was a mention about an “Against the Odds” award. This award was being sponsored by the largest newspaper in Cincinnati. The newspaper wanted to feature ten students across the entire area that were having success in spite of some personal challenges. They would do an article on each student selected and then invite them to a dinner with business leaders. I ran quickly through my class list mentally. No one was in a wheel chair, blind or deaf. It would be a long shot even if they were. Only ten students – not just from the city – but the whole area. I’m embarrassed to admit that my vision was so narrow about this opportunity.

Thankfully, Jim Wallace, an insightful guidance counselor suggested I nominate Dorothy. In spite of being born with a cleft palate and having several surgeries to correct this, she was having some success in our high school career academy early childhood education program. She worked conscientiously and had high grades in my class. She held down a job after school hours working in a child care center. Why not Dorothy?

But let’s be honest, this is frequently where the process breaks down. What teacher has extra time to go through a lengthy nomination process which usually requires many steps including a well written essay? Not one teacher I can think of has extra time for such a long shot possibility. It never ceases to amaze me how many letters of recommendation a high school teacher is asked to write and how long a good letter of recommendation takes to author. But I went to work anyway. I already knew Dorothy’s mom was disabled with serious health issues. I had to hold my home visit while she was in bed. I discovered her father had also died when she was very young.

Weeks later we found out she won the award! What a significant accomplishment for her this was. The newspaper sent a professional photographer right into my classroom to shoot a whole roll of film of Dorothy working on the floor with preschoolers. (I ran a laboratory preschool to train my high school early childhood education students). The resulting photo in the newspaper was the largest I had ever seen. It covered 3/4 of the front page of the education section. After all it was the newspaper that sponsored the award. The program made for the dinner was even more impressive, all glossy print. She received a $500.00 scholarship from business leaders. But best of all a young lady was getting a long overdue chance to shine. She became a temporary hero in our classroom instead of being just outside the inner circle. I have no doubt that this was an event that Dorothy will remember forever.

I shudder to think of how I almost over looked this opportunity. It taught me to dig a little deeper and take a few more risks as I look for a variety of ways to give my students the chance to shine.

Graduations will be happening soon. The same students will receive award after award at banquets and scholarship ceremonies. The vast majority of students will walk across the stage in their caps and gowns and that will be it. No special accolades except for the scattered applause from their families in a large auditorium.

Only teachers can make that event significant for more than just a small group of students. Yes, it will take a little more time and effort…time teachers don’t have. It may even take a little personal out-of-pocket money. I always liked to buy a small item I thought represented each student’s special talents. I brought their parents into my classroom ( all of my students). I carefully chose and dedicated a song to the class. That song played behind a slide show of their photos and memories we had made. I wrote a poem just for their class. I brought students to the front of the room one at a time and told a cute story or two about each one. I voiced their talents.

If you want to teach to change lives you have to find a way to make every single student feel significant. It’s a tall order and I promise you I fell short a time or two. I am human, not a saint. But as I look back over a long teaching career, it was the times I went above and beyond expectations to honor students, that make me most proud.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities through the author dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Apr8

Helping Students Create Their Own Destiny

Posted on April 8, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

YOU Create Your Own Destiny

“Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

-Viktor E. Frankl

These words have always inspired me. Written by a man who survived the concentration camps of the holocaust makes them even more significant. We cannot control many of the things that happen to us in life; but we have absolute control over the ways we respond to those events.

One of our greatest roles as teachers, is to teach truths about life. Sure, we are hired to teach our academic areas; but I believe we miss one of our most important choices if we don’t also teach underlying truths that help our students live a successful life. This quote helped me come up with a way to teach students that they have the power to create their own destiny. How did I do that?

Early in the school year, I put a dot or a star on the far left margin of the chalk board. (Think wipe-off board or electronic board these days). Then I would move to the farthest right side of the board and make another dot or star.

I would pause until they seemed interested in what I was doing. You can do a lot of teaching in the pauses. Once they seemed quiet and curious I would say as I pointed…

This dot on the left side of the board represents the things that happen to us as we live our lives.

Pause

Sometimes those events are terrible. Someone we love rejects us.

(Teens always are interested in matters of the heart).

Pause

Sometimes we work hard toward a goal and yet we get passed over. Someone else gets recognition that we deserve. We lose our jobs. A loved one dies. Someone insults you or passes around untrue gossip about you. Someone steals something from you. Someone hurts you deeply.

(Each time I offer one of these scenarios I once again point to the star or dot on the left side of the board). I sometimes ask them to add bad things that might happen in life.

Then I move to slowly the left side of the board and point to the dot on the far right.

Way, way over here on the far right side of the board is the way you respond to those events.

Pause

Do you know what is between these two dots?

Usually they just look at me and wait. Sometimes someone will make a joke and say, “Nothing?”

Pause

The only thing that lies between an event and what you do to respond to that event, is your choice. No matter what happens to us, we always, always, have control over the way we respond to it.

We need to remember only we have the choice to decide how we respond. We always choose. It is those choices that determine our destiny. Look carefully. What is between those two dots?

I then v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y draw a wavy line between those two dots on opposite ends of the board.

You have allllllll this time between the two dots, between the event and your response to decide how you are going to respond.

Choosing the way you will respond, making the choice creates your destiny. What happens to you, doesn’t create your destiny. Your choices in the way you react create your destiny.

Teens (and some adults) limit their destiny when they react without thinking…without making a choice. They say things like, “Well, he pushed me so I punched him,” or “When she looked at me like that I just had to tell her off.”

Wrong. Your reaction was a choice.

Teens will tell me that their parents or buddies told them never to let people treat you like that.

Look around you. Are the people who give you this “punch-them-in-the-face” advice… are they themselves a success in life? Are they living a life you want to emulate? Well, are they?

Or are they in prison or holding entry-level jobs or no jobs even though they are middle age?

You create your own destiny by the choices you make between any stimulus and the response you choose.

Let’s be honest, sometime in life we’ve all made a mistake with a knee-jerk reaction to a situation. I know I have. But I later regretted my response. I share a couple of examples of my own mistakes with my students. We can teach quite a bit by sharing our failures and vulnerabilities. They hear us best when we aren’t preaching.

As the year progresses and a teen or two will invariably make a poor choice, I don’t have to say anything. I just go to the board, make my two dots, and draw the wavy line in between. No words have to be spoken, though many of the students will give that little hum (or groan) of understanding.

I find it’s best to do this activity early in the year before a poor choice has occurred. That way no student is made the target of the exercise. When students come into class all excited about a fight that has just occurred in the cafeteria or hallway, I just draw my two dots and that slow wavy line in between. They get it. They may say something like, “No, seriously Mrs. E. you should have seen it, it was so cool.” But I just draw my two dots and my wavy line again.

What is My Hope?

Someday when I’m no longer standing in front of them in a classroom, my students will remember the two dots and the long wavy line between them. They will realize that they have the power to create their own destiny with the choices they make. They won’t feel they have to become the victim of their own poor choices even if lousy choices were all that was modeled for them.

When I move outside the sometimes confining limits of my academic area, I often feel like I’m doing my most important teaching. It is when I most feel like I am teaching to change lives.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author: dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com

Apr1

Letters from Teachers

Posted on April 1, 2013 by daunaeasley

Standard

Lucky Me

I’m a lucky lady alright. Not only have I had the chance to spend decades involved in the teaching profession that I love, I’ve also been invited to speak to teacher audiences in 37 states. Sometimes I speak at conferences. Other times I’m invited to encourage teachers in individual school districts. I love to use my speaking skills to inspire and encourage teachers.

Have you ever wondered what teachers are thinking? I have scores of letters from teachers who write to me after they hear me speak. They tell me exactly what is on their minds. Listen in on what they have to say.

Dear Dauna,

… Last Friday, as school ended, I was scrubbing up a whole bottle of dried syrup that had been thrown into the broom closet. At that point I was thinking, “Why did I ever sign up to attend this conference next week? I still have things to do here AND at home!” Now I am so glad I came You were fantastic. You have made this whole conference worthwhile. I get the feeling that you are the kind of teacher who would have syrup spill in your closet too.

… You really touched our teachers. You gave them something that doesn’t come in books or on the internet. You shared YOU! Your human compassion and common sense encouraged them like nothing else can. You gave them a glow that they will not forget.

…Your stories were so moving and so real. I came away feeling very proud to be a teacher and there are not enough of those moments.

… What a gift you have to move people with your true stories about teaching. God bless you.

… I’ve been coming to these conferences with the same group of guys for years. We really enjoy each other’s company. Frankly we usually just sit in the back and talk through the presentations. When you gave your speech it was the first time not one of us said anything. You really hooked us.

… I knew from the moment you stepped in front of our group that you were going to be a huge success. You have a magic aura around you. Thank you for turning me into a hero because I was the one who invited you to our state to speak. I feel as though I’ve not just heard a great teacher speak, I feel as though I’ve made a new friend.

… You humbled me by talking about your failures. We all have failures but we forget the positive impact we can have by sharing those failures with others.

… My goodness you are an amazing speaker! I have never seen anyone, ever, control an audience like you did.

( I can’t help it. I just have to tell you. That last comment was written by a Georgia senator about ten years ago).

… You made me think of all the teachers whom I should thank. I hope and pray that someday someone feels the same way toward me. I know God has put me here for a reason. Thank you for helping me realize that I may be touching someone right now, even though I can’t see it.

… I almost didn’t come back today. I’ve been driving to Columbus an hour each way for the past three days to attend this conference. Last night I almost decided to stay home and avoid one more day of that drive. But, because of you I’m so glad I didn’t stay home. You made all that driving for all three days worthwhile? Next year you should speak all three days.

… I’ve always thought of myself as a positive person. I honestly try to take this into the classroom every day. But at times it’s hard to smile at the little SOB who gives me a rough time. But after listening to you today, I make you three promises:

I will smile at my problem child.
Every student of mine will hear the fish story.
I will write my 8th grade English teacher a thank you letter.

… At last they finally bring in someone to speak to us who REALLY KNOWS what it’s like to teach. I felt like you were inside my head hearing my thoughts. You have had all my same frustrations but you helped me realize that I might really be making a difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me hang in there.

… I came here worn out and wrung out. You lifted a heavy load from my shoulders and a weight from my chest.

… You know the most important thing I learned from you today? It is OK to be goofy. You are a riot!

… Last night I was talking to my wife about how “the job” was going. I told her I was considering going back into industry because I didn’t feel like I was having a positive impact on my students. Can it possibly be an accident that I heard you speak today? Wow, have you given me a boost! I can go back into the classroom with a positive attitude. You have reminded me of why I chose teaching.

… You could never believe how much I needed to hear the message you gave us today. You were speaking directly to me. I believe your stories will help me be a better person as well as a better teacher.

…I never would have believed I could laugh so hard – and cry too – in ninety minutes. The time went by too quickly. Please come back!

..I’m really not a warm and fuzzy person, but today you have inspired me to work harder and listen to my students more.

…My staff suggested I get you to come back once a month for a shot in the arm. You touched all of us in a special way.

… I hope someone, somewhere, lets me know I’ve been a positive influence in their life. Thanks for giving me hope.

Now Dear Readers, Will You Do Me a Favor?

If you enjoy reading my blog posts, could you recommend me to someone who hires speakers to encourage teachers?
I’d love to be the opening speaker at your school next year. Contact me.
Are you a teacher who attends in service meetings? Could you share a link from my blog posts with the person who invites speakers to your district?
Are you in charge of hiring speakers for teacher conferences?
My email address is the best way to reach me: dauna@cinci.rr.com

My past audience members are the ones who encouraged me to write a book for teachers. I’ve now written two. Some universities are having their education students read my books. Here is my most recent book for teachers.

TEACH…To Change Lives

Available autographed or in large quantities from the author dauna@cinci.rr.com

Also available at Amazon.com