Its Pay day !

I had the chance to enter to grade 1 English class at my school. I was amazed by the perfect class management. And frankly only in a managed class, learning can blossom. 

The secret behind that was the " Pay day ". The teacher prepared  a set of homemade money, cut and stapled in a durable envelope with the names of the student on the front. Each student then wrote his name on each 1 $ bill.Now each has 20 $ and therefore:

Students can lose money for the following reasons:

• $___ no pencil
• $___ no homework
• $___ being bad
• $___ eating in class
• $___ talking without raising hands

Students can earn money for the following reasons:

• $___ a clean desk
• $___ a good grade
• $___ bringing homework
• $___ being nice and helpful 

this idea was so clever and the students were more than careful. What do you think about it ???

What should you say in your classroom

A word that a teacher say can leave a deep impact in the student's lives. No matter how angry or frustrated or even happy your class was, you should always be careful of what to say, when to say, and how to say it.

So here is a list of five things that you should always say in the classroom: 

1- Good morning and Good bye:

Once you enter the class and you greet your students, then you are sending them this positive message that their day will be good, successful, and bright.Similarly, dismissing your class with ‘goodbye’ or ‘have a lovely evening’ has the same effect, so their sunny attitude can continue outside of the classroom. Both greetings implement in your students the social etiquette.

2-  Do you understand?

Many teachers misuse this question so when they explain a lesson they take it as a good sign if they as: " Did you understand?" and all the class just nod their heads even if they actually do not..

you should pass around your students and check each and everyone's work and here you can truly discover who understood and who did not.

3- What do you think of this?

students have a say in what they want to learn and they way they want to learn it. So take in consideration 

their comments to fully assess the success of the lesson.

4- Why is this important?

If you do not show the students the importance of what they are learning then they wont bother to pay attention to what you say during the class.

5- You can do it ! Great, you made it !

Showing your students they have done well and expressing emotions such as pride and happiness makes for a positive and productive learning environment that all students will want to be a part of.

When they need an extra hand :)

To be considered as an expert teacher, you should reach a long way with your students so when they need help, their faces should be your clue to pause and scaffold them. But in many cases your help even if you revise and reshape it- is not enough for the student to get the information.

Here comes the role of a third partner other than you and the student. The peer tutoring might be the solution in this case.

It always happens that many students feel more comfortable in asking their classmates or even friends of similar age zone, to explain to them the misunderstood piece of knowledge. I did my research concerning the peer tutoring and its effect on the students achievement. I followed it up by a study on my own students. 

the results where really enough to reveal that a student can help the other student understand the idea in the exact same way you wanted! 

So yes, go for it and give your students the chance to seek help from " other than you " ... at the end we do want them to be independent learners

Does education guarantee education ?

 It is very easy to explain importance of education. No human beings are able to survive properly without it.
By the means of education only one’s potential can be used to maximum extent. It's what tells men how to think, how to work properly, how to make decision. Through education only one can make separate identity. It is most important in life like our basic need foods, clothe and shelter.

It is said that the Germans are one of the most educated people on earth, but their education did not serve as an adequate barrier to barbarity. What was wrong with their education?

 In Wiesel's words:

"It emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstraction rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience. It is matters of no small consequence that the only people who have lived on the planet for any length of time could not read, or do not make a fetish of reading. Education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom. More of the same kind of education will only compound our problems. This is not an argument for ignorance, but rather a statement that the worth of education must now be measured against the standards of decency and human survival. It is not education that will save us, but education of a certain kind."

So I ask myself and you too the same question, what is wrong with our education and to what extent is the education we are getting and giving to the students is their guarantee to be proper and descent members in society?