The best advice I've been given, I just received - two years into my teaching career. It was to use "soft voice". After observing many of my assistants and other teachers, I noticed yelling was not only acceptable it was the primary method of discipline at our school. However, after attending a talk by Doug Lamov, I was determined to find a teacher in the building that epitomized his behavior-redirection method, which focused on quieter redirections and more positive reinforcement. After observing one of the best teachers in the building, I started really assessing my own behavior management techniques. What I realized is that quiet redirection is so infrequently a natural response, but it is in the long run FAR more effective. It also has a much greater impact on students. Rather than waiting for explosions, they learn to make the right decisions with fewer reminders. It feels to them that they are choosing the correct path instead of being told to loudly or commanded to choose a certain path. This advice in itself may be the reason I continue teaching, and I only wish there had been more of an inclusive culture at my school that this had been shared or emphasized sooner.
Head Start Teacher
Prince George's County
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