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