The Leaps Blog
Our blog is full of articles, updates, helpful information and ideas from our users and more. You can also use the category list to find info by topic.
The Teacher Dropout Rate
An interesting study from Alliance for Education Excellence found here provides some interesting findings on why teachers are leaving the teaching profession. Here are the top three reasons for the teacher dropout rate:
A Day in the Life of a Teacher
I just closed my eyes and now it is time to start all over again. The morning shower is about the only time I am going to have today with a little silence. That moment of peace is my chance to brace for the day. The problem is that in my moment of peace I can’t take my mind off of my kids who are struggling. I can’t stop thinking about the things I should have done to make learning a little easier.
Consistency and Consequences in the Classroom
The one consequence that actually creates the biggest issue is the DRI – the Differential Reinforcement of Inappropriate behaviors. The DRI is a fancy way of saying the response to an inappropriate behavior, typically a punishment.
The Profound Simplicity of Being Nice
As I listen to educators tell me about their daily trials, one said something that really struck me. “We just need our kids and our teachers to remember what it meant to be nice.” Nice is a simple sounding concept and in fact it’s a pejorative in some athletic circles that deride niceness as term of weakness. But that wasn’t the nice she was speaking of.
Making Time For Other People
There are just too many people in this world for anyone to have to feel alone. Maybe we can take being nice, add listening to it and make loneliness a lot less consuming.
Quiet Students at Risk of Being Overlooked
Who are the students in your class that need to be heard? Who is trying not to be noticed but wishes with every fiber of their being they were worthy of being noticed? What child or adolescent or teen is in your life but if they weren’t you wouldn’t really notice? Take a few moments now to notice them.
Helping Students Find That Spark
When does learning become drudgery rather than a joy? We often ask the when question but I think the one we should be asking is the why question. Why does learning lose its luster? If truth be told, learning never truly has to lose its luster.
Focus of Pre-K: Are They Ready to Learn?
One of the real issues facing schools today is the readiness of kids to begin. Are little ones ready for Kindergarten? If not, is Pre-K the answer? What should the focus of Pre-K be? Is it academic readiness or is it social preparation?
For Some Students the Holidays Can Hurt
There are many issues besides depression that teachers need to be aware of as the holidays approach. Did you know that besides depression – eating disorders, shoplifting, fatigue, overt aggression, sexual acting out, and other extreme behaviors increase amongst many kids during the holidays? We have to ask two questions: why and what do we do about it?
SEL is Behavior – Connecting the Dots
For some reason when people talk about behaviors and behavior programming at school, there is an automatic default to exceptional and alternative education. It is as if the word behavior is a pejorative that means “anywhere but the classroom”. But what is really interesting is that, while behavior solutions, behavior programming and behavior modification are getting relegated to the specialties within the educational array, we are seeing a mainstreaming of social and emotional learning (SEL).
Back to Basics: Teaching the Important Lessons
Kids who get in trouble do so again and again. Why is it that the same kids seem to always be in trouble no matter what is tried? Schools have ISS, alternative schools, codes of conduct contracts, and so on. When I went to school we had Coach Velasquez and his paddle. That didn’t work either.
Changing Behaviors: Easy As A-B-C
Over the last several weeks we have spent a lot of time describing and defining behaviors. After all, our words and appearance and behaviors define us. People cannot see our intent nor can they hear...
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