Well hello and welcome to the course how to nail the teacher interview. My name is Sam rang gallon. I am so excited about teaching this course. Thank you for your interest in the course. But you know most of all, thank you for making teaching your life's work. I spent 22 years as a classroom teacher and you know, just when I was finally getting good at it, I decided to become a school administrator.

Although I love what I do now, I still miss teaching. Thankfully, the internet has given me an opportunity to teach again through these online courses and I am loving it. I'm planning on creating more of these courses to share what I've learned over the years and to help teachers and future teachers be more successful in the classroom. In this course, I share what I've learned as a school administrator. In my position, I get to sit on interview panels and ask questions of prospective teachers looking to get hired. In the following sessions.

I share some valuable insights into the minds of the people on the interview panel. In this preview lesson, I just want to give you a taste of what you'll find in the rest of the course. You know, one of the questions that you might get from the interview panel is, what would I expect to find when I walk into your classroom? I've asked that question before. How would you answer that? You know, there are many great answer to that question.

You know, students working in collaborative groups, happy students, students actively participating in the lesson, etc, you know, but what you really want to show the members of the interview panel is that you want them to walk into a positive learning environment. That's key. You want the panel to know that your classroom will be a place where students feel safe and excited to learn. You know, you definitely don't want the panel to think that you're going to run your classroom like a military academy. Unless you are interviewing for a position at a military academy, you know that. That's a different story.

So how will you create a positive learning environment in your classroom? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here are 10 ways to create and maintain a positive learning environment in your classroom ready? Number one smile. I'm not a natural smiler In fact, people say that sometimes I look mad, right? Well, I found, however, that when I sense the negative energy entering my classroom, instead of getting serious, I started smile.

It was hard, you know, you kind of like fake it. But smiling has a way of putting people at ease Plus, it makes you feel better too. So smile. Number two, tell a story. Students like stories. Everybody likes stories.

You know, it's okay to pause the lesson and relate a personal And better yet a funny story about the topic you're studying. It brings the level of tension down and it puts you back in control of your classroom. Number three, brighten up the classroom literally. Open the blinds turn all the lights on I found that a dark classroom attracts negativity Number four, and this is big. Avoid complaining. Don't bring your personal problems into the classroom.

If your back hurt or if your car is in the shop or if the teacher across the hall took your stapler, keep it a secret from your students don't contribute to the negativity. Number five, find the silver lining. If the air conditioner breaks down, don't start shaking your head. Find something positive to say about it. everybody already knows how bad it is. Be the one to remind them of the positive.

You know, well, at least that's going to save the district money on the electricity. I know that's a bad example. But you get the idea. Number six, don't yell. Don't Yeah, the best way to destroy a positive environment is for you to let your emotion get the best of you and start yelling at a student or the class. You can't bring those positive feelings back after you've gone off on the kids.

You can tell all the funny stories you want, but you won't be able to disperse the cloud of negativity in the room that's created when you lose your temper. Number seven, be prepared. Be prepared in my eighth grade class. If I tried to wing it during the lesson, I would more times than not find myself working extra hard to keep that positive feeling. Keeping the students engaged, makes keeping the positive environment easier. Not as I said easier, not easy.

Number eight, discipline quietly and respectfully. This is another one of those big ones. If you have a student is trying to take the attention away from you. And you have to give him or her a consequence. The whole make a big deal about it. Don't disrespect Johnny in front of his classmates.

I understand that sometime the teacher has to make an example of a student to teach a grid lesson to the class and re establish you know your authority. I get that, but it needs to be done respectfully. If possible, call the student up to your desk or have him or her meet you outside, never yell or humiliate a student. It's tough to discipline a student and keep the positive environment, but it's possible. The key is showing the student respect, even if his actions totally disrespect you. Number nine, compliment the students.

Everybody likes compliments compliments make us smile. We can be having the worst day ever and someone can come and tell us how they like our shirt or tie or haircut. And for that moment, we forget about what's ruining our day, right? Start the class off by welcoming students as they come in the door by saying stuff like, you know, I like your binder, or I like that shirt. Did you get a haircut looks good. Keep track of what the students tell you about the lives.

And in the middle of the lesson. Pretend you just remember something and say things like hey, Johnny, didn't you just get a baby sister? Congratulations. Compliments just have a way of attracting those good feelings back into the room. Number two laugh with the students. Don't be afraid to laugh at the kids.

They are funny. They do funny things. They say funny things. If it's funny laugh, even if it's not funny, but they think it's funny laugh. If you make a mistake, laugh about it. Let them laugh at you.

After a few seconds, just say, Okay, that was funny. Now let's get back to the lesson. If yelling destroys the positive environment, laughing has the opposite effect. All right, there you have it a few ideas on how to create and maintain a positive learning environment in the classroom. I have so many more valuable lessons in the next few sessions. I want to help you nail that teacher interview.

So thank you again for interest in the course. I will see you in class. All right. Talk to you later.