Avoiding Sexual Harassment

At some point in your career you'll probably be accused of sexual harassment, even if you are in no way guilty of it. It's a very serious allegation and the stigma may follow you around even if you are proven innocent. Most new teachers are not trained on this issue and think that sexual harassment means don't have sexual relations with students. But while it does include this, it also includes many more aspects that need to be considered.

There are ways for you to avoid any of these sort of accusations and you'll want to follow them in order to keep your good name intact and not have to deal with any of it. This advice is for both men and women and for students that are any age. The situations will get stickier as the students get older, but these will apply to all levels. These rules assume that you are a well-intentioned person, have nothing to hide, and want to keep it that way.

Don't touch students - Very rarely will the need to touch a student arise, and things are better if you don't. If you are one of those touchy-feely sorts you will need to put the kibosh on it right away. Most people have a bubble of safety that they don't want you to infringe upon and touching them, in any way other than a handshake is considered odd, and could be viewed as inappropriate.

Don't let students in your car - Too many problems can come from something as simple as giving a student a ride home. So no matter the story of how they just have to get home soon and no one can pick them up, you'll have to decline. Alone in the car without any witnesses means it's your word against the student's if they decide to say you did anything at all sexual to them. If the local media picks up the story, your career and reputation in general could be finished.

Keep your classroom door open. While it creates an open atmosphere for people that see that your door is open during your after hours time, it also limits the chances of someone saying you did anything inappropriate. It's a way of showing that you have nothing to hide, and it really keeps people honest while they are in your classroom.

Keep a third party handy - Team up with a teaching buddy for after-school tutoring. You don't want to be left alone in the room with one or two students regardless of whether the door is open or not. It makes the time go by faster and allows you to interact with an adult at the same time, which is always welcome after a day of teaching the kiddies.

School Events

The job you do as a teacher is not confined to just you standing in front of the chalkboard, delivering information and knowledge. That's just a piece to the overall puzzle that is your school itself. Don't overlook that your role in this bigger picture by focusing only on the teaching aspect. Branch out and show that you want to get involved with extra-curricular events.

The best way to do this is to start getting involved with things in your school that don't have anything to do with what happens in the classroom. You may have decided to become a teacher because you love helping kids, but you also need to show that you care about your school as well as your colleagues. To be a successful teacher in your first year, you're going to have to put up some big numbers as far as hours spent after school go. You can be sure that your school administrators and other teachers will find out which car you drive, and will be keeping an eye out for when you arrive and leave. If they find that your car is always gone when they go out into the parking lot, they'll assume you're slacking, because they are aware that a good teacher is not a clock watcher.

Involving yourself in after school activities gives you a special chance to work with your kids and your co-workers in a much more lightened atmosphere. It sends the message to your students that you care about them, even when you're not being paid for it. It also shows your colleagues that you are able to carry your own weight. Here are two ways to get you started:

Sporting Events and Performances. You might be aware that some students put in tons of hours after school, either practicing athletics or rehearsing for a play. Nothing will mean more to a student than if you show up to one of their games or to the performance that they are in. They expend so much effort into these hobbies, that it shows them you care, even if they can't always get the right answer in your class.

A School Activity - You can pitch in with almost any school activity and you will be looked at as a God-send. Here are a few examples of some things you can do, to get your brainstorming going: keep time or scores at any of the sporting events, be the announcer at a game, patrol the parking lot during games, man a table during orientation night, serve as department chair, chair a committee, help with a fund raiser, participate in the D.A.R.E. program or your schools similar substitute, chaperon a dance, or help build homecoming floats.

Improving Reading

Students use what they already know to make sense of what they are reading. Providing strategies to activate this prior knowledge is a powerful way to improve student reading comprehension.

1. BRAINSTORM WHAT THE STUDENTS ALREADY KNOW.

Ask the students to tell you what they already know and then write this information on the board.

It can be a really useful process for the students to then reorganize this information.

Students working in small groups can sort the information into lists, categories or text. Provide each group with a large poster size piece of paper and ask them to rearrange the information into an informative poster. Students can refresh or clarify their knowledge with dictionaries, atlases and encyclopedias. Personal accounts can be included in the form of speech balloon quotes or short stories pinned to the bottom. This should be a creative free flowing activity with the primary aim being the manipulation of the information.

2. FOCUS ON KEY ASPECTS OF THE SUBJECT.

Students look more closely at a familiar topic by focusing on single aspects or elements.

Students could:

think of 10 adjectives that could be used when discussing the subject,

describe a related or alternate setting,

describe an integral process,

list the people involved,

write a one day diary account,

write a packing or shopping list,

write a definition or explanation,

describe a personal experience,

list the positive and negatives.

give examples

or define the characteristics.

3. BUILD ON PRIOR KNOWLEDGE BY SEARCHING FOR MORE.

Students explore the familiar subject with the aim of finding one piece of information that is new. Library and internet research is perfect for this. Students that work quickly can help those that struggle. When everyone has discovered a new piece of information, these can be shared with the class.

The new information could also be used in a classroom display. Each student could write out their fact on a card or strip of paper and these could be placed on a noticeboard.

4. USE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE SOMETHING.

Students take what they already know to create something new.

Students could create a labeled diagram, write a short story, design a new model, write instructions or create a set of question and answer cards.

5. USE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE TO HYPOTHESIZE.

Students use what they already know to explain what might happen in a range of scenarios.

The teacher can simply ask questions that will open up discussion or write some on the board for the students to work on.

Here are some examples:

If your dog was not fed for two days, what would he do?

If it rained for 10 days, what effect would this have on you?

Imagine you can't read - write three benefits and three negatives about this situation.

Imagine you had no friends at school - how would this effect your day?

It makes sense to provide opportunities for your students to access and employ their prior knowledge before they read something complex or new. It is a simple and straight forward way to improve their reading comprehension ability.