I know what you’re thinking. “How the hell am I supposed to do all of these” or “which ones
should I use” or “I’m more confused than ever!”.
That’s how I felt when I was doing my teacher training. The truth is, great teaching involves a
cocktail of most of these at some point (and a few actual cocktails at the weekend to recover!).
If you are just starting out on your journey as a teacher and you are worried that you’ll do it
wrong, just remember these basic principles:
1. Building positive relationships with students is the bedrock of EVERYTHING.
2. Setting clear boundaries that students are aware of.
3. Consequences of breaking those boundaries are also known in advance.
4. Focus on and reward the positive things that happen in your classroom (positive
reinforcement).
5. Treat your students as people with thoughts and feelings of their own that, while may
seem irrelevant to you, they are not to them.
6. It is easier and more effective to change your perspective to theirs than make them
change to yours.
7. Remember, their world is not the one you grew up in.
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