Pengurusan Sekolah

Kalau Guru .....

2010-04-23T19:19:00.005+08:00

Kalau guru tunggu diarah
Semua kerja kena kerah

Kalau guru kurang mengajar
Dapatlah murid kurang ajar

Kalau guru kurang merancang
Dalam bilik darjah banyak tembelang

Kalau guru sentiasa lambat
Pembelajaran murid menjadi lembap

Kalau guru tiada muafakat
Hubungan terbantut, kejayaan tersekat

Kalau guru banyak alasan
Hasil kerja tiada kesan

Kalau guru banyak mengkritik
Perkembangan murid menjadi statik

Kalau guru pentingkan habuan
Akan jauhlah rahmat Tuhan

Kalau guru makan sembarangan
Tak kira halal atau haram
Bagaimana menghadapi azab Tuhan?
Ber.....panjangan dan ber.....kekalan

     Kalau guru yang beramanah
     Cita-cita murid tiadalah punah

     Kalau guru suka berdamping
     Semua murid dapat dibimbing

     Kalau guru ikhlas dan sabar
     Murid-murid di kelas pasti belajar

     Kalau guru ada keinsafan
     Akan adalah hidayah Tuhan

     Kalau guru sentiasa kreatif
     Pengajaran dan pembelajaran mencapai objektif

     Kalau guru berwawasan
     Pencapaian murid ... "Cemerlang, Gemilang & Terbilang"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guru ku .....
Renung-renungkanlah
Ke manakah murid mu akan dibawa?
Di manakah ketaqwaan dan keimanan mu?
Di sebalik kelembutan lidah tak bertulang mu
Atau bersama seketul daging yang tersimpan di kalbu mu?

-utm.skks.05-

Madah Hikmat - IBU

2010-04-23T18:44:00.002+08:00

Apa ada pada nama
Kalau tidak diberi makna
Apa ada pada budi
Kalau diri sendiri mati
Apa ada pada guru
Kalau diri sendiri kelabu
Apa ada pada pelajar
Kalau diri kurang ajar
Apa ada pada pekerja
Kalau diri sentiasa leka
Apa ada pada pegawai
Kalau diri sendiri cuai
Apa ada pada visi
Kalau diri sendiri sangsi
Apa ada pada misi
Kalau kita sendiri tidak hargai
Segalanya bermula dari diri sendiri
Ada hati, ada budi, ada potensi
Segalanya menjadi

-Hjh. Hamidah bt Babu-
-Pengarah BTP-

Bicara Dia

2009-11-10T22:59:00.001+08:00

Apabila saja murid lambat ke kelas, guru akan menegur mereka kerana tidak menepati masa; tetapi bila guru sengaja lewat ke kelas dan sekiranya ada murid yang menegurnya kerana tidak datang tepat pada waktunya, sudah pasti mereka dilabel sebagai kurang ajar. Adakah murid kurang ajar kerana gurunya kurang mengajar?

Guru akan sentiasa mengingatkan muridnya untuk memenuhi ruang atau tempat duduk yang kosong di hadapan bak umpama tuan imam meminta makmumnya untuk memenuhi dan merapatkan saf pertama. Akan tetapi terfikirkah guru-guru yang hadir berkursus bahawa mereka juga terpaksa diminta oleh urus setia atau fasilitator untuk mengisi kerusi-kerusi di hadapan sebagaimana mereka meminta muridnya untuk berada di barisan depan?

Kebajikan guru amat penting dan merupakan isu sensitif jika tidak diambil berat oleh pihak pentadbir. Soal gaji atau soal kenaikan tahunan akan dipersoal jika berlaku kelewatan, akan tetapi soal masuk kelas dan mengajar apa mungkin diberi perhatian sebagaimana soal gaji. Adakah gaji yang diterima dan ilmu yang dicurah selari dan sepadan? Mungkin juga gaji diterima tetapi ilmu tidak diperturunkan, atau gaji tidak sanggup diambil tetapi ilmu sentiasa diberi?

Apa betul dia berbicara?

Tajdid Iman: Hasad dengki tak lemahkan peranan ulama Oleh Dr Juanda Jaya

2009-11-03T20:35:00.001+08:00

"SEMUA permusuhan boleh diharapkan perdamaian kecuali permusuhan akibat hasad dan dengki." (Diwan Al-Imam Al-Syafie: 49)

Ungkapan, al-Imam al-Syafie jelas menggambarkan sifat semua manusia. Ia akan menjadi amat hodoh apabila menimpa mereka yang mendakwa diri alim dalam beragama. Ungkapan ini muncul daripada pengalaman Imam al-Syafie yang pernah menjadi mangsa permainan kejahilan pentadbir dan politikus yang jahat dan suka menyalahgunakan kuasa.

Akibatnya beliau disisih, dihalang daripada mengajar dan berceramah, hatta dalam rumahnya sendiri. Lebih sedih untuk tujuan mengaibkan kemuliaan imam yang digelar nasirus sunnah (pembela sunnah Nabi SAW) ini, beliau digari, dirantai dan diseret dari Yaman menuju ke Baghdad akibat dituduh perkara yang tidak pernah dilakukannya.

Semuanya hasil kelemahan dan kebodohan pemerintah yang hanya mendengar nasihat orang bodoh dan jahil tetapi berlagak serta berlakon umpama orang alim dalam disiplin agama. Tidak kira Muslim yang jahil atau alim, dari kalangan orang biasa atau ulama, sesungguhnya sifat hasad merosakkan akal dan jiwa, agama dan urusan dunia mereka. Disebabkan hasad, seseorang tidak boleh mengawal dirinya membenci, memusuhi dan mencuba menjatuhkan saudaranya sehingga lupa bahawa pernah turun ayat al-Quran yang mengingatkan supaya menghapuskan sifat dengki dari hati mereka.

Firman Allah bermaksud: "Dan orang yang datang sesudah mereka (Muhajirin dan Ansar), mereka berdoa; Ya Rabb kami, beri ampunlah kami dan saudara kami yang sudah beriman lebih dulu daripada kami dan janganlah Engkau membiarkan rasa dengki dalam hati kami terhadap orang yang beriman; Ya Rabb kami, Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Penyantun lagi Maha Penyayang." (Surah al-Hasyr: 10).

Hasad dengki di kalangan ulama memang wujud, bahkan penyakit hati inilah yang paling besar bahayanya, mengotori kesucian ilmu dan agama, menebarkan kebusukan dan kejahatan yang ditunggangi oleh nafsu iblis. Setiap manusia ada syaitannya, tak kira nabi dan rasul, inikan lagi manusia biasa yang digelar ulama. Rasulullah SAW bersabda yang bermaksud: "Tiada seorang pun daripada kamu melainkan ia diiringi temannya daripada jin (syaitan) dan temannya daripada malaikat. Sahabat bertanya: Dan padamu juga, wahai Rasulullah? Sabda Baginda: Padaku juga, tetapi Allah Azza Wa Jalla membantuku terhadapnya sehingga dia tiada menyuruhku kecuali kebenaran saja." (Hadis Muslim)

Persaingan antara ulama untuk mendapat perhatian, kedudukan tinggi, kemuliaan dan kehormatan yang dijulang pengikut yang ramai menunjukkan ulama tetap manusia biasa. Siapa yang tak teringin dunia, kuasa dan nikmat yang berkekalan, bukankah ini tabiat semula jadi penciptaan manusia? Mengapa golongan kononnya berilmu ini terbabit juga dengan penyakit hati yang Rasulullah SAW sifatkan seperti pisau pencukur?

Puncanya kerana ilmu yang dituntut belum sempurna dan hakikatnya ia tidak akan sempurna sampai bila-bila kecuali ilmu itu diwarnai dengan iman dan akhlak hasil pengalaman terhadap sedikit titisan ilmu anugerah Allah SWT. Ilmu Allah SWT begitu luas dan tiada siapa mampu mencapai kesempurnaannya.

Jadi, sesiapa ulama yang menyangka dirinya lebih berilmu daripada saudaranya, sesungguhnya ia tertipu oleh ilmu sendiri. Bukankah guru kita sering mengingatkan dengan ajaran imam yang kita agungkan, al-Imam al-Syafie bahawa: "Kataku mungkin salah dan kata penentangku mungkin benar." Juga panduan dalam menilai yang benar, al-Syafie mengajarkan: "Jika (dalil penentang itu adalah) hadis yang sahih, maka itulah mazhab aku."

Perbezaan pandangan seharusnya tidak memicu permusuhan dan dendam pada mereka yang bergelar pewaris Nabi. Sifat tawaduk jelas terakam dalam keperibadian empat imam mazhab yang masih kekal hingga kini. Maka jangan sesiapa cuba mengeksploitasikan hal ini. Imam Abu Hanifah berkata: "Inilah pendapat Abu Hanifah dan inilah sebaik-baik pendapat yang kami capai dan orang yang mendatangkan yang lebih baik daripadanya, itulah yang lebih benar."

Imam Malik berkata: "Saya ialah manusia biasa, boleh benar boleh juga salah, maka perhatikanlah pendapat saya ini. Apa yang bersesuaian dengan al-Quran dan sunnah ambillah dan yang tidak sesuai tinggalkanlah."

Imam Ahmad Hanbal berkata kepada Abu Daud: "Janganlah engkau bertaklid kepadaku, jangan bertaklid kepada Malik, jangan bertaklid kepada al-Thauri dan al-Auza'i, ambillah pendapat dari tempat mereka mengambil (iaitu al-Quran dan al-Sunnah)." (Ilmu Perbandingan mazhab, Prof Dr Hasbi Ash-Shiddiqie)

Imam Al-Syafi'ie pula mengatakan: "Jika kamu dapati apa yang ada dalam kitabku menyanggah sunnah Rasulullah SAW, maka berpeganglah dengan sunnah dan tinggalkanlah pendapatku." (Syiar Alam Al-Nubala' al-Zahabi Jilid 10, halaman 34).

Malang sekali, pengikut yang mengaku pembela mazhab mereka saling bertikam, bersaing dan berdendam layaknya seorang jahil. Di kalangan orang awam lagi teruk keadaannya akibat momokan Wahabi. Padahal fahaman ini tidaklah sebagaimana tuduhan jahat yang dilemparkan orang jahil yang mengaku membela fahaman tertentu.

Fitnah yang ditujukan kepada ulama yang tidak sehaluan, amat mengecewakan kerana ia dicetuskan oleh sesama orang alim yang dikawal oleh emosi dan nafsu untuk mempertahankan habuan dunia.

Mengapa wajib mengamalkan mazhab tertentu, padahal zaman Rasulullah SAW tiada sebarang mazhab melainkan al-Quran dan Sunnah yang menjadi pegangan?

Lagi pula disebabkan kerana bergaduh pasal fiqh yang amat remeh, maka hadis yang sahih daripada al-Bukhari dan Muslim ditolak akibat ia tidak mengikuti selera arus perdana. Akhirnya bab akidah yang menjadi teras keimanan diremehkan, muncul ajaran sesat yang semakin hangat kebelakangan ini sehingga penguat kuasa agama kecut perut untuk ambil tindakan dan ia tak mampu ditangani dengan baik.

Penjahat sebenar dibiarkan bebas, tetapi ulama yang amanah dengan ilmunya dicemburui, disekat, difitnah bahkan kalau boleh dipenjarakan, sedangkan pintu dialog dan berbahas secara akademik dan profesional boleh dilakukan. Bukankah sejarah pernah mencatatkan dialog antara Tok Kenali dengan penentangnya pernah berlaku di pekarangan Istana Kelantan suatu ketika dulu, bahkan perkarangan Istana Selangor di tapak Kolej Islam Klang sekarang turut pernah memperlihatkan golongan ulil amri dan sultan berbahas secara akademik dan jujur dilakukan antara ulama yang berbeza pendapat diadakan bagi menjaga kesucian agama ini.

Belum lagi masalah umat yang semakin kompleks dengan isu maksiat remaja, keganasan rumah tangga, kes kekeluargaan syariah yang lambat, amalan rasuah hingga sikap dan akhlak umat Islam di jalan raya pun sampai kini belum dapat diatasi dengan berkesan, walaupun pelbagai usaha dilakukan. Malangnya jika orang yang berkhidmat untuk agama terheret dengan sifat saling mendengki bagaimanakah masa depan umat ini?

Jelas, kita perlukan pimpinan yang jiwanya besar dan jujur dalam menjalankan amanah untuk dirinya. Api hasad dengki itu merebak dengan pantas. Ia membawa kerugian amat besar kepada umat Islam. Kemajuan umat yang bergantung dengan toleransi akan terbantut dengan sikap hasad dan prejudis yang semakin menjadi-jadi. Betapa pentingnya memiliki sifat ketakutan kepada Allah SWT. Sifat khasyah (takut) kepada Allah SWT sudah dirakamkan dalam al-Quran yang bermaksud: "Sesungguhnya mereka yang amat sangat takutnya kepada Allah di kalangan hamba-hamba-Nya adalah ulama."

Ini adalah pengiktirafan daripada Allah kepada ulama sebenar. Setiap pandangan, perbuatan dan pemikiran mereka dikawal dengan ketakutan dan ketundukannya hanya kepada Allah SWT, bukan takutkan kerusi dan gaji bulanannya. Maka dia tiada niat sedikitpun untuk menjatuhkan sesiapa demi meninggikan diri dan pandangan dirinya semata-mata. Inilah yang al-Imam al-Syafie fahamkan daripada al-Quran dan al-sunnah.

Penulis ialah Mufti Perlis

Petikan Berita Harian - 3 Nov. 2009

Sign of the Day: Stop by Kim Taylor-DiLeva

2009-10-30T23:23:00.000+08:00

Parents and teachers are always searching for new ways to effectively instruct their students. Speaking or shouting verbally often causes a distraction for on-task children, and are therefore not effective. American Sign Language is a great approach to help with this issue, lessening frustration among adults and children. It is a way that children will understand what you are saying without having to stop what you were doing at that particular moment.

One sign that I suggest learning is stop. Teachers and parents use this word on a daily basis in order to tell children to stop something they should not be doing. Instead, you can now sign this. To sign stop, hold one palm out flat and firmly put the side of your other hand on top of it, like a karate chop.

For teachers, this is a great sign to use to improve classroom management. In a classroom of young children, it can be challenging to be sure all of your students are doing what they should be at once. When in front of a classroom, you may find yourself telling one student across the room to stop doing something they shouldn't be doing. During the time you are talking to this particular student, the other children in the room have now become distracted and now you need to get them back on track as well.

If you incorporate American Sign Language signs into your program, this student will understand what you want them to do, and the rest of the class will not be distracted. If you are teaching and notice a student fooling around or talking to a classmate, you can simply sign stop. Your lesson does not have to be interrupted and other students will not be distracted. Without having to shout across the room, the child will understand what you want them to do. This could also be done at home if you want your child to stop doing something, but you don't want to interrupt something you are doing, such as talking on the phone.

Go ahead and start signing. You'll find it can be an effective way to improve classroom management and to help your child behave at home as well.

About the Author

Kim is a teacher, educational trainer, writer, and owner of Kim's Signing Solutions. She is a certified presenter with Sign2Me. She conducts Sign Language Playgroups, Enrichment Classes and Workshops for both Parents and Teachers.To learn more, visit www.babysignlanguageonline.com/blog or www.kimssigningsolutions.com.

Time Management for Teachers: Why Start a New School Year with the Same Old Systems? by Denise Landers

2009-10-30T23:14:00.000+08:00

How can a teacher manage to find time during the day to get things done? In providing teacher time management training for school districts, I recognize that using time management in education at the teacher level is difficult because you face unique challenges:

*Your time is booked every day. There is no leeway in altering a class schedule, so you must work within the very limited planning periods.

*An important component of your job is to be available for students and parents beyond the actual classroom sessions.

One very effective method for teachers to save time is to group activities as much as possible. With this process you can use to maximize those all-too-short blocks of time so that you can lessen the amount of work you drag home every evening.

You are four times more productive when you can focus on one type of task rather than switching back and forth among assorted tasks. Constant multitasking slows you down. While you can never eliminate all of the interruptions in your day because you do need to be responsive to students, make the best use of the short periods of time that you do have.

What activities are effective when grouped?

Telephone: Set aside a time when you will make and return nonurgent phone calls. It might be fifteen minutes in the morning and another fifteen minutes in the afternoon. Work toward keeping routine calls within that block.

Email: Electronic messages can easily dominate your day. Turn off the sound or alert that advises you of incoming messag3es. Just as with telephone calls, set a block of time each day when you focus on just your email.

Discussions: If you confer several times a day with certain colleagues, set up a folder and collect items during the day so that you can cover all points during just one meeting. This limits interruptions for both of you. Encourage others to have a folder for you also.

Reading: For articles and publications that do not have an action date, keep them together and schedule time on your calendar to catch up on the reading. This reading block can include both paper and electronic information.

Filing: Even if you have a terrific filing system and you know where to put all your reference papers, do not stop and file each individual item as it comes in. Wait until you have a folder of papers, and then note on your calendar when you will file.

It will take practice to develop the habit of grouping your activities in order to limit multitasking, but the resulting increase in productivity is worth the effort.

About the Author

Helping teachers and administrators accomplish more in less time is one of the benefits of the training seminars that Denise Landers provides. Denise is the author of Destination: Organization and the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc. Denise can assist you in designing tailored systems that will quickly increase your daily productivity.

Keeping Track of Lesson Plans History

2009-10-20T00:28:00.000+08:00

In the beginning, you carefully keep track of every single lesson plan and activity that you plan for your kids. You keep a calendar of what you do when, and even keep notes on what worked well and what did not. But over time, something changed. Suddenly, you find yourself running through the same lessons over and over again because you forgot what you already covered!

If this has happened to you, you are not alone. Many teachers and educators get so wrapped up in the day to day classroom activities that their lesson plans history falls to the wayside. Luckily, there are a few shortcuts to getting your records back in order quickly.

First Things, First

The key to getting your lesson plans organized is to start with the present and work your way back. Jot down notes about what you are covering today, and then focus on the rest of the week. While it may not get everything that you have taught in the past, you can stop things from getting out of hand down the line.

Using Technology

There are a wide variety of lesson plans history programs out there to help aid you in your quest for organization. Many will allow you to link past lesson plans with future ones, so that you know when to recap and when to start fresh. A simple calendar will also do the job, but will require a bit more time and research if you plan on following up on important topics and subjects.

Find a Pre-Set Lesson Plan Guide

There is also a lot of demand right now for pre-set lesson plan guides. You can find them for any grade level or educational situation- whether it is for public school, private school, homeschooling, or even tutoring lesson plans. These guides will give you 52 weeks (give or take) of lesson plans, crafts, activities, and discussion questions. All you have to do is gather the materials together and follow along in the lesson plan guide. It is almost fool-proof!

Enlist the Help of Others

If you are teaching older children, then try to enlist their help whenever possible. Let them create a calendar with highlights of the school year. They can draw pictures, take notes, or recap what they learned in their own words. Then when you come back to a topic again, let them refer to their notes on that particular subject.

About the author:

Sarah Jones loves teaching. When she isn't homeschooling her own children, she is busy sharing her love of education with others. Find a wide assortment of Lesson Plans, crafts for kids, and homeschooling tips at her site, www.KnowMore.com.

Mengajar atau Mendidik?

2009-10-17T00:54:00.002+08:00

Apabila kita menyebut cikgu atau guru, sudah tentu bermain di benak kita semua guru itu tugasnya mengajar. Adakah tugas seorang guru semata-mata hanya mengajar dan tiada kaitan dengan tugas mendidik? Kekadang guru juga dipanggil pendidik.
Bila guru digelar pendidik bermakna tugas guru bukan hanya mengajar, tetapi mendidik juga merupakan sebahagian daripada tugasannya.
Oleh itu, guru mesti faham akan tugas dan tanggungjawabnya. Sekiranya guru hanya mengajar sudah tentu murid-muridnya hanya memperolehi ilmu pengetahuan. Tetapi jika guru itu mendidik, murid-muridnya akan mendapat pembentukan sahsiah yang baik selain daripada ilmu yang disampaikan. Oleh itu, guru-guru mestilah bijak memilih dalam menjalankan tugas dan tanggungjawab mereka. Mereka seharusnya menjadi seorang pengajar dan pendidik, bukannya hanya seorang pengajar.

Apakah yang membezakan seorang pengajar dengan seorang pendidik?

Pengajar	Pendidik
- tugasannya hanya di dalam kelas	- tugasannya di dalam dan di luar kelas
- tidak rapat dengan murid-muridnya	- ambil berat akan permasalahan murid-muridnya
- waktu bertugas mengikut waktu persekolahan	- waktu bertugas tidak tentu masa
- nasihat diberi semata-mata untuk meningkatkan prestasi mata pelajarannya	- nasihat diberi merangkumi pencapaian mata pelajaran dan pembentukan sahsiah murid
- IQ dan EQ	- IQ, EQ dan SQ

Sehubungan itu, di manakan kita berada? Adakah di dalam kelompok guru yang mengajar atau guru yang mendidik?

5 Classroom Management Tips To Silence A Noisy Class By Rob Johnson

2009-09-12T16:30:00.002+08:00

1. The first thing to remember is that you are the boss.

Self belief is incredibly important in this job. You can’t expect pupils to respond positively to you unless you believe, really believe, that you fully deserve their respect and compliance.
The thought that you are the leader in the classroom must be at the forefront of your mind.

If you give any sign at all that you are NOT in FULL CONTROL, children will sense this and exploit your weaknesses. You MUST project strength and the impression that you will not tolerate any disobedience.

All too often a teacher will enter a lesson filled with dread and give out the signal that they are beaten before the lesson even starts. Pupils sense this. If you’ve been having a hard time with a particular group they will come to expect that you will be a walk-over and get into the habit of talking freely with total disregard for your threats.

2. Have definite rules on noise

Once you’ve decided on your rules (preferably with input from the pupils) you need to ensure the pupils are totally clear what those rules are. There must be no ambiguity and therefore no room for argument.

We all know how important consistency is in terms of classroom management but unless you have a clear set of rules to work to in the first place, you can’t consistently apply them.

So, what is your rule on noise?

Mine is simple: If I say there is to be no talking, then there is to be no talking. I will not tolerate being interrupted without taking action. I seldom enforce this rule for longer than a few minutes – just at those key times when I am either explaining something, starting a new task or taking a register etc. - but if I tell a group that I want total silence, then I mean it. And any pupil who ignores this is dealt with straight away.

For example, never let a pupil shout out without reminding them to put up their hand. Never, allow pupils to continue talking at the start of a lesson when you’ve started explaining the objective. Never, let pupils interrupt you without reminding them that it is unacceptable to do so.

If you let them get away with it once, you have effectively trained them to try and get away with it again.

3. Control entry to the classroom

The ideal place to establish control over your pupils is outside the door - before you even let them in the room.You must start the lesson under your terms. And the lesson starts before they enter the room with you having them line up outside the door in an orderly manner.

This is the perfect time to gauge the mood of the group and indeed the individuals in the group. You can easily spot potential problems (unhappy pupils, cases of bullying, arguments etc.) and deal with them rather than letting them go unnoticed and having them escalate into serious disruptions during your lesson.

If the group won’t stand still and quiet don’t let them in the room. They must do EXACTLY as you say before you let them through the door. If they run to a chair bring them back again and make them walk. If you let them get away with anything at this important stage, you will set the tone as being one where they can get away with things. You don’t want that.

4. Have ‘settling work’ ready for them when they enter the room

If you have a group who just won’t settle try presenting them with some of the following ‘settling work’ as soon as they enter the room. But… make sure you add this little twist to ensure the pupils get stuck into it straight away…

On your board have the following written up…

“Complete the work detailed below. You have ten minutes. If you don’t finish it, you will return at break to complete it.”

Obviously you need to adjust individual work targets for less able pupils to make it fair. Once they’ve started you can go round the slow workers very quietly, out of earshot of the others, and tell them where to stop. i.e. give them a work target which requires less writing than the others –

“James, you can stop when you get to the end of this sentence”. (And put a pencil mark where you want them to get up to.)

The great advantage of this strategy is that it gives you a few minutes to get your resources sorted out. I do use this if I want to show a DVD clip and haven’t had time to set the AV equipment up for example.

On each desk you could have a quick topic-related puzzle, a review quiz of last lesson’s work, a cloze exercise or some text copying work. Nothing too difficult – you don’t want to confuse them because they’ll spend ten minutes asking questions instead of settling down. Choose something simple (and preferably light-hearted or fun) that requires no explanation or fuss.

As well as having the instructions written on the board, greet them at the door and say…

“Get started on the simple task on your desk – you have ten minutes to finish it.”

Once they’re in the room you can then add…

“Anyone not finishing this little task will finish it at break – there should be no talking. If you talk you’ll come back at break and do it in silence then.”

If you want them to copy notes from the board (or a book) make sure there isn’t a huge amount of text otherwise you will provoke complaints. You can ‘hide’ extra work by having five or ten lines of text for them to copy and then a note at the end saying “Now answer question 2 on page 46” which could be another five or ten lines of notes.

Comments like…

“It is entirely your choice as to whether or not you get break. If you want break, do the work. If you don’t want break, sit and chat.”

…can be used if they don’t settle straight away.

5. The Right Way To Ask For Silence

You may have been told that an alternative to shouting for silence is to simply wait for rowdy pupils to calm down.

And wait… And wait… And wait…

Teachers have mixed views as to the effectiveness of waiting for silence before continuing with the lesson because in many cases it just doesn’t work.

Some classes will respond positively to this strategy almost straight away but a hard class will test your mettle and try to push you way beyond 5 or 10 minutes.

They’ll enjoy watching your expression turn to desperation and laugh at the fact that your plan isn’t working.

At a time like this you need to bring in sanctions and make them see that their continuous disobedience will not be tolerated.

If you have a strong, commanding voice you can shout for quiet and explain what the sanctions will be if they continue talking. If you can’t be sure that your voice will cut through the noise sufficiently, you can communicate via the board by writing your instructions. Write up your instructions in bold, capital letters. You may need to give them slightly longer time to comply – allowing for the fact that they may not all read your instructions straight away.

This is what to say…

(You may think that these sanctions won’t work with your toughest class but they are phrased in a very specific manner as you’ll soon see. If you rigorously and consistently apply them you will win. Your class will settle. I’ve never known it fail).

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break. By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence. Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

Phrasing your instructions in this way when you want a class to be quiet is very powerful and almost always guarantees success.

Let’s examine why:

Firstly, you are being very fair and giving the pupils a warning…

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break.”

When teachers try to issue a punishment without a warning…

“Right you’ve just lost your break!”

…they are often met with a torrent of abuse…

“No way, that’s not fair – we weren’t doing anything!!!”

I always find that giving pupils a fair warning about an impending sanction takes the sting out of a confrontational situation.

Secondly, you are telling them exactly what they are doing wrong, and exactly how to put it right…

“…you need to be sitting in silence.”

Thirdly, you are giving them a clear time by which you expect full compliance…

“By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence.”

Fourthly, and very importantly, you are telling them exactly what will happen to them if they don’t do as you ask…

“Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

These key features are important if you want pupils to follow your instructions because they leave no room for questions, debates, arguments or confusion. The pupils know exactly what they’re doing wrong, what will happen if they continue and how to correct their behavior so as to evade a sanction.

N.B. I’m fully aware that timetable constraints do not allow teachers to keep pupils back after each and every lesson. For that reason you need to think about the sanctions you will issue. You could for example hit the class hard and tell them that any pupils still talking will receive a letter home but it may be better to start off with a small sanction (such as staying behind after school for 5 minutes) because you can then add to it if and when the behavior continues.

About the Author

Rob Johnson is the author of Magic Classroom Management – How to get the most from the worst kids in school.

He is Deputy Head Teacher at a special school in the UK and has been working with challenging young people for 15 years. Copyright 2007 Rob Johnson http://www.classroom-management.org/.

Quiet Signaling, A Classroom Management Technique That Really Works - by: gsuppes

2009-09-01T22:17:00.001+08:00

The time that students spend in the classroom actually working on academic subjects is sometimes referred to as “engaged time.”

This engaged time is very valuable. Classroom teachers have an opportunity to observe students actively solving problems and independently working through an assignment. Through appropriate monitoring and active observation, instructors can determine what tasks students are having difficulty with and when students are being successful.

During independent seatwork several of the children may have questions as they work through the assigned tasks. But the key to addressing these questions is to have previously developed a simple procedure with the class, so as not disturb the valuable learning time of the rest of the students.

In Mrs. Suppes’ 3rd grade classroom at Marquette Elementary School, a simple “quiet questioning” procedure is used everyday. Her method of assisting students who need help, without disrupting the learning environment, is to utilize a flag located on each of their desks. This simply designed flag (the “Flagbee”) can be flipped up on its swivel. If a student gets stuck on a problem and requires teacher assistance, he or she may raise the flag, but should continue working. An upright flag indicates that help is needed. This quiet signal for help minimizes distractions and disruptions.

Many times Mrs. Suppes chooses to wait a few minutes before immediately addressing a raised flag. This technique allows the children additional time to attempt to problem-solve on their own. In many cases, the student may choose to lower his or her own flag without teacher intervention, because they have figured it out on their own.

All students have been trained to make appropriate use of the help signal as a class wide intervention, and not to abuse the flags. After posting the help signal, the student should continue to check over the current work assignment to see if there are other problems or items that he or she can work on while waiting for the teacher.

This quiet questioning practice has proven to be very effective in elementary classrooms. The flag was designed by educators, and supports the latest practice in classroom management techniques. It has encouraged students to remain on task while waiting for assistance, and has helped maintain an appropriate working environment for everyone, that is conducive to learning. You can order a classroom set of Flagbees today! Visit our website at http://www.flagbee.com.

About the Author

Hi, I'm Rita Rea Suppes, co-creator of Flagbee. I have used Flagbee in my third grade classroom for the past three years at Marquette Elementary School, and I would never dream of conducting a class without them. My students absolutely love their own personal student desktop helper, and I appreciate that students continue to work while I am assisting others.

Recently, my husband and I decided to share our idea with other classroom teachers. This management tool has made a world of difference for my students by keeping them focused and on task, without having to stop to raise their hand. I invite you to give it a try. I know you and your students will love Flagbee!!