Decision

I've watched some of the Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) videos on YouTube and have read teacher blogs and forum posts about it for a couple of years. I was interested, but this year I am determined to give it a try. What attracts me most to WBT is the high level of student involvement with the lessons and that the students seem to be having so much fun. It's not that I had a bad year--far from it. It's that I agree with the author's statement that in teaching we must grow or die. In other words, we must not settle for good when better is possible. To do that is giving up and stagnating, and ultimately losing the passion for teaching.

I'm most worried about the Scoreboard. I tried something similar with my very first class. First-graders can be a tough group. ;-) I didn't find that it worked well and quickly dropped it. Of course, I didn't know then about the WBT enhancements like never allowing more than a 3-point difference in positive and negative points or introducing the WBT levels. I hope with these enhancements that I find it much more effective.

I downloaded the manual and have read about half of it. I got so into it that I created my own rules posters to go along with the program. I am a little worried about parents' reaction to the rule: Keep your dear teacher happy. I  think when I send home my behavior plan, I'll explain that I'm using a research-based program called "Whole Brain Teaching" used in classrooms across the nation. In other words, I'll deflect all blame. ;-)