New teachers, especially those on emergency permits, frequently find that college didn't tell them everything they needed to know about classroom management. For those whose classroom management skills need an upgrade, CTA can offer a helping hand through its "I Can Do It!" training program. So far, hundreds of teachers have discovered that the "can-do" spirit can help them run their classrooms more effectively.
The program grew out of a San Bernardino County brainstorming session that took place in 1996 between the district superintendents and the presidents of CTA chapters in those districts. The groups came together through the efforts of the San Bernardino County Community Coalition, a group dedicated to fostering quality public education. CTA agreed to develop a one-day training module on classroom management. The school districts agreed to support its presentation.
Since it was first introduced in the 1996-97 school year, the original cadre of 32 teacher-trainers has been expanded to more than 200 around the state.
The training is designed to be used with new K-12 teachers during their first five years of teaching. A minimum of two trainers, one with experience at the elementary level and another with experience at the secondary level, present each workshop.
Included in the curriculum is information on communication or learning styles, intervention techniques for difficult behavior patterns, hints to create smoothly flowing lessons, tools to begin building positive parent/teacher relationships and an opportunity to link with a partner for future support.
For a list of regional contact names and numbers, visit CTA's Web page [www.cta.org].