Teaching+Methods

"Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire"  **Rafe Esquith has been a fifth grade teacher for more than 25 years. The techniques given in his book "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire", have made him one of our most proclaimed educators of our time. On this page you will find a useful "road map" for people who care about the success of today's children growing up in our education system.** "I am painfully aware that I am not superhuman. I do the same job as thousands of other dedicated teachers who try to make a difference. Like all real teachers, I fail constantly. I don't get enough sleep. I lie awake in the early morning hours, agonizing over a kid I was unable to reach. Being a teacher can be painful" (Esquith, prologue). **(Gimme Some Truth)**

=
 students are afraid of being scolded humiliated, of looking foolish in front of peers, of getting bad grades, of facing theirs parents wrath" (page 4). ======

**Solution **
==== 1.**Replace Fear with Trust** - "Our positive and patient response to questions builds an immediate and lasting trust that transcends fear " (page 7). ==== ==== 2.**Be Dependable** - "If trust has been established, the kids are far more understanding on the rare occasions when a promised activity needs to be postponed" (page 8). ==== ==== 3.**Discipline must be logical** - "Children do not mind a tough teacher, but they despise an unfair one. Punishments must fit the crimes, and too often they do not. Once the kids see you as unfair you've lost them (page 9). ==== ==== 4.**You are a role model** - "Never forget that your kids watch you constantly. They model themselves after you, and you have to be the person you want them to be. I want my kids to be nice and work hard. That means I better be the nicest and hardest-working person they have ever met" (page 10). ====

** Six Levels of Moral Development (apply these to your classroom) **
====**Level I. I Don't Want to Get in Trouble** - "Level I thinking is based on fear. Eventually we want our children to behave well not because they fear punishment but because they believe it is right" (page 15). ====

**Level II. I Want a Reward** - "We need to show our children that proper behavior id expected, not rewarded" (chapter 17).
==== **Level III. I Want to Please Somebody** - "The kids that are pleasers grow into frustrated adults who hate their jobs and can't understand they they are so displeased with their lives" (page 18). ==== ==== **Level IV. I Follow the Rules** - "Extrodinary people in our history have looked beyond Level IV thinking and broke rules. If we want our children to reach such heights, they need to know the rules but see past a chart of rules on the classroom wall. There will be times when the chart is not there. More important, there will be times when the chart is wrong" (page 20). ==== ====** Level V. I am considerate of Other People **- "If we can help kids achieve a state of empathy for the people around them, we've accomplished a lot " (page 20). ==== ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> **Level VI. I Have a Personal Code of Behavior and I Follow It (the Atticus Finch Level)** - "This is the most difficult to attain and just as difficult to teach. This is because it resides in the soul of an individual. It also includes a healthy dose of humility" (page 22). ====

Reading
1. "Dont teach children to read, teach them to love it" (page 32). 2. The Adult is the guide- "I am not smarter then my students, but I do know more because I am older then they are. So, it is my job as their mentor to put them books in their hands they have not yet come across "(page 35). 3. Go to the library - "At the library children can and make discoveries that wouldn't be possible online" (page 36). 4. Choose great literature - Find ever opportunity to read to your children 5. Promote confidence in children who can not read well 6. Read in all content areas 7. Have discussions with students 8. Make their reading relevant- children make connections, understand, and draws on their own experiences.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Esquith's Books** || **Link** ||
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Lighting Their Fires: How Parents and Teachers Can Raise Extraordinary Kids in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World // || Lighting Their Fires: How Parents and Teachers Can Raise Extraordinar… ||
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There Are No Shortcuts // || @http://search.barnesandnoble.com/There-Are-No-Shortcuts/Rafe-Esquith/e/9781400030835 ||