My name is Gabriel Vigil and I am an 8th grade History teacher in Southern California. I have been teaching for 18 years and in those 18 years I have done a variety of jobs. I have taught grades 6th through 12th, I have taught in a self contained class, I have taught summer school, and I have even been a coach to new teachers.
My goal for this channel is to create a community where we can come together to find advice, where we can share stories, and where we can find encouragement and support in each other.
We are stronger together and together we will turn "Lemon Days into Lemonade Weeks
If you are interested in more information on the coaching program click on the the link below to set up a time to discuss in more details.
How do you manage a project-based specials classroom with 30+ middle school students? Because I'm floundering despite going over procedures & expectations repeatedly, & pulling students to the side to talk to them 1-1. Haven't experienced this before smh 😢
First let me say you are a brave sole to do project base learning with Middle Schoolers. With that stated her are some things that may help. You may already be doing this but if not it may help. Break up the larger project into smaller assignments with due dates. This holds kids more accountable which hopefully will help with behavior. Another thing I would do is make sure I choose the groups. The best way I saw this being done is by ranking students. You then split the list in half. Too half and bottom half. You then start grouping students by the top two on each list. This pairs up the top students with some middle students. And middle students with lower students. The hope is since there is a smaller gap in level between the students they may raise the overall standard. The final thing I would do is create an alternate assignment and kids who are not working or messing around will have to work independently. This is a long term play with the idea that students see you are serious and by the third project they know if they mess around they will be removed. I hope that helps.
I left middle of 6th year, Baltimore city. Waited too long. Went to primary industry where they recognized meritocracy and retired at 60 with a healthy savings.
I couldnt agree with you more. There is a list of busy scholars, maybe or 50/50 scholars, and the rest of the roster that usually doesbt cause you any trouble. You can have the best lesson plan in the world but if you cant control the class doesnt mean a thing. Best wishes. God Bless.
10% of teachers are dedicated to their students and always try their best. 80% of teachers try occasionally but really became a teacher because it's the easiest college major, an easy job to coast through, and they work only a little more than half the hours of a regular job (fact - it's in their contracts). And 10% of teachers are terrible and don't care, or worse. But nearly 100% of teachers insist they're underpaid even though they chose the profession, it's far fewer work hours, it's easy to coast, and overall there's a surplus of people who want to be teachers.
Assigned seats are a complete waste of time and energy. Even if ur taking attendance just have them sound off. All this does is shows the students your a strict unapproachable teacher
Not really, as a student myself I see the importance of it, it's only so you don't get distracted by sitting next to your friends, as you grow older though, teachers will trust you more, and know that you won't disturb the class wasting time because you're getting yelled at, it's all about how the students act though
It established a consistency in the classroom from day one. If students choose their own seats they will normally sit next to kids they know which will be to many distractions on day. We can always rearrange seats later on
That makes sense. But maybe instead of the reward of no homework maybe you could reward with a mini party or a raffle or anything else you could use as an incentive.
@@theclassroommanagementguy Good idea, thanks man. So if they don't reach the target, do you think it's fair/ok if I don't give them the reward? Just asking because with your system it seems they always get the no homework reward regardless.
@@theclassroommanagementguy Thanks man, I think I'll try it. Just one more question. I think you mentioned in this or another video that you find that this works better for you than call and response for getting the attention of the class. I'm interested in both methods so I'm curious if you think they might work together, as in sometimes doing call and response, other times marking a point for teacher?
@Pharmacymusic1 They would work great together. One important note is that no matter what you choose to use, make sure you do not settle. Meaning wait for all kids to stop talking before you move on.
Coming from a younger student I wouldn't necessarily say that it's an Older Generation vs Younger Generation thing, I know many older people who use earbuds in their day to day life, it's just whenever music streaming became more accessible more people really got in touch with listening to music, I'd say for most people it's just to help them keep calm and focus at work or school
Perfect - All Unit Plans - Weekly Plans - Daily Plans written out with 100% alignment of essential questions, state standards, learning objectives, pinpointed pacing to the minute for each lesson planned flawlessly and executed with 100% student engagement and 100% actionable feedback and assessment that incorporates anticipated data into each future lesson prior to the first day of school. Mastery - Making mistakes, and identifying them. Learning from the mistakes, and Improving/Reflecting. Constantly. That's how I see it. I think there are too many mistakes to become a Master Teacher in 1-2 years. That's how I think of it. Its the top-down pressure to be perfect that can wear on teachers.
That is a great answer. There is no such thing as a perfect teacher. Even us salted veterans still fall short. Mastery on the other hand is durable. It allows for growth. I always quote that saying that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. If that is true then to become a master at teaching takes 7 to 8 years. Even then there is still so much learn and improve.
Luckily since I have been doing it so many years it is ingrained in me. But for other things I will write key words on the board just for me to make sure I cover everything.
Let us start with pay. In my district the poor pay and lack of new teachers entering the system forced them to boost very high pay for a new baby teachers without a masters degree to $60500 but they did nothing for teachers with 10,15, 20,25, or 30 years. Therefore teachers retired as I did with 26 years but many would have stayed with better pay and retirement. Thus, the experienced teachers left since they were making only about 10,000 more after 25 years and a masters. Further, many teachers cannot even buy a starter home on the money they are paid. Also, retirement pay is a joke. Second, bad, horrible, and violent behavior of students is the norm. This is backed by parents and weak admin. There is a massive problem with work ethic. Our American students are lazy and lack focus. I compare this to my time teaching in Taiwan and studying in China and Japan. In these countries you compete in a merit based system to enter the best middle, high schools, and universities in each nation. Parents drive their kids to study and behave or they are tracked into an excellent vocational program to become productive members of society. MA East Asian Studies Chinese, Fulbright Scholar Japan 2003, Fulbright Scholar China 2005.
That is awful that experienced teachers were paid only a fraction above first year teachers. That is so wrong. Regarding a starter home I could not agree more. I am concerned about my kids ability to afford a home in the upcoming years. And final regarding student behavior I could not agree more. Do you live in California? I know here in California it is almost impossible to expel kids. I believe there are like 5 major things but beyond that it is so hard to expel students.
I am a fanatic about that. I usually spend about 2-3 weeks. I share and we practice every routine possible. We go over what to do when they first come in, how to get and put away Chromebook’s, how to count their points, and any and everything else in between
Hey! Great video. So do you have any tips for a teacher who teaches history at a charter school in a zoom setting? I came into my position halfway through last school year and need new ideas for engaging in a zoom setting! Keep up the awesome content!
@xxmajorfishxx6423 Thank you for those words. To engage students during a zoom call is tough. I found that out the hard way during Covid. But I must say that during Covid I like to believe my partner teacher and myself had one of the better classes. During Covid we decided to combine zoom calls. During synchronized teaching we both would be on the zoom call. He would usually complete the lecture using Pear Deck and I would interact with the students in the chat. But what made it really good was our interaction with each other. It kinda turned into a mini podcast. Then during asynchronous time students would complete edpuzzles and record a flip grid. It will be little bit of a challenge but you can definitely rock it. Take care.
THANK YOU so much for sharing your experiences with us. First year teacher in Aug of this year and career changer, so im binge watching your videos. If you do any zoom meetings for a fee, lemme know! :)
I am so glad you are finding value in the videos. I so appreciate you watching them. Regarding zoom meetings for a fee, it is perfect timing. I started my coaching business a few months ago and I am currently running a promotion. For the next few weeks it is only $375. That would include zoom calls, support, and anything else you need to make your year great. If you are interested or just have questions send me an email at professorzest@gmail.com and I can give you more information. In the meantime just know that the first couple of years will be hard but it is worth it. You got this and keep me updated on your adventures.
AMAZING video. Im a middle aged career switcher who will teach for the 1st time in August. I know I am entering into a stress filled profession with many dificulties yet many rewards too. This video can help us through anything in life that we face. Thank you.
Thank you so much for those kind words. As you embark upon this year of you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out. Also if you need any assistance with classroom disruptions and behavior issues here is a link for my free class on classroom management. Keep me posted on how your year goes. www.professorzest.com/offers/XSTBF6vv
@@theclassroommanagementguy Thank you soo much for your support. I'm sure need help, and I'm not afraid to ask, esp from those with so much experience. Blessings to you and your family. 🙂
That is a tough one. I think the trend today is to give less homework and even no homework. There are all sorts of studies that say homework is not effective but personally I do not give much credence to those. Me personally I use homework as part of my behavior support program. If a class is on task they can earn no homework for the week. Usually my students will only have one homework packet every three weeks which only takes about 20 minutes. The reality is that getting students in my school to do work during class is a struggle so to expect them to do work on their own at home is sadly a long shot.
High School teacher here. This is actually effective. This is how I start the year. I set the rules and establish the merit system, by calling out students and giving out demerits for any broken rules. Then slowly make it more fun for them by being gracious every now and then. This way, there is mutual respect established. Classroom management is easier for the teacher and you set them up for success.
Gabriel, I’m so sorry about the position. I know you would be great but you are so right about it being in the Lord’s timing. You have an awesome perspective. One thing I’ll always remember my dad telling me was “I once was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
I am so glad you are finding value in them. I am excited you are coming back to the profession. It sounds like you have a story to tell and I bet it is an amazing story.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I am so glad you are finding them helpful. If there is anything else I can do or if there is a topic you would like me to cover please let me know.
The sad reality is that only 6% of teachers receive a full pension after 30 years. The hidden medical costs of teaching are not revealed to the teaching community. The teacher suffers from obesity, stroke, hypertension, heart attack, urinary cancers, women-related cancers, weeping edema, drug and alcohol addiction, gambling addiction, mental illness,, divorce, suicide, and death. It only takes one medical issue to destroy your sickness allowance, which could result in termination.
I love your passion and your confidence, and how you communicate with deliberate and honest intent. even though I’m not a teacher, I can definitely see how I can apply those steps to my daily life! Thank you my friend
I wish I had a good answer for you. All I know is that each state is different so you would have to do some research based upon the state you wanted to love to
1, Efficiency: Lack of EFFICIENCY is a problem with a lot of leaders. Give teachers time to improve the actual learning opportunities. Allow teachers time to tweak learning opportunities to make them better, time to find/make entirely better learning opportunities, to present learning opportunities that fit the teaching style of the teacher and learning style of the students, etc. Do not waste time with lesson plan submissions, too many grades in the gradebook, giving teachers too many preps, giving teachers too many students, giving teachers too many forms, etc. Give the teachers their time/freedom to grow and get better on their own. That is the most important thing! A lot of leaders must improve with this problem. 2, Passing along students: Too many leaders are PASSING ALONG STUDENTS if you will and do not stand their ground with grades. Because of this and for the most part, students know they are likely going to pass, so they hardly try in class, which leads to bad conduct. Too many students are lacking in key measures of college and career readiness, but yet, they are still walking across that stage their senior year. Many leaders are to blame when it comes to this issue. 3, Egos: A variety of people voice major concerns (bullying, violence, safety, bad choices, toxicity, etc.) to leaders, but the leaders have unnecessary EGOS directed to those people, which leads to quite a few major concerns being ignored and what not. For numerous cases, the leaders are at fault when it comes to major concerns.
You are so very on point. I often thought about what makes a good leader / principal and everything I have heard seen and read so far points me to this conclusion. Principals set the objective for the school. , nurtures the school climate for students and staff, and empowers and supports staff so they can reach that goal.
