Help! I Am a Teacher!

By Billy Prewitt

Are your students stressing you out?
Do you want to have a peaceful classroom?
Are you overwhelmed with discipline problems?
Whether you are a first year teacher, substitute teacher, Sunday school teacher, or veteran teacher, this book is a must have. It is fun, engaging, and loaded with stress saving and practical strategies that will help you deal with those challenging situations and still maintain your authority in your classroom. You will learn how to specifically deal with:

Behavioral problems
Character building
Class time management
Classroom control
Writing measurable rules

And so much more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Billy Prewitt
• Release date: Jan 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310242441

Billy Prewitt

Billy M. Prewitt holds a PhD in Biblical Studies, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, a Master of Arts in Theology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music. His most recent accomplishments include authoring three Pentecostal Commentaries: Matthew, Galatians, and Acts 1-12. Additionally, along with his professional teaching experience in both the private and public sectors, he has served in the Church as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and currently serves as the pastor of Family Fellowship Church in Lake City, Florida.

Book preview

HELP! I am a Teacher!

by

Billy M. Prewitt

© 2012 by Billy M. Prewitt and Rebekah Prewitt

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Please contact the author for permission to use

any part of this work. This book is also available in print at

SpeakToMeToday.com and other participating retailers.

ISBN: 9781310242441

Dedicated to Rebekah, my loving wife.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Who’s In Charge of Your Classroom?

Chapter 2 – Maintaining Control of the Classroom

Chapter 3 – Rules that You Can Rule By

Chapter 4 – Punishment that Works

Chapter 5 – What are You Teaching Your Students?

Chapter 6 – Teamwork

Chapter 7 – Procedures and Class Time Management

Chapter 8 – Dealing with the Most Challenging Students

About the Author

Connect With Billy

Chapter 1

Who's In Charge of Your Classroom?

Not too long ago, I was working in a school when I heard this awful sound coming from across the hall. As I listened, I realized that the siren I heard was actually a teacher yelling. As I entered the classroom, I watched as the teacher strained her lungs and vocal cords to corral her 2nd grade class into submission. Yet to her dismay, they were still out of control. After a short time, she asked if I would supervise her class while she left the room for a few moments. I stood at the back of this unfamiliar classroom without saying very much. I told a few of the students who were standing that they needed to take a seat, and they did so. Other than that, I said almost nothing. The students must have been shocked into submission by the absence of screaming. After a few moments, the teacher returned, and the yelling began again.

It just so happened that I saw this teacher again at the end of the day. Her hair was in disarray and she looked exhausted. She looked at me with eyes full of frustration and said, I don't know how much longer I can take working at this school. You may have had days that you felt the same way! Hey, we have all been frustrated at our jobs, but that doesn't mean that there is no hope. How would things have been different for this sad teacher if the students she taught respected her?

Why was this teacher struggling? She had several years of experience with teaching the 2nd grade. She was probably competent in the subject areas, teaching strategies, and curriculum, but none of that mattered. She had made a fatal mistake that many teachers make. She had surrendered the authority of her classroom to a group of disorganized seven-year-olds. The result was bad for her and her students. How could her students learn in that environment?

If you find that you identify with this frustrated teacher, you will be glad to know that things can be better. There are positive changes you can make to the way you operate in your classroom that will help you have a more peaceful and effective learning environment. The best place to start is to learn how to establish your authority. A common quality of highly effective teachers is the ability to establish authority in the classroom. For me, establishing authority is always the first order of business. Nothing else can be considered until this goal is accomplished, but when proper authority is in place, the world of learning is open to explore.

Understanding Authority

When I was young, my family decided to get a fish tank. My brother and I were excited about all the different kinds of fish that we could buy to decorate our new living room feature. So, when our dad took us to the pet store, we bought whatever fish our little budgets would allow. After arriving home with our little plastic bags full of living scaly creatures, we began the process of releasing them into our tank. It was a great surprise for us to learn that these fish did not all get along. It was an even bigger surprise to find one of my brother's fish floating at the top of the tank a few days later. Yes, it is true. My fish had won the prize for bullying.

My brother was very disappointed, but he did not give up. He asked a few questions about fish and their habits (not bad questions for an eight year old). Then he chose one particular species that had a reputation for being quite aggressive and purchased it to put in our tank. We were never really sure what happened, but one morning we found my fish dried out on the living room carpet.

This small example from nature shows us that even fish understand authority. There can only be one big fish in the tank. Granted, we are hoping for a more peaceable environment in our classrooms, but the basics are the same. The aggressive fish wins. For us as teachers, we must be the big fish. We absolutely must be aggressive in the matter of authority. This is a front that we cannot afford to compromise. In our classrooms, we must be the one in charge.

Establishing authority at the beginning is critical, but authority is a funny thing. It usually is not very stable. It can shift from one person to another like the changing of the wind. It was once said that a man can sound right until his neighbor stands up to call him into question. This means that even if we have properly established our authority, it can come into question in a moment. We must be able not only to establish authority on the outset, but also maintain authority as time goes on.

Competition for Authority

In the ideal situation, all of your students will come in and observe your rules, policies, and procedures to the letter. They will be respectful and well mannered without the slightest hint of question concerning what you do or say. Unfortunately, I have never seen that ideal situation in a class. Even the youngest students will question your authority to make decisions, and attempt to play you against other sources of authority. Sometimes, strong willed students will attempt to undermine and erode your authority on a daily basis, while other students that you think are quiet and cooperative will vie for power at an unexpected moment. What are the factors that cause this competition, and what can be done to manage under these circumstances?

Family

Years ago, the structure of the family was clearly defined by the role of the father. The children were under the authority of both the father and the mother and there was little argument over the matter. In today's family, this has changed dramatically. Now, our students are dealing with all kinds of family structures. When you add step-parents, joint custody, and all kinds of other modern family issues, the traditional authority structure has all but vanished. As teachers, this presents a difficulty because many of the students that we teach are unaccustomed to the natural authority structure of the classroom.

Today, there are homes that have little or no authority structure. Some children grow up in very permissive homes where they are allowed to do whatever they want to do. Often in this type of home, the parents do not even lay out rules or guidelines. The parents primarily serve as providers rather than as a presence of discipline. Even though these children may long for more structure, they are still quite unprepared for the authoritative structure of a well run class.

In other homes the neglect of authority is less obvious. These parents refuse to tell their children no. For whatever reason, whether it is pity or fear, they simply will not bring themselves to deny their children anything. They may have rules and boundaries in place, but they don't enforce them. John Bevere, in his book Breaking Intimidation, speaks of parents that are intimidated by their children. If children live in an environment where they can intimidate their parents, what are they going to do when they face you in the classroom?

When we attempt to establish authority in our classroom, we will invariably find that some of the students are unfamiliar with this kind of environment. Some of them will interpret the environment in negative ways, while others will adjust much better. Just knowing that their family structure has an effect on their ability to adapt will help us to lead them into the structure we desire in our classroom.

Culture

Every culture has its own peculiarities. Some cultures are more submissive and respectful while others are more independent and proud. If you are teaching across cultural lines, you need to be aware of the authority structures in the cultures you face in your classroom.

Cultural sensitivity and recognition is a subject that has received a lot of attention in recent years. In dealing with the students that are not within our own culture group it is necessary to learn as much about their culture as possible. For example, some cultures have a highly structured patriarchal model to their homes. Others are more matriarchal and/or chaotic. These factors are