9. March 2011 by Farhana N. Shah.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Nepal as a U.S. Speaker and Specialist, a program funded by U.S. Department of State. It was truly a privilege to share my knowledge and expertise as a Staff Development Teacher globally. The itinerary included travel to three cities and training teachers of various demographics. It was rejuvenating to network with teachers who were eager for new information. The hospitality and warmth was overwhelming; this is not something we encounter much in the States. An honor I received was to train ten teachers who were hand-selected by U.S. English Language Diplomats for a U.S. State Department project called, ACCESS. This program has gained popularity in Asia and Africa currently. It aims to provide English Language skills to disadvantaged youth. I also had a chance to facilitate two sessions at an international conference held for teachers of English Language. Other engagements involved speaking to middle and high school students about importance of education, U.S. public school system, and community service. A fun event was a last minute engagement, being interviewed by a youth panel on national television. I was also invited to a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy; I networked with the Diplomats, Fulbright Scholars, and English Language Fellows. All of these events were planned by the U.S. Embassy in Nepal. While it was stressful planning for the presentations- especially, not knowing much about the audience- it was a humbling experience! Finally, I was invited to the U.S. Embassy on my last day to meet the person who heads the program and he said, “We’ve received excellent reports about you”- this really sounded nice after all the stress. 
Oh, yeah, I did get one day off so instead of shopping, I chose to take a flight over the Himalayas (Mt. Everest). 

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5. June 2010 by Farhana N. Shah.

There are four things to keep in mind when thinking about successful leadership within a school facility.  First of all, every staff member must know that it is ALWAYS about the students ALL the time.  Also, teachers and staff should be aware of the vision of the school and make sure every decision made about instruction is aligned and consistently followed through.  Leadership members need to make a concerted effort to make sure that expectations are clear, concise, and HEARD by everyone in the building.  Also, when hiring new staff members, it is important to make sure their vision matches the school’s vision. Finally, and importantly, EVERYONE is held accountable.

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19. January 2010 by Farhana N. Shah.

Classroom management is considered to be one of the most challenging skills to master as a teacher. This is one of the main reasons why new teachers leave the profession all together.

You may wonder why? Reason being, there really is no proven method or best practice; however, individual teachers try various ways to cajole students into behaving. One way is using a reward system. Unfortunately, it may not always work.

As an educator who has taught in the classroom for eight years, I have found that consistency with follow-up to established consequences to be the most effective. Just like we teach our biological children with patience and lots of modeling, we must understand that our students at school demand the same of us. We need to teach and model what good behavior is- we cannot just mouth it and expect our students to know it. It also takes time and practice for students to be able to respect and adhere to the polices and procedures of a classroom. Of course, there will always be cases in which intervention beyond the classroom teacher is required, but these cases are usually a small percentage.

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19. January 2010 by Farhana N. Shah.

These are bullet points from the article below:

Moving Beyond the Classroom: The Growing Role of Teacher Leaders

• first area is to understand how to build positive relationships among the adults in the school.
• Make the decision to distribute power and authority.
• Alfie Kohn said, “ people don’t resist change. They resist “being” changed”.
• Most powerful cooperation comes from real bonding between the individuals in a community.
• Community/parent outreach is incredibly powerful role.
• Best transformational work is done by modeling and gentle encouragement.
• To be effective: competent, credible, and approachable.
• Providing time for teachers to collaborate, coach, professionally grow? This means extending school year, funding substitutes, block schedule, etc.
• Teaching is not done by recipe, requires professionals who make day to day decisions in their classrooms.
• Leadership lies in the collective power of committed professionals to influence within and beyond the schools.
• Encourage reflection through journaling.
• Practitioner research transformative practice.
• Peer education to involve students.
• Give kids ownership of problems and have them solve it.
• Build relationships with peers and gain trust. It takes time and effort. Involve a veteran teacher in other class visits, attend professional conference, find something good to complement on. See student data of her class and use for instructional planning. Introduce self. Staff needs assessment. Build an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.

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19. January 2010 by Farhana N. Shah.

Research says high expectations and building a sincere relationship with students is one of the keys to student achievement. As a teacher, I do believe this; however, we know it isn’t always reality. We will always encounter students who choose not to be successful, no matter how fair or caring a teacher behaves. While, we can’t change the things not in our control, we should always strive to be the best educators we can be.

Teachers tend to form expectations of students early in the year, mostly based on articulations and students’ performance. Marzano believes, “as human beings, we cannot be expected to have a natural affinity for every student in class. However, we can be expected to behave in a way that communicates care and concern equally for every student.” He also suggests steps for self-analysis and reflection in order to establish successful teacher student relationship in the classroom:

1. Consciously engage in behavior such as smiling and looking interested.
2. Let students know your expectation level and make sure to determine if you are not biased because of ethnicity or socio-economic status.
3. Make sure to let low-performing students know that they are valued and respected.

Having Peer Visits and seeking assistance from Staff Development Teachers, along with constant (daily) reflection are some ways to continually assess student teacher interactions. Hopefully, this can slowly pave the way to reach those students who tend to slip through the cracks.

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