Teachers Aid

While some educators see cell phones and digital devices as distractions and sources of attention deficit, others say these are wonderful, undervalued teaching tools. Do we need to suppress the use of cell phones in classrooms or bring today's teachers up to speed on how to teach with this new tool? Greg Graham is the author of, "Cell Phones in the Classroom? No, Students Need to Pay Attention." Liz Kolb is a clinical assistant professor at The University of Michigan and authored "Cell Phones in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for the K-12 Educator." Lisa Nielsen,award-winning blogger and author of "Teaching Generation Text," is a long time public school educator.

Well, conference season is upon us, but in these challenging financial times many are finding it increasingly difficult to justify the expense. Are conferences still viable and, if so, how do we make the most of attending conferences? Our guests share some useful insights and practical tips. Rae Pica with Sandra Giarde, Executive Director, California Association for the Education of Young Children; Suzanne Gellens, Executive Director of the Florida AEYC; and Kimberly Tice, Executive Director of the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC).

In this final part of our series on dealing with a generation of students who feel entitled to good grades and special treatment, we're told that apparently it's possible for teachers to contribute to the problem. In this segment we talk about how to avoid enabling the entitlement mentality in students, parents and yes administrators. Dr. Stephen Lippman ia a Sociology Faculty Member at Miami University. Tracy E. Zinn, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at James Madison University. She conducts research on student entitlement, procedural justice in the classroom. Vicki Davis is a teacher and author the book Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds. Levi X is has been teaching for 18-years and is currently teaching 4th grade.

In addition to dealing with a generation of students who feel entitled to good grades and special treatment, teachers are often finding they have to deal with parents who feel equally entitled. How do savvy teachers handle parents in the age of entitlement? Dr. Mari Cortez is co-autho of Parents as Partners in Education. Karen Deerwester is the owner of Family Time Coaching & Consulting, as well as the Mommy & Me director. She is the author of The Entitlement-Free Child. Nancy Flanagan is a retired teacher, with 31 years as a K-12 Music specialist. She is co-founder of the Network of Michigan Educators.

Decades of telling children that they are special has engendered a generation of students who feel entitled to good grades and special treatment without being encumbered by the need to earn them. The fall out creates many challenges for teachers who must deal with this sense of entitlement is their classrooms. Our guests offer, perspective, practical insights and solutions. Robert J. MacKenzie, Ed.D., is an educational psychologist and founder of the Setting Limits program. Jean M. Twenge is Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and the author of Generation Me, The Narcissism Epidemic. Steve Reifman is a National Board Certified elementary school teacher and author of Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K-8. Jon has been a public school teacher for the past 15 years and has taught grades 3rd-8th.

You know the student we're talking about. Yes, the one who regularly makes you want to consider a new career. Dealing with difficult students has always been a part of teaching, but with all the new demands, many teachers are feeling more challenged in this area than ever before. Our guests offer proven strategies that can make a difference immediately. Sheryl K. Pruitt, M.Ed., ET/P, is the Clinical Director of Parkaire Consultants, a clinic she founded to serve neurologically impaired individuals. She is the Co-author of Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers. Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. is the author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School and he is Associate Clinical Professor, at Harvard Medical School. He is also founding director of the non-profit, Lives in the Balance, through which he provides free, web-based resources on Collaborative Problem Solving.

The definition of child abuse varies from state to state, as do the laws regarding abuse. The problem of understanding and meeting your mandated requirements as an educator is further complicated by the fact that policies regarding child abuse tend to change as well. Here are the basics you need to know. Jody Martin has worked over 20 years in the early childhood field, she taught preschool and directed a Children's World Learning Center. James M. Hmurovich is the President & CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America and was the Indiana State Welfare Director. Dr. David Bloomfield is Professor of Education Leadership, Law, and Policy at Brooklyn College and the City University of NY Graduate Center.

Why do young children who don't bite at home come to preschool or day care and suddenly mimic carnivores? Our guest explain why young children bite, how to talk to parents about the problem and how to minimize the occurrences. Susan Campbell was a Principal Investigator on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and author of Behavior Problems in Preschool Children: Clinical and Developmental Issues. Gretchen Kinnell is the author of No Biting:Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs. Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed.,over 20 years experience in the field of early childhood education as a teacher, director, curriculum writer.

Children and classrooms gone wild. It's an early childhood teacher's nightmare. Most agree that it's superior to have children with good self-control, versus having to consistently and persistently manage a child's behavior. In this segment our guests offer proven strategies to help you create the best kind of control in your classroom -- self-control. Ellen Galinsky, President and Co-Founder of Families and Work Institute (FWI) and author of more than 40 books and reports. Author Sandra Aamodt, Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, joined Nature Neuroscience, a leading scientific journal in the field of brain research. Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed., over 20 years in the field of early childhood education.

"If students aren't learning the way we're teaching, we need to teach the way children learn," says our guest. However, learning difficulties can make this wisdom challenging to apply. In this segment our guests give practical guidance for teaching students with learning difficulties. Susan Winebrenner is the author, Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Ann S. Epstein, Ph.D., is Senior Director of Curriculum Development of HighScope Educational Research Foundation. Second grade teacher, Erin Klein has her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and is the technology co-chairperson for the Michigan Reading Association, a national A Plus Workshop Presenter, SMART Technologies Exemplary Educator, and award-winning EduTech Blogger at Kleinspiration.com.

The cost of teaching has gone up as teachers are increasingly having to pay for teaching supplies and teaching tools out of their own pockets. Tight budgets are largely to blame but what can teachers do now to bridge the funding gap without taking on the financial burden. Dan Domenech is executive director of the American Association of School Administrator. Sabrina Stevens currently leads the Voices from the Classroom project at the American Federation of Teachers. Heather Wolpert-Gawron is an award-winning middle school teacher in Los Angeles. She has authored workbooks on teaching Internet Literacy. Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed., over 20 years experience in the field of early childhood education as a teacher, director, curriculum writer.

Starting a new school year is both exciting and challenging. Taking the right actions can help you get off to a great start. Our guest offer a few great do's and don'ts to help you put your new class of students on the right track. For over 30 years Dr. Fred Jones has studied highly successful teachers - the "naturals" - to see how they make success look easy and the author of, "Tools for Teaching." Nancy Flanagan is a retired teacher, with 31 years as a K-12 Music specialist in the Hartland, Michigan schools. She was named Michigan Teacher of the Year (1993) Flanagan is co-founder of the Network of Michigan Educators and her blog, Teacher in a Strange Land, is featured on Education Week's Teacher division.