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FEATURE WRITER
	Enhancing Your Teaching Skills by Munir Moosa Sewani

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” 
Chinese Proverbs  

Have you ever wondered why most of the teachers have thunderous voice? The simple answer is, teaching is a tough job, and it requires lots of skills to embark upon this profession. When I joined teaching, I had no idea about this field; but as time passed, I realized that this field has given me more than what I had expected.  

It's truly said that:

Children are like a pot of flowers. If you’ll give them proper attention, they’ll grow up properly; but if you’ll give them lack of attention or extreme care, they’ll be destroyed. 
(By: Munir Moosa Sewani, 2006).

Teaching is the field of Liberal Arts and it’s the most demandable profession in today’s world. So, in order to keep you up-to-date, it's highly recommended for all the dedicated teachers and for all the upcoming teachers to learn from others experiences. Here I am sharing few tips from my experiences which are already applauded and valued internationally by New York Times last month. I am thankful to them to publish it on International Platform. 

Always be punctual. Be on time and never be late. If you come late due to any valid reason, do apologize; say sorry without any fear.

Never try to punish any student physically. Avoid corporal punishment. Such ill act is against the ethics of teaching. If you really want the children to learn from their mistakes, give them warning; teach them to say sorry; make them realize their mistakes, so that they could learn from their mistakes.

Give them chance to write on their own. Don’t ever try to showcase your skills. Being a teacher, appreciate what children writes rather than pushing them to write whatever you dictated them. A sign of good teacher is to appreciate children efforts rather than making them writes long answers to rote learn. Such teacher, who love their own answer are not a real teacher for sure.

Always try to negate your point through good eye contact. Treat every individual as a "UNIQUE CHILD”, so that your students would feel respect for themselves within.

Never blend your family riots and never take any vengeance from your students because of your mishaps with their families.

Remember that in school, your students are your responsibility and you are like their parents. So care them with affectionate.

Keep your wide eyes attitude away from the students. It shows nothing else than what you have learnt during your schooling.

Have a plan to go for outing with your students at least once a month in order to create a healthy atmosphere in your class.

"WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR LOVE”. Stick one chart in your class and before starting class, try to ask one student to say what he/she can do for love today and then take promise from every one to implement it in their lives. This statement should be written in the chart regularly. This will teach your students ethical perspective of life.

Know each an individual child’s capabilities and abilities.

Give them time to relax in class.

If they regularly feel bore when you teach them, try to arrange educational activity for them as an alternative resource to complete your curriculum.  
Treat your students like your friend.

Give them incentives or reward when they perform good work. The reward could be a gift, star, stamp or just a good verbal slogan like Bravo! Keep it up!; Thats like a good student; One of the best student of my class; Great efforts etc etc. This positive gesture is very necessary especially in Primary Classes.

Try to teach according to the mentality of your child. Don't try to use jargons or high profile theories in your lesson plans which a child could not understand.

Try to integrate your lesson plan with Audio Visual Aid. Use video, computers, charts, tape recorder, CD player, overhead projector, slide projector etc. It'll support your teaching.

To maintain discipline in your class, make a cartoon named as "Mimi". For that, take a chart, cut it in circle and stick an ice cream stick to hold that chart properly. Now make smiley face on one side and sad face on another side. Sad face represents that you are angry with your students and smiley face side represents that you are happy with your students. Place this "Mimi" on the side of your white board and change the side according to the situation.

This era is totally different so please don't emphasize on rote learning. Teaching means to teach, to develop skills in your students. So try to accept the view of your students and develop their skills to write independently using their intellect on the specific topic you have taught them.

Be true and be Natural. I never tried to act artificial in my 8 years of teaching career. Share your happy moments and events with your students. It’ll make them realize that you trust them and might they also share their problems, their moments with you openly.

Remember that every student trust their teachers very much. They have lots of expectation from us. Being a teacher, it's wise to be loyal and dedicated towards our profession.

Love them, care them, listen to them and treat them like you own child.  

Always remember that children are very sensitive, so treat them with gentle love.  

They notice each and every thing in us; from our dress to our gestures, so always be prepared for every thing.  

Children usually ask us many questions and some times we don't know the answer of few questions. At that moment, just try to be loyal and tell your students that you'll search it and will tell them tomorrow or day after. In this way you'll not only gain trust and confidence from your student’s side, but there will be a strong bond of relation on both the sides too.  

Always try to interact with students and never stop them to share their views and ideas. Their ideas might be more resourceful and worthful for us.  

Never insult any student in front of other students. They might develop a sense of phobia in their mind and it'll stop their creativity to further enhance.  

It's the foremost duty of every teacher to have a communication with the parents of your students too. It’ll help you to understand your students from all the dimensions.  

Always Pre-Plan your lesson plan before going to class.  

You are a teacher, so be confident to face every challenges in your life.  

Be a role model for your students not by wearing extremely nice apparel, but through your positive attitude and knowledge.  

Do have positive gestures on your face all the time.  

If a child makes any mistake in their copy, don’t punish them to re-write. That is the worst solution for a teacher. Look at your mistake because it is the teacher’s fault if a child does any mistake. 

Keep a reflective journal and write every day’s learning for yours improvement.

Select the leader of your class every week that can help you in handling things etc. This activity will help your students to build their confidence, moreover, try to find out those children in your class who are introversive and make some resourceful plan to activate them in every class activities. 

There are many more tips and real time stories, which I will share in the coming days. I hope that this article will be appreciated by the readers.

Debate as Pedagogy to Teach in Science Class (part 2) By Sultana Ali Norozi

Role play debate strategy

In Lincoln-Douglas debate format, students play the role of constructor and judges. Participants in a debate session usually form three groups and each group gets a closed envelop containing information about the ideas they have to support with arguments during the debate. Usually two of the groups support the two opposite views and the third group play the role of judges (in some cases journalists or audience) that try to understand the arguments of both sides. All groups get the same material with information about the advantages and disadvantages of both cases. This information is presented in a way that provides a balance to the debate offering arguments to both sides; therefore neither side can easily win the debate.

The participants have enough time to study the information concerning the debate and discuss in groups and built their argumentation. When all groups are ready the actual debate starts. A representative for each one of the first two groups supports their position in a five minutes talk and then the participants of the third group start making questions to both sides while the members of the first and the second group may also raise questions to each other. The debate should be focused on controversial issues in science. Therefore, participants have the opportunity to experience science become a field of debate techniques.

Three-Card strategy

In this strategy, the teacher provides each student with three cards on which are printed the words "Comment or Question." When a student wishes to make a point as part of the discussion, she or he raises one of the cards; after making a comment or asking a question pertinent to the discussion, the student turns in the card. This strategy encourages participants to think before jumping in; those who are usually frequent participants in classroom discussions must weigh whether the point they wish to make is valuable enough to turn in a card. When a student has used all the cards, he or she cannot participate again in the discussion until all students have used all their cards.

Participation Countdown strategy

In this strategy, students raise a hand when they have something to say. The second time they have something to say, they must raise their hand with one finger pointing up (to indicate they have already participated once). When they raise their hand a third time, they do so with two fingers pointing up (to indicate they have participated twice before). After a student has participated three times, he or she cannot share again as long as any other student has something to add to the discussion.

Think-Pair-Share Debate strategy

This strategy can be used during the information gathering part of a debate or as a stand-alone strategy. Students start the activity by gathering information on their own. Give students about 10 minutes to think and make notes. Next, pair each student with another student; give the pair about 10 minutes to share their ideas, combine their notes, and think more deeply about the topic. Then pair those students with another pair; give them about 10 minutes to share their thoughts and gather more notes… Eventually, the entire class will come together to share information they have gathered about the topic. Then students will be ready to knowledgably debate the issue at hand.

Some important rules in debate

It is always helpful to share with students “rules in debate” before debate. Following are some of the “rules in debate” however it is recommended to that involve students in setting up the rules. This will give the sense of ownership and students will try to follow the rules at maximum because it made by them. 

1. If you don't want to debate a point, don't bring it up.

2. Don't get mad—get even through use of logic.

3. Use the moderator to your advantage. Know the rules and insist they be followed.

4. Control the floor when it's your turn. Asking an open question gives the floor to the other side.

5. Negative body language (like rolling the eyes) does not serve to give the judge/audience a positive impression of you.

6. Appear to be listening sympathetically—then open fire on the other side with logical attack.

7. Use formal language. Slang, name-calling or cursing makes you appear unintelligent and ill-prepared.

8. Speak with passion and intensity.

9. Loud is not logic. A quiet voice with logic can command the most attention.

10. Choose your experts and sources wisely.

11. Take time to read or quote the literature exactly.

12. Use short anecdotes and famous quotes when possible.

13. Study the logical fallacies and hold the opposition accountable for logic blunders.

14. Save your best quote, strongest point and highest-impact emotional appeal for summation and final statement.

15. Don't sound patronizing or arrogant. It doesn't come across well.

16. Don't overuse any single strategy.

17. Don't say "I don't know" or "you're right" without following it up with a redirecting statement such as, "That may be true, but have you ever thought about . . ."

18. Leave your own opinions and biases at home.

19. Listen carefully and with an open mind. Put on your Critical Thinking Cap to analyze the argument.

Phrases to Use in Debate

Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.

Opinions, Preferences:

I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,

Disagreeing:

I don't think that..., don’t you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., but what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, the truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that...

Giving Reasons and offering explanations:

To start with, the reason why..., that’s why..., for this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that...

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School Features
	Year Round Schooling (part 1) Courtesy of K12Academics.com

A primary motivation for year-round schooling is that higher student throughput is accomplished via more effective scheduling of school resources. Funding considerations favor multi-tracking students, which allows more students to use the same number of classrooms - instead of constructing entirely new schools. Opponents cite higher costs due to utilities and the delay of building new facilities when they are needed, and ADM losses.

In addition to these systems, students enrolled in year-round classes often claim that their calendar schedule is more balanced. Advocates claim that year-round calendars help students achieve higher and allow teachers to provide more effective education. Reports from the California State Department Of Education show that standardized test scores increased an average of 9.5% in Grade 3 with an average increase of 13.3% in reading scores.

Conversely, Los Angeles Assistant Superintendent Gordon Wohlers stated, "In a sworn declaration, Assistant Superintendent Gordon Wohlers conceded that for years L.A. school officials have, in effect, perpetrated a fraud on the children of Los Angeles. Year-round education is not, in fact, a swell way to keep kids learning all year, as district officials originally claimed. Instead, the schedule, as practiced here, has hurt students badly, declared Wohlers. ". Lawsuits have even been filed against various school districts, citing year-round schools as being "harmful to students."

Organization of the school calendar redistributes time from the traditional summer vacation to other times throughout the year in the form of breaks called inter sessions.

Two forms of year-round education are common:

Single-Track calendars
As with traditional calendars (all single track calendars are modified traditional calendars), all students attend school during the same intervals, and share the same scheduled breaks. Single-track year-round calendars are known by many names; Balanced Calendar, Modified Calendar, Alternative Calendar. This list is not all inclusive. All year-round calendars are identified by their characteristics, not by what name has been chosen by the school district. These characteristics are shortened summer vacation, Fall breaks, extended Christmas and/or Easter breaks, and early school start dates. Typical school start dates are in late July/early August.

Multi-track scheme
Students are assigned different schedules called tracks. These tracks are also split up throughout the year, but a single student is not required to attend every single track in order to complete one full year of education. At all times during the year, students in the same school will be on vacation while others are schooling. Typical school start dates are in July.

Whether on a single- or multi-track schedule, students attend school for a prescribed length of time and then have a vacation. These breaks, whether vacation time or instruction time, are known as inter sessions. Common schedules are 7 to 12 weeks of school, followed by a 1-3 week break. Summer vacations are shortened to as little as 4 weeks in order to support the added breaks throughout the year.

The next issue will focus on advantages and disadvantages of year-round schooling.  

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The Dogman, a creature of MythMichigan, is an excellent example of modern-day folklore to study in your classes.    http://www.dogman07.com		The Longquist Adventures, written for elementary students, is excellent for teaching mythology and classic stories to young children.   Look for Western Odyssey this summer!
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New Teachers' Niche:  A Place for New Teachers, Student Teachers, and Interns
	Teaching Listening Skills During Presentations by Frank Holes, Jr. Educational Consultant

We've developed a short, simple set of rules we call 'Expected Behaviors of a Good Listener'. All of our classrooms (each subject area) have posted these rules, and review them and utilize them whenever a presentation is given. They are easy to teach, remember, and monitor.

Rule 1: Look At The Speaker. This is a no-brainer. The audience is there to watch and listen to the speaker, and attention is mandatory.

Rule 2: Keep Your Hands Still. Free hands are unable to tap pencils, rustle paper, or drop spare change on a tile floor (one of my all-time greatest pet-peeves).

Rule 3: Never Talk When The Speaker Is Talking. This one again seems obvious. The audience is there to listen to the speaker, not to listen to another member of the audience.

Rule 4: Never Distract The Speaker. This is supported by the previous rules, but will also cover other situations. The audience should not make faces or body gestures that detract from the speaker's ability to present.

Rule 5: Keep Questions, Comments, And Laughter To Appropriate Times And Levels. Students will often have questions and comments about the presentations, and these are best posed at the end of the
presentation. There will also be instances where funny things will happen or humor is used by the speaker. It is ok for the kids to laugh at these times (it's ok for the teacher to laugh too). We've had
instances where puppet show stages and scenery props have fallen over.  We've had tongue twisters gone awry. We've even had hilarious costumes and actions by characters. These and many others will happen as you present more often. That's ok, because these funny moments will help students remember the information better. Just remind students that laughter needs to be kept to an appropriate level, and not to carry on with it. Questions and comments can also be carried on too far. Don't let this time become an attack on the speaker (unless you're in a debate class!)

Ok, so what do we do about a student who chooses to not follow the expectations? We never give warnings, first of all. Once we've covered the rules, we expect immediate compliance. Many students have difficulty getting up in front of class without someone 'stealing their show' or causing them embarrassment.

Basically we take points away from that interrupter's presentation grade. The amount of the deduction is generally up to the individual teacher and weighted for the assignment. The first time it happens, we take off approximately 10% of the possible points. The second time is decreased up to 25% (we have little tolerance for disrupting a speaker). If it happens again, the student loses all credit and is removed from class for the remainder of the presentations.

Presentations are important for students, both as speaker and listener. Check out our website for a free printable copy of these rules that you can put on an overhead sheet or hand out to your students.

http://www.starteaching.com/freebies.htm#article5

Using these simple rules (or adapting them to your class), you can teach your students to be respectful and pay close attention during



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Be sure to check out our website for more great information, tips, and techniques for new teachers, student-teachers, and interns in teacher prep programs. Also be sure to check out our Who-I-Want-To-Be teacher plan for preparing yourself to enter the educational profession.  Simply click the following link: http://www.starteaching.com/free.htm Want to check out the articles in our Student-Teaching series?  Check out our special Student-Teaching page through the following link:  http://www.starteaching.com/studentteachers.htm

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Be sure to check out our website for more great information, tips, and techniques for new teachers, student-teachers, and interns in teacher prep programs. Also be sure to check out our Who-I-Want-To-Be teacher plan for preparing yourself to enter the educational profession.  Simply click the following link: http://www.starteaching.com/free.htm Want to check out the articles in our Student-Teaching series?  Check out our special Student-Teaching page through the following link:  http://www.starteaching.com/studentteachers.htm

 

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"We Are The Decent People"  Wilferd A. Peterson Themes on Life

In This Week's Issue 
(Click the Quick Links below):

Enhancing Your Teaching Skills

Debate as Pedagogy to Teach in Science Class (part 2)

School Features: 
Year Round Schooling (part 1)

New Teacher's Niche:
Teaching Listening Skills During Presentations

Themes on Life:  
"We Are the Decent People"

10 Days of Writing Prompts

10 Days of Math Problems

Autumn Book Sale for Teachers

Book of the Month Club

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