April 27, 2026
Each stop is quick, practical, and ready to use in your classroom right away.
🧠 Adolescent Psychology
Adolescents constantly read adults for signs of authenticity. They’re always asking — consciously or subconsciously — “Does this person actually care about me?”
All humans equate “I care about you” with time spent. Adolescents are no different, and they’ve learned to trust time spent — especially time spent voluntarily — as a sign that the adults in their lives care about them.
🚶 Instruction
I was telling a teacher this morning that if I could give one piece of advice to a new teacher, it would be this: Spend as little time in your chair as possible.
It’s pretty typical for a teacher to teach and then turn the kids loose on an assignment. And that’s understandable, because the paperwork burden on teachers has never been higher (and sometimes you need to sit down and get it done, so no judgment for those moments). But every moment the teacher spends with a student builds the student/teacher relationship.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Circulate through, asking how the work is going. And how their weekend was. Stop and talk for a minute. Being there with the kids (especially when they know you don’t have to be) will show them you care.
📋 Technology
The best tools for circulating allow you to record what you see without sending you back to your desk. In my classroom, I started with a clipboard with a copy of my seating chart on it. That allowed me to make notes on what to follow up on later. Later, I often used an iPad to fill the same function (but with the added ability to access the internet). A digital pen (like a Logitech Crayon or Apple Pencil) makes an iPad much more useful.
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