Table of Contents
About the Authors ix
Preface xi
How to Use This Book xiii
PART ONE: CHALLENGES WITH STUDENTS 1
1. The Class Clown Is Not Humoring You 3
2. A Student Is Refusing to Do Work 7
3. Several Students Dislike You 11
4. You Embarrassed a Student in Front of His Peers 15
5. Students Who Don’t Behave in Your Class Are Behaving for Another Teacher 19
6. You’re Not Sure If a Behavior Consequence Was Appropriate 23
7. You’re Unsure When to Refer a Student to the Office 27
8. A Student Is Disrespectful to You in Front of the Class 31
9. Some Students Are Afraid to Make Mistakes 35
10. A Student Is Sleeping in Your Class 39
11. You Lost Your Temper with Your Students 43
12. You Feel That Several of Your Students Are Lazy 47
13. You Ask a Student to Step Outside with You and He Refuses 51
14. Students Don’t Bring Necessary Supplies to Your Class 55
15. Some Students Are Easier to Like than Others 59
16. A Student Is Prone to Angry Outbursts 63
17. It’s Difficult to Stay Motivated When the Students Aren’t Motivated 67
PART TWO: CHALLENGES WITH ADULTS 71
18. Some of Your Coworkers Are Negative 73
19. You Experience a Lack of Parental Interest 77
20. You Disagree with Your Administrator 81
21. You Want to Fit In with the Faculty 85
22. A Coworker Says Something Negative About You 89
23. Your Principal Gives You a Negative Evaluation 93
24. A Parent Will Not Return Your Call 97
25. You’re Afraid to Speak Your Mind in a Faculty Meeting 101
PART THREE: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES 105
26. You’re Struggling to Get Organized 107
27. Your Content Knowledge Is Solid, But Your Management Skills Are Lacking 111
28. Students Enter Your Class and Immediately Begin Talking 115
29. You Have a Chronic Talker in Your Class 119
30. Your Students Misbehaved with the Substitute Teacher 123
31. A Particular Student Is Pushing Your Buttons 127
32. Students Have a Problem with “Telling on Others” 131
33. A Student Brings an Issue from Outside into the Classroom 133
34. Classroom Discussions Go Off in a Different Direction 137
35. Your Classroom Needs a Makeover, But You’re Just Not a Decorator 141
PART FOUR: INSTRUCTIONAL CHALLENGES 145
36. You Tend to Teach the Way You Were Taught 147
37. You’re Overwhelmed by New Technology 151
38. Many Students Performed Poorly on a Test 155
39. You’re Confused about Assigning Homework 159
40. You’re Unsure How to Write a Good Test 163
41. You Teach Many Students at Many Different Levels 167
42. Your Students Don’t Stay on Task for Long Periods of Time 171
43. Your Students Don’t Participate in Class Discussions 175
44. You’re Unsure about Rewarding Your Students 179
45. When Being Observed, You Call on Students Who Know the Answers 183
46. A Student Asks a Question and You Do Not Know the Answer 185
47. After the Test, Your Students Forget What You Have Taught 187
48. You Like a Quiet Classroom 191
49. You Question Whether You Should Have to Write Lesson Plans 195
50. You Need Creative Ideas 199
PART FIVE: PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES 203
51. Another New Program Comes Along 205
52. The Person Awarded “Teacher of the Year” Does Not Deserve It 209
53. Your Professional Life Is Affecting Your Personal Life 213
54. Your Personal Life Is Affecting Your Teaching 217
55. You Don’t Have Time for All the After-School Functions 221
56. Planning Period Has Become Griping Period 225
57. You’re Asked to Take On All the Troubled Students 229
58. You’re Afraid of Social Media 233
59. You Want to Be More Positive, But It’s Difficult 237
60. You Can’t Keep Up with Education’s Buzzwords and Jargon 241
A Final Word 245
Index 247
