1:16 - Feeling the need to be in control 3:06 - Taking myself too seriously 4:45 - Worrying too much about being liked by students 6:33 - Not taking time to reflect 7:52 - Trying to be a purist of any methodology
Hi! Your videos are so helpful :) I am a fairly new teacher, but I am happy to see that I am already using many of your recommended techniques. I find myself sometimes not giving the pupils enough time when I am expecting them to pay attention. I will try out one of the ideas in another video, ringing the bell and then counting down in addition. Now I have just been ringing it and having to wait for some pupils. Thank you for sharing what you have learned from being a teacher 🌺
My biggest weakness is classroom management, especially middle school. I rarely have issues in high school. Elementary school I do okay in; they are generally more eager to please. Yesterday was a complete and utter nightmare. I found myself extremely frustrated, angry. Kids were yelling across the room, throwing paper airplanes, etc. I found myself yelling, which made the situation even worse. But as a substitute it is so hard because I don't know anyone's name. Rarely do the teachers EVER leave a roll sheet or seating chart.
Middle school teachers are simply a different breed...i am a 16 year 7th grade math teacher and over time i can sort of tell who is and isnt going to make it...they all have different styles but some really similar traits (firm consistent and unwavering lines but also take nothing personally and have good senses of humor ane focus A LOT on relationship building)
As a new substitute, I can’t even tell you how helpful this has been for me!!! I was thinking I was failing if I didn’t have control at all times. Thanks so much for everything you advised here.
Thank You!!!!!! 2nd year middle school teacher- 1st year was COVID year. This video was very helpful. Just stumbled on to you a day or 2 ago- your humor and comments have been very encouraging and practically useful.
Thank you Shelley! Definitely a challenging time to enter the profession. I'm glad you're finding the videos helpful :) Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
In my experience, watching other teachers on social media gives me new ideas and things to try. I am always looking for ways to improve student learning. It doesn't make me feel bad about my teaching, it motivates me to grow. That's how I found your channel- it's given me many ideas. My mistake - control. That's been the hardest to change.
Hey Kevin, I think that's a healthy approach to have. I generally find that seeing a lot of rockstar teachers makes me want to be better. Also literally had to remind myself today not to take myself too seriously when kids were goofing around during math.
You have a nice balance in you. That is what I notice in your videos. You are thoughtful, before and after you do actions. I have seen several and I am subscribed now. It is a good show. You are a good teacher.
Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your videos! I just started substitute teaching with no relevant experience at the start of this year and I have found it to be TERRIFYING. Special Ed students have been my favorite to work with so far, they’ve behaved and been kind and I just feel good leaving their rooms. I just taught social studies and English at a middle school this week and it was a nightmare. I don’t like getting kids in trouble, but I had to remove two students from the class who continually intentionally kept taking the class off track by talking, hitting, and throwing ice at each other. Thanks to your videos, I knew to stay calm and follow through when they continued challenging me. The rest of the day went fine after this and I think most of my students have been really enjoying me in their classroom (several students have asked if I can be their regular teacher lol). This all would have been so much harder without people like you, so once again, thank you sincerely!!!
Great video, I can relate to the five. My experience can be somewhat overwhelming, but mostly it challenges me to improve my teaching practices and try new things. I have made plenty of mistakes, one is rushing through projects/lessons and in return students not having successful end products. Did this my first year teaching trying to rush through the S&S, ended up having more than enough time at the end of the semester.
Yeah, I get you about rushing, particularly when you want to finish up a unit before a break. Thanks for sharing. Really cool stuff you're doing with your middle schoolers and your school news show :)
I really like when people give specific examples in their videos, it is very helpful as a new teacher. You have done a great job at doing this. In your 10 tips in 10 mins video I really like how you gave examples of what to say to students so that you are kind but direct and not confrontational. To answer your second question, one mistake I made at the beginning of this year was having a classroom management reward system that was too much for me to handle. I was going to have tallies on the board for “Oh No” and “Oh Yay” and if they had more “oh yay” tallies their class would get a marble( after they get enough marbles they get a little prize). It’s a great idea but pausing from helping students to go back and forth to the board was a hassle and was easily forgotten. Also when I marked an “oh no” tally students just made a joke and would yell “oh no” sarcastically. It just became a distraction and more work for me.
It's hard. So many dynamics at play. How you feel that day, which kids are causing problems, wondering if your poor lesson planning is what's leading to the management issues, etc. This is definitely something I'm always trying to work towards as well.
Great video, I’ve been in a very challenging school and your videos have kept me alive! Watching Teachers on social media has been very helpful, but I have fallen into the trap of feeling discouraged when I see all the awesome stuff teachers are doing and I feel completely exhausted, But I remind myself that these are exceptional teachers sharing their best work over the years of experience and they’re just trying to help. I would share my very best stuff online as well. Too many mistakes to count, but one mistake is that I initially thought that all my classes had to be “the same.” I usually teach seven periods a day And it’s OK to mix it up and be different with the personalities and behaviors of the different periods. We basically stay on pace with and cover the same content, but sometimes that dang third period just needs to do things differently and so forth, and it’s ok.
I feel exactly the same way. When I first graduated, folks used to tell me, "don't smile till Christmas." That I could not do. When a student does something that is funny, I'm going to laugh. I know I am a good teacher, BUT my experience is teaching adults in college. Different ball of wax when it comes to middle schoolers.
Being the teacher is like being a chef. A chef needs to know how much to use of every ingredient , It's all about measurements. So too being a teacher it's all about how much you use of Every method and tool.
For sure. Lots of ingredients to work with in a classroom to create an enjoyable experience for you and your students and gotta keep them all in balance; a challenge for sure.
Really useful, honest and practical which is always good - just came across you Thom as doing some 'action research' for school CPD and have chosen the area of 'creating a positive classroom culture' as struggling to reduce the amount of low level distracting behaviour in some of my lessons. Found last few videos v helpful so cheers, from London! Colum
Hey there Colum :) Thanks for commenting. That low-level distracting behavior is tough; it's generally not enough to warrant any big actions but it's like the smallest thorn in your side each day. Dealing with that right now with a couple students who are constantly being silly with each other during class. I usually just laugh it off and redirect them but after the 7th time in one period, it gets annoying and distracting. Glad the videos have been helpful!
It's pretty natural, particularly if you're like me and just want EVERYONE to like you. But in the end, earning the kids respect will more often than not also get them to like you (but it doesn't work the other way around if you're working hard to get them to like you).
Overwhelmed because I was hired to do 6th and just learned doing 7th AND 8th grade social studies. 1st year student here. I am devouring your videos but I have a question. In this one you say don't stress not being in control all the time. How do I reconcile that with the video talking about classroom management and not moving on until I have 100% compliance on learning new routines, etc?
Hey Jennifer. Such a great question. I've been thinking about it for a couple of days. Regarding not moving on until I had 100% compliance, that was a situation where the classroom was out of control. Learning wasn't happening, it wasn't a safe space for anybody, and chaos ensued. I needed to have a hard reset on the norms of the classroom and let them know what behavior was acceptable and what wasn't. In this video that I discussed not needing to be in control all the time, that was more of a situation where a kid told a joke and some of the kids laughed, and it got us off track a bit. Instead of laughing it off, I felt the need to 'address it' lest they continue to get more off task. That seems to be pretty overbearing and was more rooted in my own fears of the kids potentially not listening to me. So to answer your question, I think it has to do with where you're at generally in your classroom culture. I hope that makes sense!
Thank you for your helpful videos. I’ve been teaching elementary for 10 years and moving into a middle school position this coming year. What rules do you have in your classroom, and how do you go about teaching them to your students? What consequences do you recommend?
My rules were tied to something called a classroom economy where they got paid for classroom jobs that they had and then had to pay fines for any misbehavior (off-task behavior, rudeness, etc). It's a bit to set up but the kids love it and it teaches them quite a bit about financial literacy, but it my class it was moreso about a positive classroom culture. I created an online course on how I set up and managed the classroom economy - courses.thomgibson.com/courses/how-to-teach-kids-about-money
Cool you teach robotics? Where can I look at this on RUclips? In response to your inquiry at the end I find your suggestions helpful because they are not black-and-white suggestions meaning you don’t specifically say how to be yourself and not take yourself too seriously so I like that you do not get too detailed into explaining how to do any one of the five methods. I think that’s important because I’ve seen other videos that go into details and scenarios of how a person can do “thus and so” and I find that discouraging because sometimes it doesn’t seem to click with my personality. But the way you describe it it’s open and then I can tailor your suggestions to my own personality.
Thanks Good Day. I was hoping the advice could be applied to a variety of contexts. You can see some of my robotics videos here - ruclips.net/p/PLw9CvBlOxVpdQhOpvt-9bXfOWVPuW_F-a
Question: what to do if you give them independent work project on computer, with rubric, with clear instructions and expectation and they still only spend 5 minutes on their work, then play video games instead of working?
Have them work on a computer where the screen is always visible. Create an alternative offline activity if they end up doing it again. And after 2-3 offenses, let them know you'll be contacting their parents about the behavior.
i am a tesol trainee in Morocco. i had to deliver a demo lesson yesterday, my performance frustrated me and i was really disapointed. the feedbacks of my trainer were accepted. she gave me the strengths and weaknesses, my weaknesses were ( voice projection, intonation and monotony) i felt my lesson was plain and i was embaraced. any help to overcome these negative points please it was well prepared and designed listening lesson, i started acting and pretending to be a teacher, by greeting students ' other trainees' then i gave them a scambled word to unscrumble it ' library'. after that i asked them questions like what do we do at the library, what do we read... then i pre taught them some vocabulary, and i got blocked. i prepared the lesson weeks before yesterday but i didn't revise it before delivering.
Yeah it can be frustrating for sure when the demo lesson doesn't go according to plan. You're doing the right thing though - reflecting on what happened and how you can improve for next time 👍🏼
How does one respond if the jokes are aimed at you? It feels like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, clever or serious. For example, if students takes aim at your appearance? I had a student who kept calling me Shreck. It was weird because I have thick long hair but I guess he thought my face looked weird in profile with a mask on. I just ignored it but this made things worse.
Yeah that's a pretty big violation. I recommend you find a teacher in your school that you respect that you know has good classroom management skills. Ask them how to best approach the situation. They know your school and culture better than I can and provide more guidance in the types of consequences you can give for the behavior.
![Kodak Black - Versatile 4 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VcP_1Ua__vY/mqdefault.jpg)
1:16 - Feeling the need to be in control
3:06 - Taking myself too seriously
4:45 - Worrying too much about being liked by students
6:33 - Not taking time to reflect
7:52 - Trying to be a purist of any methodology
Hi! Your videos are so helpful :) I am a fairly new teacher, but I am happy to see that I am already using many of your recommended techniques. I find myself sometimes not giving the pupils enough time when I am expecting them to pay attention. I will try out one of the ideas in another video, ringing the bell and then counting down in addition. Now I have just been ringing it and having to wait for some pupils. Thank you for sharing what you have learned from being a teacher 🌺
My biggest weakness is classroom management, especially middle school. I rarely have issues in high school. Elementary school I do okay in; they are generally more eager to please. Yesterday was a complete and utter nightmare. I found myself extremely frustrated, angry. Kids were yelling across the room, throwing paper airplanes, etc. I found myself yelling, which made the situation even worse. But as a substitute it is so hard because I don't know anyone's name. Rarely do the teachers EVER leave a roll sheet or seating chart.
Yeah subbing middle school w/out seating charts or lesson plans can be brutal.
I feel you! OMG I'm not alone. I don't know what to do at that moment.
I had that same problem. Best thing to do is to learn all of their names as quickly as possible.
Are you me?😂
Middle school teachers are simply a different breed...i am a 16 year 7th grade math teacher and over time i can sort of tell who is and isnt going to make it...they all have different styles but some really similar traits (firm consistent and unwavering lines but also take nothing personally and have good senses of humor ane focus A LOT on relationship building)
As a new substitute, I can’t even tell you how helpful this has been for me!!! I was thinking I was failing if I didn’t have control at all times. Thanks so much for everything you advised here.
Glad you found it helpful!
Thank You!!!!!! 2nd year middle school teacher- 1st year was COVID year. This video was very helpful. Just stumbled on to you a day or 2 ago- your humor and comments have been very encouraging and practically useful.
Thank you Shelley! Definitely a challenging time to enter the profession. I'm glad you're finding the videos helpful :) Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
In my experience, watching other teachers on social media gives me new ideas and things to try. I am always looking for ways to improve student learning. It doesn't make me feel bad about my teaching, it motivates me to grow. That's how I found your channel- it's given me many ideas.
My mistake - control. That's been the hardest to change.
Hey Kevin, I think that's a healthy approach to have. I generally find that seeing a lot of rockstar teachers makes me want to be better.
Also literally had to remind myself today not to take myself too seriously when kids were goofing around during math.
You have a nice balance in you. That is what I notice in your videos. You are thoughtful, before and after you do actions. I have seen several and I am subscribed now. It is a good show. You are a good teacher.
I really appreciate that Rich :) Thanks!
Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your videos! I just started substitute teaching with no relevant experience at the start of this year and I have found it to be TERRIFYING. Special Ed students have been my favorite to work with so far, they’ve behaved and been kind and I just feel good leaving their rooms. I just taught social studies and English at a middle school this week and it was a nightmare. I don’t like getting kids in trouble, but I had to remove two students from the class who continually intentionally kept taking the class off track by talking, hitting, and throwing ice at each other. Thanks to your videos, I knew to stay calm and follow through when they continued challenging me. The rest of the day went fine after this and I think most of my students have been really enjoying me in their classroom (several students have asked if I can be their regular teacher lol). This all would have been so much harder without people like you, so once again, thank you sincerely!!!
Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad the videos are helpful :)
Great video, I can relate to the five. My experience can be somewhat overwhelming, but mostly it challenges me to improve my teaching practices and try new things. I have made plenty of mistakes, one is rushing through projects/lessons and in return students not having successful end products. Did this my first year teaching trying to rush through the S&S, ended up having more than enough time at the end of the semester.
Yeah, I get you about rushing, particularly when you want to finish up a unit before a break. Thanks for sharing. Really cool stuff you're doing with your middle schoolers and your school news show :)
I really like when people give specific examples in their videos, it is very helpful as a new teacher. You have done a great job at doing this. In your 10 tips in 10 mins video I really like how you gave examples of what to say to students so that you are kind but direct and not confrontational. To answer your second question, one mistake I made at the beginning of this year was having a classroom management reward system that was too much for me to handle. I was going to have tallies on the board for “Oh No” and “Oh Yay” and if they had more “oh yay” tallies their class would get a marble( after they get enough marbles they get a little prize). It’s a great idea but pausing from helping students to go back and forth to the board was a hassle and was easily forgotten. Also when I marked an “oh no” tally students just made a joke and would yell “oh no” sarcastically. It just became a distraction and more work for me.
Hello, I am a first year teacher and I think one of the mistakes I am making is not being consistent in classroom management.
It's hard. So many dynamics at play. How you feel that day, which kids are causing problems, wondering if your poor lesson planning is what's leading to the management issues, etc. This is definitely something I'm always trying to work towards as well.
Great video, I’ve been in a very challenging school and your videos have kept me alive! Watching Teachers on social media has been very helpful, but I have fallen into the trap of feeling discouraged when I see all the awesome stuff teachers are doing and I feel completely exhausted, But I remind myself that these are exceptional teachers sharing their best work over the years of experience and they’re just trying to help. I would share my very best stuff online as well. Too many mistakes to count, but one mistake is that I initially thought that all my classes had to be “the same.” I usually teach seven periods a day And it’s OK to mix it up and be different with the personalities and behaviors of the different periods. We basically stay on pace with and cover the same content, but sometimes that dang third period just needs to do things differently and so forth, and it’s ok.
Hey Alan. Good reminder. I've heard it said to not to compare your blooper reel to everyone elses highlight reel.
My main problem is class management! Control! Being able to control my emotions when agitated. Being hard on myself to make a lesson engaging.
It is HARD to regulate your emotions when a little 11 year old is being super disrespectful.
I feel exactly the same way. When I first graduated, folks used to tell me, "don't smile till Christmas." That I could not do. When a student does something that is funny, I'm going to laugh.
I know I am a good teacher, BUT my experience is teaching adults in college. Different ball of wax when it comes to middle schoolers.
Being the teacher is like being a chef. A chef needs to know how much to use of every ingredient , It's all about measurements. So too being a teacher it's all about how much you use of Every method and tool.
For sure. Lots of ingredients to work with in a classroom to create an enjoyable experience for you and your students and gotta keep them all in balance; a challenge for sure.
THANK YOU for these video. I so needed to hear all of the things you have to say!
Glad to hear it!
You’re spot on about control.
Thank you for sharing this and modelling vulnerability. I still make mistakes and same old ones. Especially NO 1 too! 😁
Glad you found it helpful Zuu!
I really love all your videos. Please never stop 🙌🏽
I appreciate that esthela :)
Thank you so much! I can relate to this so well… thanks for being open and honest. I feel relieved after watching this video.
❤️
Thank you - this was comforting and reassuring!
Glad to hear it Michael!
can you share a video of a full lesson? would love to see you in action and how you apply these tips. Many thanks!
You can see a few of my lessons in this playlist - ruclips.net/p/PLw9CvBlOxVpexWA6U3bM9IP1yuFt9WzhJ
Really useful, honest and practical which is always good - just came across you Thom as doing some 'action research' for school CPD and have chosen the area of 'creating a positive classroom culture' as struggling to reduce the amount of low level distracting behaviour in some of my lessons. Found last few videos v helpful so cheers, from London! Colum
Hey there Colum :) Thanks for commenting. That low-level distracting behavior is tough; it's generally not enough to warrant any big actions but it's like the smallest thorn in your side each day. Dealing with that right now with a couple students who are constantly being silly with each other during class. I usually just laugh it off and redirect them but after the 7th time in one period, it gets annoying and distracting. Glad the videos have been helpful!
Number 3 was my biggest issue this school year. I’m going to change it up next year.
It's pretty natural, particularly if you're like me and just want EVERYONE to like you. But in the end, earning the kids respect will more often than not also get them to like you (but it doesn't work the other way around if you're working hard to get them to like you).
Overwhelmed because I was hired to do 6th and just learned doing 7th AND 8th grade social studies. 1st year student here. I am devouring your videos but I have a question. In this one you say don't stress not being in control all the time. How do I reconcile that with the video talking about classroom management and not moving on until I have 100% compliance on learning new routines, etc?
Hey Jennifer. Such a great question. I've been thinking about it for a couple of days. Regarding not moving on until I had 100% compliance, that was a situation where the classroom was out of control. Learning wasn't happening, it wasn't a safe space for anybody, and chaos ensued. I needed to have a hard reset on the norms of the classroom and let them know what behavior was acceptable and what wasn't.
In this video that I discussed not needing to be in control all the time, that was more of a situation where a kid told a joke and some of the kids laughed, and it got us off track a bit. Instead of laughing it off, I felt the need to 'address it' lest they continue to get more off task. That seems to be pretty overbearing and was more rooted in my own fears of the kids potentially not listening to me.
So to answer your question, I think it has to do with where you're at generally in your classroom culture. I hope that makes sense!
Thank you. Your videos were very helpful.
Glad to hear it!
Thank you for your helpful videos. I’ve been teaching elementary for 10 years and moving into a middle school position this coming year. What rules do you have in your classroom, and how do you go about teaching them to your students? What consequences do you recommend?
My rules were tied to something called a classroom economy where they got paid for classroom jobs that they had and then had to pay fines for any misbehavior (off-task behavior, rudeness, etc). It's a bit to set up but the kids love it and it teaches them quite a bit about financial literacy, but it my class it was moreso about a positive classroom culture.
I created an online course on how I set up and managed the classroom economy - courses.thomgibson.com/courses/how-to-teach-kids-about-money
Cool you teach robotics? Where can I look at this on RUclips?
In response to your inquiry at the end I find your suggestions helpful because they are not black-and-white suggestions meaning you don’t specifically say how to be yourself and not take yourself too seriously so I like that you do not get too detailed into explaining how to do any one of the five methods. I think that’s important because I’ve seen other videos that go into details and scenarios of how a person can do “thus and so” and I find that discouraging because sometimes it doesn’t seem to click with my personality. But the way you describe it it’s open and then I can tailor your suggestions to my own personality.
Thanks Good Day. I was hoping the advice could be applied to a variety of contexts. You can see some of my robotics videos here - ruclips.net/p/PLw9CvBlOxVpdQhOpvt-9bXfOWVPuW_F-a
Great video! It deserves more than 161 views! :)
Thanks Sharena :)
Question: what to do if you give them independent work project on computer, with rubric, with clear instructions and expectation and they still only spend 5 minutes on their work, then play video games instead of working?
Have them work on a computer where the screen is always visible. Create an alternative offline activity if they end up doing it again. And after 2-3 offenses, let them know you'll be contacting their parents about the behavior.
i am a tesol trainee in Morocco. i had to deliver a demo lesson yesterday, my performance frustrated me and i was really disapointed. the feedbacks of my trainer were accepted. she gave me the strengths and weaknesses, my weaknesses were ( voice projection, intonation and monotony) i felt my lesson was plain and i was embaraced. any help to overcome these negative points please
it was well prepared and designed listening lesson, i started acting and pretending to be a teacher, by greeting students ' other trainees' then i gave them a scambled word to unscrumble it ' library'. after that i asked them questions like what do we do at the library, what do we read... then i pre taught them some vocabulary, and i got blocked. i prepared the lesson weeks before yesterday but i didn't revise it before delivering.
Yeah it can be frustrating for sure when the demo lesson doesn't go according to plan. You're doing the right thing though - reflecting on what happened and how you can improve for next time 👍🏼
How does one respond if the jokes are aimed at you? It feels like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, clever or serious. For example, if students takes aim at your appearance? I had a student who kept calling me Shreck. It was weird because I have thick long hair but I guess he thought my face looked weird in profile with a mask on. I just ignored it but this made things worse.
Yeah that's a pretty big violation. I recommend you find a teacher in your school that you respect that you know has good classroom management skills. Ask them how to best approach the situation.
They know your school and culture better than I can and provide more guidance in the types of consequences you can give for the behavior.
Sweet video.
I appreciate it Final Flame :) Happy Monday!
Do you have any advise for classroom management for substitute teachers?
ruclips.net/video/u8kUwpO3ucw/видео.html&lc=Ugy56lEU8i2PxHjymEV4AaABAg&ab_channel=ThomGibson
teachers should be focused on the imparting skills and concept to the learners without challenges
What do you mean?
we do for spec ed post-secondary courses. We aren't nailed to the content cross. The standardized tests are usually done and over.
I just cant get them listen and do😢
Teaching can be really hard. I'm really sorry to hear things aren't going well LuciaS.
i want saad just thank you for this channel
Thanks bablo 👍🏼
Hey thom
Howdy howdy Adam Adam :)