Problem Children in the Classroom

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It’s every teacher’s nightmare: the child who is consistently at the center of arguments, emotional outbursts, mischief and misbehaving. The question is, how do you cope with him or her? The educational environment, especially in the realm of discipline, is a much different place than it was even 10 years ago. Many teachers become frustrated due to their perceived helplessness to control their own classrooms, but there are ways that you can deal with a problem child without stepping outside the lines of your authority.

The first step in dealing with a difficult child is to try to understand the causes for his or her behavior. Is the child trying to control others, either through force or intimidation? If so, your student probably learned this behavior at home. In other instances, you may have a child with a learning disability who is trying to hide that from you. Rather than admitting that he doesn’t understand or cannot read a passage, he will instead shift the focus of your attention to his behavior. These types of problems should always be addressed–with the child and then with his parents–outside of the classroom.

Finally, you may have a child whose problem concerns an inability to stay focused. When speaking to this child, try to sit or stoop to get on an eye level with her. Maintain eye contact, and insist that she look directly at you while you are speaking. If this type of problem persists, you may need to recommend testing to the child’s parents. There are many effective treatments for attention disorders that do not involve medication, and these should always be tried first.

 

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Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , ,

Can’t Find a Teaching Job?

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When it comes to finding a job after graduation, sometimes teachers have a hard time. Why? One reason could be that teaching children is an important job and schools take hiring a teacher very seriously. It’s hard to hire someone you don’t know. So here are some things you can do to improve your chances of being hired.

Volunteer

The number one way to get hired is to volunteer at the school or in the district that you want to teach at. Volunteering is a great way to get to know staff at the school and for them to get to know you. Once they’ve worked with you for awhile, they will see what a great person you are and are more likely to hire you. You may even be given the opportunity of teaching a lesson here or there, which gives them the chance to observe your teaching style. Schools are always in need of volunteers, so more than likely, you will easily be able to volunteer at the school of your choice.

Work in Education

If you can’t get a job as a teacher, maybe you could get a job that deals with education. Any experience that lends itself to the job you’re trying to get will look good on your resume. This may mean getting a lower-paid job than what you might get as a food server at the local restaurant, but it will help you get a job as a teacher.

It’s amazing how even though teaching jobs don’t pay much, it can feel like you have to be a part of an exclusive club to get a job!

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Equality of Education in the U.S.

In the United States, the big thing is to offer a free education to all students; it doesn’t matter what race they are or whether they’re disabled. The problem is that although that education is free, it’s not equal. The areas that are poorer pay less property tax and receive less money overall. Federal funds are used to try and combat this, but it’s not enough. What should be done?

One thought is to take the money for education and split it equally between all schools, but there are flaws to this. For one, owners of million dollar houses, who pay a much higher property tax, expect that money to go to local schools — not schools farther away that are poorer. Another flaw is that it costs more for schools in expensive areas to pay for education including teacher salaries, property, and supplies.

So what can be done? One possibility would be to use vouchers. With the use of vouchers, the school system would become a market system economy instead of a socialist system. Schools would be required to improve or else risk losing students and therefore money. Teachers would also have to improve or they would lose their jobs, but would the good teachers would get paid more as an enticement to work at this school or that school. Benefits for teachers would also likely improve.

When it comes to educating our children, it’s best if we can find a way for all children to have the same opportunities to learn. If possible, it’s about encouraging the best students to improve and helping the students who are struggling to get better.

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Filed Under: Careers, Education Tagged With: , ,