I want perseverance and I want to teach perseverance!

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Polly answers the question: “My students have assigned seats in all my classes, but lately it’s becoming a thing for several students to switch seats to see if I notice. At first it seemed kind of funny and cute, so I let them get away with it. Now I can’t seem to get them to stop. What do you suggest?”

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Let’s look deeper into the simple skills deficits that are getting in the way.

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Polly answers the question: “I was right in the middle of a chemistry lesson when a kid in the back yelled, ‘I’M BORED!’ He got a lot of giggles and I was so embarrassed. I had no idea what to do so I just kept going with the lesson. Did I do the right thing? I’m a new teacher.”

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Let’s change our lens on the kids we don’t like.

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Polly answers the question: “I have a class clown. He’s not mean, he’s actually very funny, but he’s causing lots of distractions. I don’t want to get mad at him to make him stop, but what exactly do I do?”

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Stop asking kids questions, give them statements!

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Polly answers the question: “I have a really hard time getting my fourth grade students to settle down sometimes. They won’t stop talking or fiddling or even moving around the classroom. I’m a new teacher, in case you can’t tell. Please help!”

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When you don’t clearly define what respect means in your school, then you end up missing the mark trying to teach it!

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Polly answers the question: “I’m a high school teacher and lately I’m quite shocked by how upset my students can get with each other in class discussions. I frankly don’t know what to do about this. Do you have any suggestions?”

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