Educational Leadership - September 2011

—Gwendolyn Todd, instructional resource teacher,

Charles County Public Schools, Maryland

As a culminating activity, the students took a “final exam” in which they answered questions about why some students displayed negative behavior and others displayed positive behavior. One 8th grade girl, whose attitude had improved greatly over the nine weeks, wrote, “When I saw that you were going to work with us and not just kick us out of the room, I felt that you should get the respect that you deserved.” I’ve carried that lesson with me throughout my 40-plus-year career in education.

—Ron Klemp, adjunct professor,
Santa Monica College
and California State University “ “ I realized that just coming to school may be the hardest thing a student will do that day.

in which students could talk to one another. I capitalized on their natural competitiveness by putting them into teams that worked together on each assignment to earn points. At the end of the unit, the team with the most points earned a prize that they chose. They loved getting a choice and being recognized. For the next units, my students requested working in teams. Referrals to the office and classroom disruptions dramatically decreased.

Teach Manners

“Gentlemen don’t wear hats indoors. Ladies prefer young men who are polite and well dressed.” That’s what I said one day to my male students. When I asked the girls whether I was right, they responded with a resounding “yes!” and the boys removed their caps and knit beanies. Since that experience, I have encouraged both girls and boys to treat one another with respect. These are high school students in a low-income school with gangs and discipline problems. All the admonishments, detentions, and punishments weren’t working, but somehow this simple appeal to respect the opposite sex has made a difference. Now we have days when we practice manners for the dinner table or manners for how to treat elders. When students practice these skills, they tell me they feel like the people in the old movies—but they also feel better about themselves as they promote manners everywhere they go.

—Samantha Carr, chair, Department of Foreign Languages,

Arroyo High School, El Monte, California

Teach to Students’ Strengths My 3rd block last year was a talkative group who chatted during my instruction daily. Arguments between classmates over football rivalries or the latest feud between rappers often disrupted activities. Daily instruction was getting painful; I was losing my cool in class more often. After a day when a lesson that was successful in every other block malfunctioned in this class, I realized that I needed to change my instruction to reflect this group’s strengths. I centered the next instructional unit around collaborative groups

Never Give Up

I taught emotionally disturbed and autistic students, a mix of colliding personalities. One student was angry at the world. I decided to approach him the way I approached customers when I waited tables in college: Treat every table the same way, maintain a positive attitude, and make no judgments on the basis of appearance. (This approach netted me much higher tips!)

I said good morning every day to this student. For 99 days, he shot back angry looks, but on the 100th day, he finally responded, “Good morning, Mr. Gaskell.” From that day on, he showed a different level of respect. I believe he was used to adults giving up on him and had expected the same from me. Refusing to give up paid off; I made a difference in his life. He made a difference in mine, too; I learned that with determination, I can reach any child.

—Mike Gaskell, principal, Hammarskjold Middle School, East Brunswick, New Jersey

We want to hear your
stories! Future “Tell
Me About” columns
will feature readers’
experiences with
grading, making
the most of scarce
resources, and more.
To see upcoming
questions and
contribute a response,
go to www.ascd.org/
tellmeabout.