Teaching Outside the Box

Acknowledgments ix The Author xi Introduction xiii ONE Dear Teacher: An Open Letter 1 TWO Are You Teacher Material? 5 Super, Excellent, or Good? 7 Earn Some Extra Credit 10 Those Who Can t Teach Can Still Do 12 What Is Teaching All About? 13 THREE Do Your Homework 17 Choose Your Persona 19 Dress the Part 21 Train Those Little Puppies 22 Control Your Classroom, Not Your Students 24 Plan for Bathroom Breaks 26 Your Optional Agenda 28 Face Your Own Prejudices 29 Respect Yourself 33 Grades: Percentage? Curve? Coin Toss? 37 Covering Curriculum Is Not Teaching 40 There Is No Such Thing as a Casual Remark to a Child 42 FOUR The Big Three: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation 45 Prepare Your Room 46 Prepare Your Paperwork 67 Prepare Yourself 80 FIVE Start with a Smile 91 Day One: Start with a Smile 92 Grab Your Students by Their Brains 97 Stop the Teacher-Versus-Student Attitude in Its Tracks 98 Teach Your Procedure for Oral Responses 103 Be Prepared for Test the Teacher 104 Create a Daily Do-Now Activity 108 Introduce Students to Each Other 111 Establish Routines and Rituals 114 Take Time to Think 119 Do Some Diagnostics 120 Welcome Handouts and Folders 121 Delegate Some Authority 123 Demonstrate the Power of Choice 124 Review Maslow's Hierarchy 126 Introduce Metacognition 129 Show Your Gratitude 132 The Hard Part Is Over We Hope 132 SIX Discipline Is Not a Dirty Word 135 Define Your Philosophy 136 What Goes Around Does Come Around 138 Cowboy Philosophy 140 Rules Versus Procedures 142 Rules for Creating Rules 143 Identify Your Bullies and Outcasts 145 Characteristics of Successful Discipline Policies 146 Twelve Steps to Better Discipline 153 If You Have to Have Detention,Make It Worthwhile 162 Keep Records 163 Consult the Experts, but Trust Your Instincts 163 Emergency Meltdown Disaster Plan 164 SEVEN The Three Rs: Reading, Reading, Reading 171 What's the Problem? 172 What the Solution? 174 And Now for Something Completely Different 190 Shakespeare for Reluctant Readers 192 Use Music to Introduce Poetry 198 EIGHT Light and Learning 201 Can't Read or Won't Read? 201 Seeing Is Believing 205 Scotopic Sensitivity 206 Signs and Symptoms of Light Sensitivity 209 Scientific Support 209 Shedding More Light on the Subject 211 NINE Foods for Thought 215 The Big Fat Problem 216 Mother's Milk Versus Formula 219 Doctor's Orders 221 Other Major Nutritional Villains 221 We Need to "Use Our Noodles" 227 TEN Top Twelve Motivational Strategies 231 Help Students Believe Success Is Possible 233 Adjust the Attitudes 235 Alter Student Self-Perceptions 238 Catch Kids Being Good 241 Reach Out to Parents and Guardians 242 Be Your Own Guinea Pigs 243 Request Frequent Feedback 245 Chart Student Progress 245 Go Right-Brain 249 Make Mistakes Mandatory 253 Connect Through Private Journals 255 Introduce Ethics 258 ELEVEN The Posse Update 261 Where Are the Dangerous Minds Kids Today? 262 "Raul" 263 "Gusmaro" 263 "Callie" 264 "Emilio" 265 Heidi 266 Octavio 267 Eric 267 Shonta 267 Nick 268 Isabel 268 My Take on the Movie 268 TWELVE Twenty Years from Now 271 The Good News 274 Appendix 279 My Excellent-Eleven Book List 279 Recommended Web Sites 282 Index 287