Educators around the world have taken up a simple, high-leverage habit: moments of genuine connection. Armed with clipboards and simple class rosters, these folks try to engage each of their students in 30-90 second interactions. The goal is simple: communicate to the child that they are valued, known, and respected. “Rubi, it’s good to see […]
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Why Specific Plans Are Helpful and Vague Ones Are Suffocating
You’re a good teacher, so it’s probable that you do some kind of goal-setting with your students. If you’re super sharp, you might even use the WOOP method developed by Gabrielle Oettingen. When goals or plans are vague, they don’t work well. Vague goals anesthetize the goal-setter. “Yeah, I’m paying more attention to school,” the […]
The Customizability of Our Inner Worlds
The next time you walk away from a negative conversation, ask yourself: What benefit came from that? These are the kinds of conversations I’m talking about: “So-and-so Teacher can’t manage his classroom. Oh my goodness.” “So-and-so Administrator said this to me. Can you believe it?” “So-and-so Parent emailed for the tenth time today. Agh!” We […]
Principles Must be Proven; Use “Value Drills” to Help
Identifying one’s principles is a good exercise. Here are some I hold that you might, too: All students have value as human beings. All students possess yet-to-be-tapped long-term flourishing potential. All students possess likable qualities. It’s good to know what you stand for, what you value. And, as I’ve written before, research suggests it’s helpful […]
Should Welders Care About History Class — or Algebra 2? Or Literature?
Here’s a common motivational obstacle in the secondary classroom: because a given assignment or course isn’t aligned with a student’s future employment plans, the student decides that the work isn’t valuable. I’ve had parents communicate this belief, too. It sounds like: I’m going to be a welder, Mr. Stuart. History doesn’t matter for that job. […]
