Teacher

Back To Snippet


Back To SITEMAP

Teachers and School Supplies, Help Children, Educational Needs, Kids in Need

Author: Stuart Malkin

We need to insure that the children have adequate tools to meet their classroom needs are justified. This is a critical need.

Teachers in California (and elsewhere) have a plight now that is seriously affecting the empowerment of children. In California schools, there is not enough budget money to adequately provide classroom supplies in enough quality and quantity to insure excellent education. And for decades, many teachers have provided such supplies at their own expense. In some cases, paper, pencils, ink cartridges and yes, even books, have been provided at the expense of the teacher!

In past years, there has been both a Federal and a State tax allowance that helped teachers with this effort. But recently both the State and Federal tax breaks have been abandoned. Parent groups and others do donate supplies (I did), but there is still a significant shortfall. And with the explosion of class sizes, additional faculty means new (and younger) teachers... hardly able to add the burden of providing supplies to their own personal budgets.

Teachers spend large sums on school supplies that, in times past, were provided by the School Districts. The administrators are not to blame... budget crunches have serious impacted their ability to maintain current instructional levels. There are a few organizations around the country that are helping, but not enough.

Abstracted from �Empowering Children� by Dr. Stuart J. Malkin. Much more in the book at: http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/description.asp?ISBN=0-7414-2331-6

Dr. Malkin holds a B.Sc. in Business and a Masters and Ph.D. in Religion. He has made hundreds of visits to schools with a moving and effective motivational presentation, urging teens to do their personal best. His mentoring programs have empowered many, many children. His quest for years has been to teach the power of Right Action, working towards the goal of a better world.

...

Teacher Tips Improving Consistency of ADHD Students Performance
Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children so here are your teacher tips for the week brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchoolcom This is a sampling of over 500 classr

Inspiring Values of Unforgettable Teachers
All of us recall special teachers people who not only taught us but inspired us in ways that changed our lives William Arthur Ward once said The mediocre teacher tells The good teacher explains The superior teacher demonstrates The great teacher inspires Here are five lifechanging valu

Mindfulness and Education Teachers Must Make It Fun
As a mindfulness trainer Im a big fan of promoting greater mindfulness in the classroom However its interesting to me that those who seem to be the most thoughtful and passionate proponents of mindfulness in education are the ones most likely to be trapped by their limited thinking No

Teacher

Back To Snippet


Back To SITEMAP

Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Author: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D.

Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children! We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children, so here are your teacher tips for the week, brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchool.com. You can read over 500 classroom interventions at http://www.ADDinSchool.com.

Right from day one, make clear rules and post them, with logical consequences and with rewards.

Move the ADHD student's desk to where there are fewer distractions. Close to the teacher to monitor and encourage, or near a child who is better able to focus.

Privacy boards can work well, but should never embarrass the child.

Students with attentional problems do better in classrooms with four walls than in an "open pod" arrangement. Open pods allow too many visual and auditory distracters throughout the day.

It is usually better to use of rows for seating arrangement and to try to avoid tables with groups of students. Often the groups are too distracting for the ADHD child.

In the ideal setting, provide tables for specific group projects, and traditional rows for independent work. Of course, we are rarely in an ideal setting.

Every once in a while, try arranging desks in a horseshoe shape to allow for appropriate discussion while permitting independent work.

Your student's desk should be near the teacher (for prompting and redirection), away from other challenging students, and not touching others' desks. However, if you notice that your student looks around a lot to see where noises are coming from, because he is very auditorily distractible, he may benefit from being seated near the rear of the classroom. Experiment with seat location in the front of the classroom (near the board) and instructional area if your student is more visually distracted.

It is important for the teacher to be able to move about the entire room and to have access to all students. Practice "Management By Walking Around" in the classroom. The more personal interaction, the better.

Have all of the distractable students seated nearest to place in the class where you will give directions or lectures. At least as close as possible without being punitive.
To minimize distractions, seat the student away from both the hallway and windows

Keep a portion of the room free of obvious visual and auditory distractions. Have at least a part of the room free from bright, loud, or distracting objects.

Use desk dividers and/or study carrels carefully. Make sure they are used as a "study area option" rather than as a punishment.

Your student will function better when able to anticipate times requiring increased concentration. A visual representation of the day's schedule will provide another opportunity to internalize classroom routine.

Your student tends to lose focus and his activity?level may increase during the day. Therefore, schedule the most demanding attentional tasks in the morning.
In our desire to provide an engaging classroom for students, try to be aware of the auditory and visual distractions present. Attempt to place your student where these would have the least effect.

Seat those really smart and quiet girls next to the ADHD child.

Stand near the student when giving directions or presenting the lesson. Use the student's worksheet as an example.

We know that teachers are neither God to control the weather, nor the janitors to control the thermostats. But as best as you can, provide comfortable lighting and room temperature.

Use individual headphones to play white noise or soft music to block out other auditory distractions. Be sure the music is not too interesting so that it becomes a distraction.
It has become somewhat fashionable to play classical music, or baroque music, quietly in the background while students are working. This may, in fact, actually work.
Provide a quiet, carpeted space in the room as a special study section for independent reading.

Many students often bring their own distractions (toys) from home. Try to make a classroom rule about appropriate time/place to share them with classmates and limit their appearance in the classroom and on the desks. Establishing certain categories for classroom sharing on certain days can limit the number and type of items brought to school and make it more successful for the students.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

...

Teacher Tips Using Worksheets with ADHD Students
Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children so here are your teacher tips for the week brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchoolcom You can read over 500 classroom inter

Teachers and School Supplies Help Children Educational Needs Kids in Need
We need to insure that the children have adequate tools to meet their classroom needs are justified This is a critical need Teachers in California and elsewhere have a plight now that is seriously affecting the empowerment of children In California schools there is not enough budget m

Mindfulness and Education Teachers Must Make It Fun
As a mindfulness trainer Im a big fan of promoting greater mindfulness in the classroom However its interesting to me that those who seem to be the most thoughtful and passionate proponents of mindfulness in education are the ones most likely to be trapped by their limited thinking No