How to Become the Alpha Dog: Classroom Management Guide

By S. L. Klinger

How to Become the Alpha Dog is an easy to follow proactive classroom management guide designed to stop student behavior problems before they start. All suggestions have been tested over many years by the author and other veteran teachers and have proven to work.

CHAPTERS INCLUDE:
Setting Physical Boundaries – Encourage positive behavior by arranging furniture? Yep, it does work!
How to make your classroom interesting and inviting
Setting Behavior Boundaries – The Behavior Expectations Letter
The First Week of School – Teaching Good Classroom Behavior
Getting and Keeping the Attention of Your Students
Getting to Know Your Students – The many uses of the seating chart
How to keep track of special needs students
Lesson Planning: Where to Start
Structure your daily lessons to stop behavior problems before they start
How to Create a “Testing” Atmosphere
How to make sure the homework is being done correctly and on time
How to assign student presentations
How to quash the student presentation saboteur
How to handle the mountain of paper
What to do with the students who never have their work, textbook, or materials
How to keep from losing student’ work – or from having them, and/or their parents, accuse you of losing it
The importance of voice – effective, selective yelling
Giving Privileges to create and reward positive behavior
The relaxed classroom – where real learning will take place

• Language: English
• Publisher: S. L. Klinger
• Release date: Nov 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370934881

S. L. Klinger

S.L. Klinger holds a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in English. This book is based on her 24 years of teaching experience in middle and high school classrooms.

Book preview

My husband, David, for listening to me gripe for so many years, for helping me set up my classroom for so many years, and for helping me edit this book.

My son, Rory, for giving me the dog training book, that started my whole dog = teenager thought process and for helping me set up my classroom every year during his teens. Also, and this is a big Also, for showing me the ropes of using Microsoft Word.

My future daughter-in-law, Derlin, for laughing at my cartoons and listening to my endless stories about teaching.

To Lisa Pacheco for guiding me through the book publishing maze and introducing me to Laura Shinns’ work.

To my friends and colleagues: Stacy Tenace, Sonita Crane, Teresa Hebert, and Roxanne Rodriguez for letting me photograph their classrooms and sharing their ideas about furniture arrangement and what they wished they had known when they started teaching. Also, Christy Moskovitz for sharing her experience as a traveling teacher and how the furniture arrangements in the various classes did change the behaviors of her students.

To Laura Shinn for designing the cover and formatting the content.

Introduction:

Why I use dog references throughout this book

A funny thing happened to me many years ago. My son gave me a dog training book. Dog Training in 10 Minutes, by Carol Lea Benjamin. It’s been a running family joke that I have never been able to train our dogs to do anything a normal pet should do. As I was reading that book, my mind started playing tricks on me – the problems with the dogs’ behaviors, being described, were the same problems I was having with students in my classes (other than leg humping – I hope). The problem was that I had been taught to deal with individual human behavior. My, Aha! moment came when I realized that teenagers are hormonal social pack animals – just like adolescent dogs! Then, I came to another major realization, I had to become an Alpha Dog!

Chaos ended and my teaching days became much more pleasant when I started the year out as Alpha Dog. Some teachers just are natural Alpha Dogs (leaders) most of us are not. This book has suggestions and examples to help teachers get to this state.

I know this will probably offend some, You are comparing the youth of our nation to a bunch of dogs!!!!, but when I have mentioned this to other educators the overwhelming response is You’re right! I never thought of it! accompanied by a hearty belly laugh.

When I finished the credential program to become a high school English teacher, I was in no way prepared to face an actual classroom of teenagers. I thought I was providing a fun, motivating learning experience for my students. What I actually was providing was a chaotic environment where some learning took place, in spite of my good intentions.

Many adults, young and old, who have ever been a high school student, have an opinion about how high school teachers should teach. They remember a hated class or teacher and/or a favorite class or teacher. While I haven’t used all the advice given to me – like put teacher controlled electric shock capability in student seating… I do appreciate most of the input. And, I definitely have needed it!

I have been teaching for 24 years now and have tried many strategies presented in trade articles, books, and at continuing education seminars, but they have only addressed curriculum - not managing student behavior. The first 10 years of my career I survived stressful days, brought on by my fairly unstructured teaching style, and was ready to walk away several times. Each day would bring on a mountain of paperwork, confrontations with students, disgruntled parents, etc. Then I had my Aha! moment and started becoming an alpha dog.

Most of the advice that I am passing on, to the readers of this guide book, has been given to me over the course of my career: by my fellow teachers, various career development presenters, parents of students, my students, counselors, administrators, my family, friends, neighbors, random people standing in line at the grocery store, and an occasional college professor. I actually did, on my own, come up with some of the techniques mentioned and have used them successfully for many years.

The proactive systems and techniques that I present in this guide have been tried and tested, by me, over the last 14 years and have proven to create a positive learning environment for my students as well as to de-stress my days. They are also methods that many of my veteran colleagues and fellow Alpha Dogs use on a daily basis. My personal Alpha Dog experience is proof that they work in stopping approximately 98% of student behavior problems before the start. The other 2%? I will include some strategies that work in most cases, but occasionally you just have to call in a professional dog trainer.

It is absolutely amazing what these puppies are capable of, if you create the right environment for them. They will not only survive, but excel. The ultimate reward for you will be a challenging, fulfilling, enjoyable career – for many years.

Teens, just as dogs, are fun and often surprising.

During a lesson I gave on ancient Greek theater in my 9th grade English Honors class…. I told my kiddos to write in the form Sophocles used – but they could write about anything as long as it was rated P.G.

Boy: Can we write about Donald Trump?

Girl: If Donald Trump is elected president then there will be no more Chinese food in America!

How the heck did that come out of a discussion about form in literature? I have no idea, but it made me laugh.

If you do not have one good belly laugh every day, then you are in the wrong line of work. Teaching and interacting with students, in a positive atmosphere, is fun (and sometimes hysterically funny).

Reviews for How to Become the Alpha Dog

[Gemma Atenta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm a teacher applicant and after reading your book I learned so much thank you!