Firm Hand, Open Heart

An Interactive, Philosophical Approach to ESL Classroom

Management

• Darryl Smyers• Drsmyers@garlandisd.net

• ESL Facilitator for Garland ISD• 10 years teaching for Dallas ISD and

Richland College.

And the question of the day is…

• Does the urgency and energy of the instruction create an environment conducive to positive and successful classroom management?

• Can the teacher be the boss and still love and respect his/her students?

• Can an ESL student master the language if he/she is not engaged?

• Do children hide their lack of confidence behind demonstrations of misbehavior?

Guiding Questions

I Hate Power Points!

• Why do presenters do EXACTLY the opposite thing that good teachers are doing?

• Can you imagine the student revolt if teachers simply put up power point slides and read them to the class?

• Power points basically do two things:

• Show that the presenter did a little work

• Seriously expose the disease of limited technology

• So guess what?

I WILL NOT READ TO YOU!

But I do have a couple more slides

• Good questions lead to good answers• I am going to ask some questions of you

and we will see how together we can work towards some common answers.

• Isn’t this better than me reading to you?

• How is an ESL classroom different in terms of classroom management than a room for non-LEP students?

• Which is better or worse, the hard-line teacher who controls every second of the students’ time or the softie who let’s the students dictate how the class is run?

• Is it better to treat education as a philosophy or as a business? Can it be both?

• How big of an impact does classroom management have on the quality of instruction?

Confronting the myths

• Does anyone still believe that a teacher should not smile until Christmas?

• Are teachers forever banned from entering that din of inequity known as the teacher’s lounge?

• Can we be friendly with students without being friends?

The Myth of Smiling

• Smiling does not imply weakness.• Love and logic• A teacher who smiles is not a weak

teacher.

Ghandi’s Seven Blunders

• Wealth without work• Pleasure without conscience• Knowledge without character• Commerce without morality• Science without humanity• Worship without sacrifice• Politics without principle

Knowing Your Customers

• Successful ventures succeed because they know who they are dealing with.

• What makes educational stakeholders tick?• TV, Music, Food, Money, Sex, Power• What can you supply?

Four Agreements

• Be Impeccable with your word• Don’t take anything personally• Don’t make assumptions• Always do your best[Your best will change from moment to

moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick]

Words to live by

• Be a guide for learning, not a friend• Caring is not a bad thing• Proximity and movement• Sweeping• Rewards are not bribes• A teaching style should be interesting• “That’s just not me” and “them”

Leading Passively

• Being the boss without the students even realizing.

• Allowing students to become the natural leaders that they want to be.

• Kicking back and watching the learning take place.

• Dealing with the occasional blip.

The Seven Practices

• Live with integrity• Be a servant• Be humble• Practice generosity• Build together• Choose hope• Have a purpose

The End

• Go out, teach, learn from those future leaders and have a good time doing it!