Teacher/Coach

Classroom Management Consultant

National Certified Trainer of Time toTeach

 

 

Being the child of educators, education has played a big part of my life.  Although my parents never tried to steer me into the field, I somehow always felt drawn to the profession.  My love of mathematics and sports led to a career as a high school mathematics teacher and coach of various sports. 

 

Fourteen years ago, I entered the classroom full of energy and great expectations.  I soon learned though that my classroom was not the environment that I had envisioned.  Things were happening that I had not really been prepared for.  No one had really prepared me for the possibility that my students might not be willing to follow my guidelines and willingly participate in all of my wonderfully planned lessons.  I spent a large ammount of time handling discipline issues, creating a trail of administrative referrals and other bureaucratic paperwork and stressing myself out over things that were avoidable.  I saw a need to develop my classroom management skills.  I spent countless hours contemplating and refining techniques.  Over the years, I managed to form my own techniques through combining several things that I had learned through experience as a teacher and coach, as well as experimental pedagogy.  I knew that I had become successful when I started receiving compliments on the way I was "running" my classroom from my peers and students alike. 

 

Throughout my time as a teacher, I have seen many teachers come and go.  I always wondered what made some of us "good teachers" while some of us always struggled.  It occurred to me that the problem was rarely due to a lack of content knowledge or professional knowledge.  As educators, we all well-versed in these areas.  We have completed extensive coursework in these areas, as well as taking and passing state certification exams which deal with these things.  The problems always seemed to stem from the teacher's ability to effectively communicate with the students and manage problem behaviors.  Teachers that have problems in these areas end up leaving the profession because they feel as if they are fighting a no-win battle with problem students, as well as non-supportive co-workers, adminstrators, and parents. 

 

I then took a position with the Center for Teacher Effectiveness where I became a certified classroom management trainer.  Now, I am able to help these teachers become empowered managers of their classrooms, and, in turn, I am able to help our students by improving the learning environment.  I now present the Time To Teach strategies to teachers and administrators that have a desire to improve the relationships that they have with their students and their own teaching abilities.