The opportunity to create a causal chain of positive character from one generation to the next is the most novel reality.  As teachers, our responsibility is to think beyond mere teaching. We are not just paid year after year to teach students the ingredients of the curriculum, assess their knowledge, grade them and move them on to the next grade level.

Because of the challenge of teaching, many educators may look at the teaching profession through dimly colored glasses, but there is always a greater way to reach the most unwilling students.  Only a few teachers have found the secret of making a classroom the place where students want to be.

During my most profitable teaching years, I have had the privilege of working with educators who had discovered the secret of empowering a classroom. The application of 10 effective concepts, consistently applied, proved to make the difference between empowered and struggling, mediocre classrooms.

The Top 10 Empowerment Concepts

Purpose

At the beginning of the school year, a teacher must teach purpose. Before anything else, students must realize that they are in school to become positive difference makers in society.  If students are not fully acquainted with this fact from the start, many will have difficulty adjusting throughout the school year.

Therefore, teachers must entertain the ears of the classroom with the idea of purpose from day one. Instilling a deep knowledge of purpose will provide students with a desire to achieve their best in academics, character, and expression.

Excitement

No significant motivation for learning will occur in a boring classroom.  Students should feel excited about moving to the next assignment.  I f your lesson plans are flat and uninspiring, the class will not absorb much of what you are teaching.

Students must understand the importance of what they are learning. Many students act up in class because they don’t understand the purpose of learning about English, Math, and Science.  Therefore, when presenting the lesson plan, you must make sure the clarity is a priority.

When students understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, the assignment suddenly becomes exciting.

Ownership

A sense of ownership makes people feel responsible for what they own. When we give students a sense of ownership for the classroom, they will feel obligated to take care of it. You may disagree with this fact, but it is true.

One reason students continue to waste time in class is that they don’t feel at home in the classroom. ‘It’s Miss Holy or Mr. Swanson Classroom,’ they think.

To change such thinking and create a sense of student ownership, a teacher should never say “This is my classroom,” especially not in anger.  Instead, we should say, “this is our classroom, and we must keep it as perfect as we can, every day.”

Not only should each student have a particular hand in taking care of the classroom, but students should also have a hand in creating what rules should be followed and what consequences should be administered for not following the rules.

Having a sense of ownership in the classroom will make students feel accountable for what goes in the classroom.  A sense of ownership empowers!

Teamwork

An empowered classroom is a team of students who knows how to work together to get things done.  The concept of team is very significant.  If students cannot work together, it will be impossible to empower them to work as an empowered classroom.

Great teams care about and support one another.  If there is a problem with the team, the issue is talked out and resolved without hesitation.  Students must learn to work as a team to become instruments of empowerment.

They must be able to work through difficulty, conflict, and selfishness.  Every student must do his part with the knowledge that he is doing it for the sake of others.  Teachers must replace the concept of “I” with the concept of “We”.  Throughout the classroom, the sound of “We” must be the norm.

Recognition

The failure to pour on the recognition is one of the biggest mistakes the majority of teachers make during the school year. I can agree that it is hard to give praise and recognition constantly to students who steadily disrupt the classroom, but this is exactly what it will take gradually to redirect the negative behavior of some students.

Recognizing students for good seatwork productivity, respectful behavior toward classmates and keeping in line with the rules and regulations of the classroom is the hallmark of empowerment. When teachers verbally and tangibly honor students for daily productivity and character, these students feel good about their uniqueness and ability to perform excellently.

Catch students doing well throughout the day and recognize them.  At first, this may be exhausting, considering all the other duties of teaching, but if practiced without reservation, the ability to honor students will become a habit.

Impact

Teach with impact. Weak teaching is like “I don’t want to be here, but the sense I am, I might as well get through the day.”  Impact teaching means that lessons are taught with a sense of passion, excitement, and engagement.

Ask questions and get students to ask questions.  Allow them to stand up and come up front. Full engagement of teacher and students makes learning exciting.

A part of classroom empowerment is allowing students to be highly involved in the daily learning process. This approach is utilized by outstanding teachers of the year.

Learning is more than lecturing students with a boring, dry and unengaging subject.  The majority of teachers don’t allow students to come up front enough.  But in classrooms of empowerment, students are not only allowed to come up front but to teach whole lessons at times.

Don’t be afraid to allow students to take the stage while you facilitate the project or activity.

Ability

The more students are convinced of their ability to win the more empowered they become.  As teachers, we must prioritize ability at all times. Promote a sense of ability in the classroom.  Define the word time and time again so that students with grasp the significance of the term.

If students don’t have a keen awareness of their ability to start and complete an assignment, they will be timid in their ability to learn.  Therefore, teachers must convince students that there is nothing impossible to accomplish with the ability that is within them.

Every student must know that he or she has the inner ability to be a starter and a finisher in whatever they set their mind to achieve.  However, many teachers never strive to eliminate such student doubts and fears about what they can and cannot do.

One mains reason students act up is that the doubt themselves when it comes to understating assignments and doing seat works.  But once a student is convinced of his ability to do anything, he will become excited about learning and perform excellently.

Problem Solving

Problem Solving is a great channel by which to empower a classroom.  Ultimately, the arm of all activities within the classroom leads to solving some problem.  Educators must teach as well as a model to their students how to solve problems.

A lot of this training is accomplished through group work or projects. The teacher sets the criteria for group projects and then facilitates the activities from beginning to end.  But students must resolve every problem encountered through the completion the project. The types of issues that will likely be manifest include:

• Process problems
• Quality problems
• Attitude problems

Students must be allowed to work through each to be considered an empowered classroom.  When working on a project, a student should be choosing to record all conflicts and how they were resolved.

Variety

When variety is put in each lesson planning, learning becomes exciting to students.  A lesson plan should consist of a variety of teaching methods, including music, games, and movement.  Some teachers start the day with soft music to get students in a receptive mood for instructions.

Studies show that music can make students more focused on raising the Alpha waves in their brain.

Outstanding teachers can make a lesson plan so interesting that students will be willing to forsake recess just to stay inside and participate in the learning.

Social Responsibility

It is never too early to teach students about their responsibility to society.  They are being taught to make a difference in the generation to come: their generation.   They must know that the reason they are learning what they are learning is to take control, to become the leaders, inventors and change makers of the next generation.

They must understand that what they do in school today will determine how well they make a positive difference in their neighborhoods, communities and yes, their country.

When students know of their responsibility in creating a strong future society, they will feel empowered to release the best within themselves.

Work with Allies to Master Classroom Empowerment

In order to master the business of classroom empowerment, you must work with others who think the same way.  Great things cannot be accomplished without the support of others. Therefore, enlist parents, fellow teachers and outside resources to create an empowered classroom.

Make connecting with parents a top priority.  Teachers and parents working closely together to empower children will go a long way in helping to accelerate the transformation of these children.

You and fellow teachers must support one another on a daily basis. Working together to create empowered classrooms will have its challenges, but two or three like-minded teachers working together can move mountains.

Research rich resources, including outstanding educational websites, Youtube channels and other social media channels to get creative ideas for empowering your classroom.

Warning: Administration

Beware of administration. When you are determined to empower your classroom, you must have the courage to go against some the limitations that administration will place on you as an educator.

Administration ideal of a great classroom is based on the idea of coverage and silence. I mention this issue in my book Criteria for Exceptional Classroom Teachers. For example, if your classroom is always having good time learning, some administrators might think that some aspects of the curriculum are not getting done.

Moreover, administration, as well as some teachers, may think that your classroom is out of order most of the time.  But don’t allow yourself or your classroom to be shaped by outside opinions and fears.  The greatest teachers possess a certain degree of radicalism which creates greatness in academics and performance.

The Duty of Every Teacher

The business of classroom empowerment is the duty of every teacher.  The future depends on upon us teachers to delight in what we do. Our duty is to shape and design the lives of students so that they will be able to influence the lives of others for the better.

The benefits of empowering our classroom are vast, including accelerated growth in academics, character, and positive expression.

Save

The post The Top 10 Classroom Empowerment Concepts and How to Apply Them appeared first on Edu-Power-Today.

Clear Vision

First, they have a clear vision for their classroom. They are not just teaching for a paycheck. At the end of a semester they expect a hug change in the academic performance, nature and behavior of each student. Each hour of teaching, each day of interaction during the school year is geared toward changing the mindset and motivation of the students.

Instills Quality

Second, a responsive teacher instills quality in her presentations. Each time she stands before the classroom, there is an objective for what she teaches and all the students know this. Random teaching is not a practice of a great educator. He or she makes sure that the student gets the best out of each subject taught. She assesses their learning before the end of each day.

Demands Attention

Third, a responsive teacher demands the attention of all her students when delivering the lesson. She will not take over any student. If a student cannot cooperate, he is given a warning or a consequence at that time, not later, when the deed has long faded away. From this strictness, the students learn to respect her.

Challenges Students

Fourth, great teachers don’t allow their students to just sat back and listen. Responsive teachers demands that all students participate in the discussions and learning. When student are actively participating in what’s going on in the classroom, it is an indication that learning is occurring. This is what separates great teachers from average teachers. No student is allowed to opt out of a period of learning.

Connect with Students

Fifth, a responsive teacher attempts to connect with each student on a personal basis. She feels if she can reach the student that way, the student will develop more trust toward her and will possess a willingness to give his education the best effort possible. Making student feel part of your family is the hallmark of building trust.

Allow for Fun

Sixth, students are allowed to have fun when a responsive teacher is in charge. When teachers are responsive, they sense the changing classroom. Since they are flexible, they know how to adapt their teaching approach to the vibrations of the moment. For instance, a great teacher is not afraid to temporarily drop the lesson plan and play a game or take the children outside for a period of relaxation from stress or mental fatigue. Responsive teachers know that somedays it is just hard to hold focus throughout an entire school day.

Fridays are usually the typical days when students and teachers reach a level of burnout and needs an extensive break from academic learning.

What makes a responsive teacher great is that she is always giving her attention to students. She notices their work, their emotions and their behavior. She redirects and corrects and applies consequences on a consistent basis. Her students are well aware of why she does what she does.

In order to be a responsive teacher, you must be competent and courageous. You cannot be afraid of what students may say or feel about you. Although you would like to be accepted, you cannot fall for the desire to be liked. Such desire is an immediate trap resulting in increasing compromise and negligence when it comes to controlling a classroom.

The post The Responsive Teacher: What a Godsend appeared first on Edu-Power-Today.

Once a teacher Adapts and masters a personal educational philosophy, she must not waver in her perspective or become uncertain by early mistakes and failures. She must constantly refine and perfect her ideas and craft until it becomes an inner law. Greatness in teaching demands that we don’t blindly follow the leader but that we beat our own path to the promise land.

The trouble encountered by many new teachers in their first year is the difficulty of applying all the accumulated theories leant in college. They haven’t had the chance to discover what works and what doesn’t work in the modern classroom. Today’s classroom often defies the theories and formulas regarding classroom management and lesson designs that may have achieved success in the past. Each classroom is different. It has its own character and atmosphere. What works in once classroom will often fail in another?

Those teachers who have created their own, unwavering teaching philosophy possess the competence to take control of any classroom environment. They have confidence in the effectiveness of their ideology, no matter how unorthodox these ideas may appear to others.

Principles Needed to Develop an Unwavering Teaching Philosophy

Concentration

Maintaining a dynamic teaching philosophy requires extreme focus and concentration in today’s modern classroom. Many entities will challenge your ideas and approaches. They will attempt to redirect you into more traditional teaching routines. Before I won the teacher of the year award in 1998, I received many complaints about my teaching methods. I heard many emotionally unsettling things spoken behind my back.

However, I was confident in my teaching style and stood steadfast against the pressure. In the end, many of my peers were shocked at the rate my students had excelled. Parent testimonies were off the chart, so to speak. Mental toughness is concentration at its best.

Unafraid of negative consequences

Maintaining an unwavering teaching philosophy means that you are willing to endure administrative discipline or even job dismissal. Greatness sometimes comes at a heavy price. Some of the greatest teachers have moved forward against the grain and defied the odds. But although their ideology was rejected in the beginning, their message became a foundation to build upon for future generations.

Unquenchable Passion

A teacher with unquenchable passion for their teaching philosophy can endure all kinds of harassment on the job. They are so excited and involved in seeing their student excel academically that backbiting and objections from peers are overshadowed. For once, when I taught at a local school in Wisconsin I was so eager for the next day to arrive that I could hardly sleep at night. The next morning, even though I sensed the whispering and often got the cold shoulder from many of my peers, I was always ready to energize my students with a host of creative and innovative presentations.

Gaining Respect for your Philosophy.

Observation of highly exceptional people who have command of their personal philosophy is a fantastic way of gaining more respect for your own approach. Go to speaking presentations and watch how dynamic speakers lay out their ideas. The topic doesn’t have to involve education.

Your aim is to study different approaches to teaching people and adapting those processes to the education field and implementing them in the classroom. This is how you go about establishing your own personal teaching philosophy.

Being Different Pays Off

The importance of developing your own style of teaching cannot be stressed enough. If you want to become a dynamic teacher and separate yourself from the norm, you cannot do what everybody else is doing. Closing the achievement gap will require teachers who can come into a classroom and command it using ideas that have not been taught in the traditional education classes.

Once you are comfortable with your brand of teaching, you will have the opportunity to empower and equip student s with superior learning capacities. I often had groups of first graders performing at a third grade level. When the word spread regarding this outstanding accomplishment, new parents with first graders targeted my class with great honor and delight.

The post The Courage to Adapt Your Own Teaching Philosophy appeared first on Edu-Power-Today.