Managing Your Classroom with Heart: A Guide for Nurturing Adolescent Learners

Katy Ridnouer

Dec 2006 · ASCD

About this eBook

Teaching is as much about students as it is about curriculum, and no one understands this better than middle and high school teachers. But even the most dedicated teacher can sometimes feel defeated by the challenge of reaching distracted, disconnected, and defiant adolescents.

Drawing on her own experience as a high school teacher, Katy Ridnouer shares an approach to classroom management that will help you spend less time "dealing with" your adolescent learners and more time inspiring them to be their best selves in school and beyond. Managing with heart means accepting teenage students as they are and recognizing what they need: a connection with the curriculum; a sense of order; and most essentially, a sense that someone cares. In this book, you'll find practical strategies for

* Balancing care and discipline
* Interacting with students and their parents
* Establishing classroom routines that keep students on task
* Communicating expectations and ensuring accountability
* Handling common challenges, from classroom noise and personality conflicts to inappropriate clothing and disrespectful language
* Building trust and helping students feel emotionally and intellectually safe.

Vivid, real-life examples and questions for reflection make this a perfect choice for faculty reading groups and any middle or high school teacher looking to create a positive learning community, enhance students' confidence and interpersonal skills, and rediscover the reward of being a teacher.