| Today's teachers are prepared for yesterday's | | | | well with many students, it will always fail with some |
| students. The truth is that college and university | | | | youngsters. With some populations, such as conduct |
| teacher training has been stuck in the 1950's for the | | | | disorders (who are an estimated 11-14% of |
| past 50 years. Content and testing have remained | | | | students), empathy-based approaches like character |
| the central focus of teacher preparation, while | | | | ed will actually make the situation far worse. It is an |
| students' behavioral and emotional problems became | | | | approach better suited for Archie and Jughead, not |
| the central focus of the classroom. In essence, most | | | | the South Park kids.3. Show Teachers How to Teach |
| teacher training programs prepare teachers to work | | | | School SkillsYears ago, families reliably taught their |
| with a student who no longer exists. Contemporary | | | | offspring to show respect, arrive on time, dress |
| teacher training gives today's teachers yesterday's | | | | appropriately, and to have an appreciation for the |
| tools, leaving even the most talented educator | | | | importance of school. Now, many families cannot or |
| sometimes feeling ill-prepared to cope with students | | | | will not instill those beliefs and teach those skills. If |
| of the 2000s who have moved far beyond a time of | | | | families do not teach kids how to be students, then |
| bobby sox and poodle skirts to cyber sex and nipple | | | | schools must perform this function. Until then, |
| rings.While it is unlikely that teacher college and | | | | teachers are working with untrained, unmotivated |
| university training programs will change dramatically | | | | students. Teachers need to be taught how to |
| any time soon, there is no harm in speculating about | | | | systematically train youngsters on all aspects of |
| what the curriculum should look like now. Subjects | | | | school functioning from punctuality to homework |
| that are currently covered only in teacher inservice | | | | management, from how to raise their hands to how |
| workshops, professional development seminars and | | | | often to talk in class, and so on. Motivation should be |
| education conferences, should be routinely included as | | | | given special attention, but typical contemporary |
| a major focus of professional training for educators. | | | | teacher training includes almost no practical focus on |
| When this type of practical training is left to be an | | | | that today.4. Show Teachers How to Teach Coping |
| optional add-on that must be sought out, located, | | | | SkillsBecause families are more likely today than years |
| and often paid for with a teacher's own personal | | | | ago to be fractured, abusive, troubled and otherwise |
| funds, it becomes far less likely that most teachers | | | | impaired, teachers need to know how to manage the |
| will ever update their skills. I know this is true | | | | problems that result when family problems come to |
| because many participants of my popular Problem | | | | school with students. A special focus should be given |
| Student Problem-Solver Workshops tell me that they | | | | to what methods work with school refusers, |
| have to pay for their own training, beg for days off | | | | withdrawn kids, work refusers, depressed students, |
| so they can attend, and sometimes even use | | | | traumatized children, and students in crisis.5. Show |
| vacation time or forfeit their pay when their school | | | | Teachers How to Teach Social SkillsIf a student can't |
| can't or won't fund the costs.Putting aside those | | | | sit in a chair, talk one at a time, or keep his hands to |
| concerns for the moment, in an ideal world, what | | | | himself, it makes it almost impossible to teach that |
| might teacher training programs cover beyond | | | | child academic content. Yet today's teachers see |
| content and testing? Here are the top 5 critical things | | | | dozens of socially maladjusted students each day. If |
| that teachers are never taught but may really need | | | | parents cannot or will not train their offspring to have |
| right now:1. Give Teachers Basic Juvenile Mental | | | | basic social skills, teachers must pick up the slack. A |
| Health TrainingMore and more students have serious | | | | child who can sit in his chair, talk one at a time, and |
| mental health concerns yet most teachers don't | | | | keep his hands to himself, is far more likely to be a |
| know a conduct disorder from an attachment | | | | teachable student. There are no shortcuts around the |
| disorder. That's like not knowing the difference | | | | serious social skill deficiencies that educators cope |
| between arithmetic and spelling. When teachers don't | | | | with today. Until Susie can acquire at least minimal |
| know basic mental health information, it creates the | | | | social skills, educating her may be impossible.It is way |
| perfect conditions for safety concerns to simmer and | | | | past time to drag teacher training into the new |
| boil throughout the school and in the classroom.2. | | | | millennium. If you are a teacher struggling to make |
| Offer Teachers Real-World Violence and Safety | | | | sense out of your troubled, challenging students, the |
| TrainingSchools are more out of control than ever | | | | problem isn't you. The problem is that your |
| before. School shootings, gangs and bullies can pose | | | | professional training fits students who walked your |
| enormous potential safety concerns yet few teacher | | | | corridors a whopping half century ago. If you want |
| training programs devote extensive course work to | | | | to learn the practical, updated, more effective |
| practical, preventative methods. Using character | | | | methods that they didn't teach you in college, your |
| education-- the current violence prevention method | | | | only option now is to find an inservice course, |
| of choice today-- to stem this type of violence is | | | | workshop or professional development seminar that |
| naive and ineffective. While character ed can work | | | | can upgrade your skills to fit contemporary youth. |