Here’s how I responded to the Nancy the Enabler.  I first took a deep breath.  Ok, I took about 5 deep breaths, and prayed a short prayer called, “Lord help me not strangle this woman.”  Then I told her in the calmest voice I could muster, “Your child needs to remember to get his work done without my prodding.  He had the test on his desk all day as a reminder that it needed to be completed.”  

She didn’t like that answer.  So she asked again if I would reconsider.  Well, since you asked again a second time, I guess I’ll change my answer (I hope you caught the sarcasm).  So I elaborated, “I wouldn’t feel right about giving him more time to complete his test since he had it on his desk all day, and that’s plenty of time to finish his test.”

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Don’t you just love how parents like to have important meetings at the spur of the moment? You know, like you’re prepared for anything and have all the answers without preparation for their questions? Well that’s what happened to me today.

Here’s a little back story before I tell you about the Enabling Mom.  One of my students didn’t finish his math assessment yesterday.  We took the assessment in the morning and he was the last student still working on his test, so I told him he could have the rest of the day to finish it during his free time.  Long story short, the kid didn’t finish his assessment because he chose to do “fun” things instead during his free time.  At the end of the day, I collected his test, graded it, and he received a 50%.  

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One of my students shared a cute story with me today, which prompted me to ask a silly question.  The student’s response to me was ADORABLE. Here’s what happened.

We are nearing our standardized testing.  I don’t know about you, but many of my students get really stressed at testing time.  Here are a few tips I share with my kiddos to help ease test anxiety:

• Pray –  I work at a Christian school, so I encourage students to spend time talking to God and asking for Him to calm their nerves. 
• Practice Positive Self-Talk – Telling yourself “I can do this” and “I am smart” are ways to help boost confidence during test taking.
• Take calm, deep breaths
• Believe you can do well
• Be prepared – have all the supplies you need readily at your desk
• Don’t let yourself get distracted

Hopefully this will help your anxiety-filled students to perform at their best.  Happy standardized testing everyone!

I am a firm believer in consistency. Consistency with your students is fair and every one of your students knows what the rules are, and what the consequence is for breaking the rules.

Even though I’m consistent, there’s another aspect about giving consequences that I take into consideration every time.  Grace.  Some students need to be shown grace.  Let me give you an example of what I mean:

The other day I was in the staff room on my lunch break.  Another teacher walked in and informed me that three of my students were messing around in the bathroom by crawling under the stalls. 

I have another great story to share with you about something silly one of my students said to me.

I happened to be wearing some earrings that I purchased in Costa Rica.  They are pink and look like dangling flower petals, but are made out of thin shells.

Towards the end of the day, one of my students raised her hand and asked, “Can I touch your earrings?  I’ve been dying to touch them all day!”