Larry Ferlazzo's Monthly Website Newsletter

I recently began began a thread on the Edutopia Classroom Management Group ( Alice Mercer and I facilitate it) asking people to share the best classroom management advice they’ve ever been given. I’ve posted about my own choice earlier, but since I’ve been thinking more about it over the past few weeks because of some classroom issues that have come-up, I thought people might find it helpful to share again.

It comes from Marvin Marshall , one of my favorite writers on positive methods of classroom management. He wrote:

Will what I am about to do or say bring me closer or will it push me away farther from the person with whom I am communicating?

Sometimes — not often, but sometimes — I can lose my temper a bit with a student. Each time that has happened since I read that line, I have been able to remember that wise piece of advice and shift gears. Obviously, it would have been better for me not to get upset in the first place but, of course, I am only human…

It’s similar to the old community organizing adage I often used during my nineteen year community organizing career — after you polarize, always depolarize.

When I first posted about this piece of advice, I included a useful link to a New York Times article titled When The Heart Pays The Price of Anger. The last line of that article is “Life is very lonely when you are always right.”

Feel free to share the best piece of classroom management advice you’ve ever read or heard — either in the comments here or in the Edutopia Classroom Management Discussion Group .

Mugurdy Search Engine

The Mugurdy Search Engine is a simple visual search engine that is very accessible to English Language Learners.Once you type in a query, search results are show with good size images of the actual websites. It reminds me of the old Page Bull visual search engine, which I rated highly two years ago but then went out of business.

It doesn’t have any of the “bells and whistles” of my other highly-rated search engines, but I’m still adding it to The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2009.

“Be A Martian”

NASA just opened a website yesterday called Be A Martian. Here’s how the BBC describes it in an article titled How to explore Mars and have fun:

A Nasa website called “Be A Martian” allows users to play games while at the same time sorting through hundreds of thousands of images of the Red Planet.

The site includes some neat-sound games that look like they might be accessible to English Language Learners.

The Difference Between Praise & Acknowledgment

I regularly try to reflect on various aspects of my teaching practice, and one of the things I look at it is the kind of feedback I give to students.

I’ve written about this before in “What Kind Of Feedback Should We Give Our Students?” In that post, I share resources about Carol Dweck’s research on the importance of praising effort instead of intelligence.

Marvin Marshall, who writes a lot about positive classroom management strategies, just wrote about the topic in his email newsletter. Since it’s only available via email, and I can’t link to it, I’ll reprint a portion here. He frames it as the difference between praise and acknowledgment (I’d also call it recognition):

QUESTION:

Can you explain the difference between praise and acknowledgment?

RESPONSE:

It’s important to be aware of the difference between praise
and acknowledgment because so often we praise when we would
really rather create the outcome that acknowledgment
accomplishes. Acknowledgments encourage and motivate. They
serve to give recognition without the disadvantages of
praise.

The following two characteristics usually determine whether
a comment is one of praise or one of acknowledgment:

1. Praise often starts with a reference to oneself, as in
-”I am so proud of you for…. ”
-”I like the way….”

2. Praise is patronizing.

Praise has a price. It implies a lack of acceptance and
worth when the youth does not behave as the adult wishes.
Using a phrase which starts with, “I like,” encourages a
young person to behave in order to please the adult. By
contrast, acknowledgment simply affirms and fosters
self-satisfaction in the young person.

Notice the difference in the following examples:

Praise:
“I am so pleased with the way you treated your brother.”

Acknowledgment:
“You treated your brother very well.”
———

Praise:
“I like the way you are working.”

Acknowledgement:
“Your working shows good focus and control.”
———

Praise:
“I’m so proud of you for your good grades.”

Acknowledgment:
“Your grades show success in school. How do you feel about
that?”

Here is something to consider:
If you would not make the comment to an adult, then think
twice before making it to a young person.

I find this concept incredibly difficult to remember “in the moment.” I know it’s the correct way to go, but I don’t think I’m alone in this. Does anybody have any “tricks” to help prompt you to keep this difference in mind when you’re in the classroom?

“A Parent Engagement Model That Works”

In case you’re interested, Education World just published a short piece I wrote titled “A Parent Engagement Model That Works.”

It gives a brief overview of my book.

“Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education”

The last “Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education” is now available online. Education researcher Gerald Bracey passed away this fall.

In this final report, he takes issue with three positions many school “reformers” are taking:

1. High-quality schools can eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities.

2. Mayoral control of public schools is an improvement over the more common elected board governance systems.

3. Higher standards will improve the performance of public schools.

It’s definitely worth a read.

A Few Simple Ways To Introduce Reluctant Colleagues To Technology

This is an article I wrote for TechLearning, and is too lengthy to reprint here. You might want to read it at this link.

Neat Lincoln Memorial Interactive

The National Parks Service has put together a really exceptional interactive on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources About President’s Day.

When You Have A Sub…

Alice Mercer, my co-facilitator of the Classroom Management discussion group at Edutopia, is sick at home and has begun a thread on subs and classroom management.

I thought it might be a good opportunity to share my Attitude and Behavior With A Substitute Teacher grading rubric.

I only use it with classes that I’m concerned about. In those classes, a few minutes before the ending bell rings, the sub passes out the rubric. Students grade themselves, and then the sub grades them. It works quite well — subs can grade by “faces” instead of having to try to remember names (you’ll notice on the rubric there’s a caution and way to spot if students don’t put their real name on it), and pushes students to reflect on how they’ve handled themselves.

Yes, yes, I know — I’m a big believer in developing intrinsic motivation, too. I just figure that I miss class so seldom, subs have such a challenging situation anyway, and remembering how I behaved with a sub when I was a student, that using something like this is best for everybody involved.

Join in the discussion at Edutopia and share how you handle sub and classroom management issues….

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