Project Poster 2 or put it up as a wall chart. Here are your scripted notes:

Poster 2 - Rule 1

“Now, let’s talk about this red poster. It’s a very important one because it tells you how you will be learning this year, both in terms of metacognition and also in terms of Social Emotional Learning.”

“Does anyone remember what the terms metacognition or Social Emotional Learning mean?” (Discuss. Impress on them the importance of knowing what these words mean for their grades.)

“Also, besides understanding what those words mean, you have to be able to explain them to others. And you also have to be able to explain all the points made in these posters to others.”

“[Jenny], can you read Point 1 out for us?” (She reads it out.)

“Thank you, [Jenny]!”

“Now first, let’s talk about what a “standard” is. Basically, it’s the goal of a class. Each of the classes you are taking in school this year has a goal. For example, in Chemistry the goal, the standard, might be something like “the student knows how to use the periodic table”. In Algebra, the goal of the class - its “standard” - might be that by the end of the class the student knows how to solve equations and to understand the concept of mathematical functions.”

“Now, you have to understand that every single Chemistry and Algebra and World Language teacher, not just in our school but in all schools throughout the state, has to teach to the standard, to the goal of that particular class.”

“I’m sure that all your teachers in all your other classes explain to you what the standard in their classes is, so that you know what the goal of the class is. So, I think that it is very important that you all know that the goal in our language class is communication in the [name of language] language.”

“What did [Jenny] just say is the goal (the Standard) in our language class this year?”

“That’s right! It’s Communication. Hmmm... walk around with your hand on your chin like you are thinking about that. Now ask, “Class, what do you think Communication is?”

Ask them to get into groups and discuss what they think Communication is. When the discussion dies down, ask for feedback. Ask them how they thought the communication went in their groups. Remind them that this is a metacognitive discussion.

Now say:

“OK, now we know that the standard in this class is Communication. That’s important.”

“What’s the title of this poster again? Yes, it’s Students Who Get an A or B in This Class Can Say...”

“So, in order for you to better understand what communication is, let’s go to this website to find out:

https://www.actfl.org/resources/world-readiness-standards-learning-languages/ standards-summary

When you are at that link, do the following:

First, explain what the acronym ACTFL stands for. Explain that it is the national parent organization of all language teachers in the United States and that you have to do what they say.

Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and have them read the quote at the bottom right of the page in green. Have them discuss that quote if you wish. The quotes change in that space on this page, but they are always beautiful and language students should read and reflect on them.”

Now scroll up and have them read the “Statement of Philosophy” and discuss that if you wish.

Next, scroll further up the page and have them quietly read the five Cs.

Now explain to them that the one that “really counts” in your classroom is the top one of Communication. Say:

“The only truly important one in this class is the Communication Standard. It is the one rule to rule them all, if you will.”

Here is the Tolkien quote if you want to show off your knowledge of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which some students might appreciate, especially if you read it in a tolkienesque way: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them; In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie...”. (Act as if you had it memorized for extra points with the students.)

Then ask:

“What is the one ring to rule them all in [name of language] class this year? That’s right! Communication!”

Now continue explaining Point 1 in Poster 2, using the script:

“So what we are going to do with the time given us in this class this year is to try to learn to communicate as best we can in [name of language]. Just know that it takes a really long time, many years really, to learn how to communicate in another language, and so we are going to make communication our #1 priority in this class. The more time we spend communicating in [name of language] this year, the more [name of language] you will learn.”

“And that is not just because it is the Standard, and I have to teach for communication because I don’t want to lose my job, but it’s also the way people learn languages.... So as long as we are following the standard you know that you will be taught in the right way this year.”

“We’re certainly not going to memorize lists of words. That doesn’t help you. You can’t learn anything when you memorize a list of colors or numbers or rooms in a house. Why do you think that is true?”

Put them in groups to discuss if you wish. If you do that, the smaller groups then share with the big group. Then tell them: “The basic point here is that you can’t learn a language from a list of individual words

because human beings need other words around those words to actually learn them.”

Read that sentence two, even three times.

“OK, so when we learn a language by paying attention to the words that are around other words, that is called learning in context. What is learning in context?” (They tell you.)

“Let’s think about that for a minute. Like right now, if I were using single words to communicate with you, how do you think that would work for us? Think about that. Would it work? Now please get into groups of two.”

Once they are in groups of two, tell them:

“Are you ready? OK! Now talk with your partner, but you only get to say one word at a time. Try it!” They discuss in groups of two - this should be a humorous activity.

“Do you all agree that I’m right on that point? I mean, if you were to fly to [name of a country where the language you teach is spoken] right now and you stood on a sidewalk and started listing off all the colors in perfect [name of language], would that be communication with the people who lived there?” Model doing that. They answer no.

“Do you all see how the discussion we are having right now is a metacognitive discus- sion? It’s because we are talking about how we are going to learn [name of language] this year - what we have to do to learn it.”

“OK, so we’re going to learn [name of language] according to how people really learn languages - by using the language in class in context. Can someone remind us what context is?” Someone states the definition of context again as “when there are words around other words, so we can understand”.

“Since the Communication Standard is the main focus of our work in this classroom through all four years of our program here at [name of Middle/High School], we will be working hard on how to communicate.”

“But before we do that, let’s talk about the other words on this web page that start with C for a few minutes. They are important too, just not as important as the “one standard to rule them all of Communication...”.

If the students ask you why the other four ”Cs” are not as important, tell them this:

“It is because, if you read them and think about them, these other words starting in C are much harder to accomplish in a regular physical classroom like the one we are in. They are for later, and can be accomplished much easier once you can in fact communicate in [name of language].”

“Now let’s talk about the second C. It’s the “Cultures” one. Let’s read that. [Jason], can you read that out for us?” [Jason reads it out].

“Thank you, [Jason]! Basically, what that says is that the language is necessary if you want to get to know the culture. Do you all see how that is true? One could say that the language is the key that you need to unlock the door to the culture and all the wonderful things in it, right?”

“OK let’s move on to the third C, the Connections one. [Albert], will you read that one to us please?” He reads it out.

“Thank you, Albert! So, what do you think this part of the Standard is about? Please get into groups and discuss.”

Give them enough time now to visit and decompress before going on. Of course, you make the decisions about putting them into discussion groups. Some classes don’t deserve the privilege - that is all up to you. It helps to give brain breaks in groups like this from time to time while working with the posters. They encourage metacognitive discussion and build community.

You may want to stop here and continue on with this poster on another day because it’s already a lot. Don’t overload them. You have all semester to go over these posters.

“Now, for me, the important sentence here is the one where it says ‘Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.’ Let’s talk about that for a moment. What this says to me is that when we learn a language, we should also become aware of all the different and diverse points of view that can exist in a country.”

“For example, there are [29/20] countries in the world that speak [French/Spanish] and they are all different! And yet they are all tied together by one thing: the language!

And so we call those countries the [francophone/hispanic, etc.] world. Those are cool words, francophone, hispanic, etc. And now you know what they mean!”

“Knowing another language can make you smarter about your own language, because all languages are in some way interrelated. You always get higher scores on vocabulary tests in your own language if you know another language, because there is an overlap between languages, and I will talk about that later in this class this year.”

“Anyway, the words that stand out to me here in the Connections Standard are the words diverse perspectives. Please get back into groups and discuss what that might mean to you.” If you allow them to get into groups, use this opportunity to walk around and encourage them...

“Ok what did you come up with? (They report back to the big group.)

“I liked what you were saying in some of your groups! You can see how this Connections Standard is an important one because it talks about how people have such diverse perspectives, because they are from so many different countries and they may not always agree on things but, if they share a common language, it greatly increases communication between them, which could in some cases even prevent a war!”

“There is a quote from Nelson Mandela:” (Tell them who he was.)

“Here’s the quote: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.’ This quote is so beautiful that it’s been repeated many times.”

“That term diverse perspectives here in this standard might lead us to appreciate how important it is to respect and understand just how the cultures of other people are different. We can use our knowledge of the language as a kind of ‘glue’ between the various different cultures. People who share the same language get along better!”

“That would lead to a kind of unity in diversity. What do you think that expression might mean? Write that term on the board and they discuss. We all know that we are the strongest nation on earth precisely because we are such a diverse nation, kind of a nation that is a microcosm of the entire world. We are not monochromatic.” [Write those terms on the board and explain.]

“Isn’t it fun to learn new words in any language, words like francophone and microcosm and monochromatic? Do you see how I am using them in context like we talked about earlier? They have to have other words around them to make sense. If I said “monochromatic” without any words around it, it wouldn’t work, right? You wouldn’t know what the message was! That is how we are going to learn [name of language] - in context with other words, and not all by themselves.”

“This third of the five Cs of the national standard is a good one! It’s because we are such a diverse country and we need to get along with each other and with our neighbors. Like right now, people who speak Russian and know its culture are really needed to fill jobs in the U.S. Government. We can’t solve problems with our enemies unless we can talk to them in their own language, right?”

“It makes me think that the Connections part of the Standard can help us understand how healthy cultural unity, that is, a strong America that gets along with each other and with our neighbors, is connected to knowing another language.”

“So, we can see that in this class, you are not just learning another language and that’s it; in reality, you are learning how to help the world. Language helps us strive for unity in diversity! We are a great country because we are a diverse country.”

“If you are trying to learn French, you are showing cultural respect to the people of the francophone countries in the world, those 29 countries that speak French.”

“Likewise, if you are trying to learn Spanish, you are showing cultural respect to the people of the hispanic countries in the world, those 20 countries that speak Spanish.”

“Showing respect to people from other countries is an important part of who we are as Americans, because we wouldn’t be the strongest country on earth without our diverse population.” (Write on the board the term, “Unity in diversity”.)

[If you are in a Christian school - and only in that case, obviously - you might wish to play parts of the following conversation to your students and even then, probably only with upperclassmen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZzwvwzDWNs

There is a very nice passage that starts at 15:00 and goes to about 17:00 minutes. There are good insights into cultural unity throughout the video. There is a good point made about healthy cultural diversity at 48:25.]

“Now, let’s go deeper into what it means to communicate and study a language by going to the fourth C: [Janelle], would you mind reading that one to us?” Janelle reads the one about Comparisons.

Then say:

“This one is very much like what we’ve been discussing, isn’t it? The second part of it that [Janelle] read describes how learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.”

“Since we already discussed that idea, the idea that language helps us understand other cultures, we can leave this one and go to the last C. Can someone read it?” (Someone reads it.)

Then say:

“The part of this one that I like the best is where it talks about lifelong learning and how learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement. This one is really cool.”

“This is why I do not require that you memorize stuff and stress about any aspect of this class. All you have to do is sit there and enjoy listening to and understanding [name of language]. I want [name of language] to become a lifelong adventure for you and if I made the class all about memorizing and lots of big testing and stuff like that it would go against what I want for you about becoming a lifelong learner of [name of language].”

“Don’t forget that it is my job to make sure that you understand. If you don’t understand, then it’s me that’s messing up. I want you to enjoy studying [name of language] and I consider that my main job in here.”

“And it really does take a long time to learn a language. Think about how long it took you to learn English or whatever your first language was. It took years and years and then you were hearing it all the time, every day all day! And you weren’t really studying it, you were just hearing it and understanding it!”

“So, we just don’t have time to learn it in the time we have here in school, even if you take all four years, which I hope you stay with me for all four years so you can really learn a lot!” (It is important to keep planting that seed in their minds to want to stay in your program the entire way.)

“Here are the facts:

“Even if you study the language for all four years with me, you will still be language toddlers at the end of that time. It is generally accepted in the research on how people learn languages that speaking them requires many thousands of hours of listening and reading in order to bear the fruit that we call speech and writing.”

“An accepted number in the research to gain minimal mastery is from 8,000-10,000 hours for modern languages and 24,000 hours for languages like Mandarin Chinese.”

“Yet, the amount of time that I have to teach you in a four-year high school program is about 500 hours total over the four years. That’s 1/20th or only 5% of the time we need even if we use every minute available to us. For Mandarin it is only 2% of the time needed.” (It will help them get the point if you write those numbers on the board.)

“We will talk about how you will be graded in this class on another day, and you will want to be here for that discussion, because it is very important that you and your parents know exactly how you will be graded.”

“So, now we have gone over the 5 Cs and especially that very important Communica- tion Standard, let’s move on to discuss Point 2 on the red poster.”

Obviously, you would want to take a break here before going on. You just did something few language teachers do - you talked about the ACTFL standards with your class!

Poster 2 - Point 2

“Here’s what Point 2 says. [Latoya], will you read it?”

Project the poster again or if you have it in poster form on the wall of your classroom, point to Point 2 as Latoya reads it.

“Now this is an interesting one. Let me explain to you about the arm and hand gestures, so you can explain them to your parents when they ask you about your grade in this class.”

“There are 3 ‘Modes of Communication’ in ACTFL. What does ACTFL stand for? ...... The American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages, that governing body that I mentioned earlier - the one where I have to teach what they say.”

“What do you think a “Mode of Communication” even is?” Discuss in the big group, then you say: “That’s right, it’s just a way human beings use to communicate with each other. And the modes of communication that I want you to know about for this class are:

1. The Interpretive Mode – put your hands out in front of you and draw them in to yourself. This means that you can understand/comprehend/interpret what you hear or read in your class.

2. The Interpersonal Mode – put your hands to your sides near your shoulders and cross them back and forth in front of you. This means that the Communication Standard requires back and forth sharing of ideas, since the language can only be learned if both you and I are negotiating shared meaning.”

Write that expression on the board.

“What do you think this expression means? It is a really important idea in our class about how we will spend our time together in class this year. Discuss with them the idea of negotiating meaning....

3. The Presentational Mode – put your hands close to your chest and move them outward, in the opposite motion of the Interpretive mode. This describes speaking and writing, which I don’t grade you on this year because you are just starting out with [name of language] and you already know how long it takes to learn how to speak and write in another language.”

Poster 2 - Point 3

Have someone read it. Then continue:

“Now that we have discussed what Communication is and what the Three Modes of Communication are, I would like to ask you to get into groups of 2 or 3 now.” Once they are in their groups, ask them to do this activity:

“First, please practice explaining the three modes to each other with words only. After that use your arms and hand motions to explain it to each other. I want you to be able to do that if anyone asks you how you are learning [name of language] this year and why you got the grade you did. So go ahead and do that until everyone has had a turn. Don’t forget to explain that you learn the presentational skills last.”

Wait until that activity loses energy, then:

“Now I want you to talk in your groups about which of the three modes you think is the most important of the three modes for this class this year.”

After a few minutes, invite feedback on what they think the most important mode of communication is. Then say:

“Well thank you for your thoughts. I think we could all agree that the Presentational Skill is by far the least important, right? It is because when we learn our first language, we can’t present (speak or write) on anything until we first understand it when it is spoken to us and when we can read it. Think about that. I’ll read it again [read the underlined part again]. Is that true?” Give them time to think about this point, since it is such a big point.

Then say:

“...and of course, the Interpretive Mode is good, because it means you can understand what you hear and read, but robots and computers can do that. You can feed them information, and they can ‘understand’ it, but they don’t really respond in a human way.”

“So, the Presentational and Interpretive modes are not the most important ones. And that leaves the Interpersonal Mode as the one we really want to focus on and understand in our class this year. Are there any questions up to here? Do you see why the Interpersonal Skill is the most important one?”

Take any questions at this point and make sure they all understand these points. Then say:

“We are not robots, but people, and so we need that interpersonal back-and-forth exchanging of words and eye contact to make real Communication possible. If you think about it, good communication with others is just about the most important thing there is!”

At this point you may want to sit down in an empty desk and look up to the front of the room at where you stand and look attentively there and take your right finger and draw a line in the air from your eyes back and forth to where you stand and say:

“This is the kind of interpersonal communication that I am going to be looking for in each of you in class this year. It’s the most important thing. It may seem odd, but in this class it’s what your grade is all about.”

“But don’t try to fake listening to me. It won’t work, just like you can tell when you are with your friends if they are listening to you or not.”

“And later on, when we get into the details of how you will be graded in this class this year, you will understand that half of your grade in each grading period this year will be based on how well you do the Interpersonal Skill. That means how well you interact with me to clarify and negotiate meaning, express lack of understanding, make eye contact, show me that you are trying to understand, etc.”

“Interacting with your teachers in your other classes may not be as important as in this class. It is very important in here because it is a language class. It’s the most important thing in this class in terms of your grade!”

“If you want to do better in this class, you should practice your interpersonal skills when you are with your friends at the lunch table, or anywhere else you can find where people are interacting with each other using words and making eye contact.”

“Try really listening with the intent to understand what they are saying. Try that. It’s a skill that you need to practice. That’s why we are taking the time to discuss it right now.”

“Some of you are doing a pretty good job of making me know that you are listening in the way you need to get an A in this class. I’m actually grading you right now, looking around the room to see who is with me the most, who is listening for real, to try to understand what I am saying.”

“I’m always grading you in this class and I will explain how that works later.”

Tell them to again get into groups to discuss and to have a conversation about anything and to practice doing the best listening and interpersonal communication that they can. Doing this will help them get this message that is so critical to the successful functioning of your classroom.

You may want to take a group that is communicating well and shine the spotlight on them and let the others see what good verbal communication looks like. There will be laughter here as well, and laughter is always a good community builder.

When they get back into the big group, ask them how well they think that the others listened to them in their smaller groups.

Poster 2 - Point 4

Have someone read it.

“So, this fourth point in Poster 2 is about input vs. output. Can anyone guess what those two words might mean?” Write on the board:

1. Input = listening and reading (this is an interpretive skill) Output = speaking and writing (this is a presentational skill)
2. Listening leads to speaking later. (output) Reading leads to writing later. (output)
3. Input leads to output later.

“So, you need to listen a lot before you can speak, and you need to read a lot before you can write. Do you get that? It’s not the other way around. Does everyone get that? You don’t speak and write first.”

“That’s why we don’t focus on output in this level of study. You don’t have enough input right now to do that.”

And so, can you now understand why we will do a lot more listening and reading in level 1 this year? Do you understand why? It’s because I want to make it as easy as possible for you to get an A in the class!”

“Later, when you are a lot better at [name of language] than you are now, you will be speaking and writing a lot more. I’m talking about in levels 3 and 4 of your study of [name of language].”

“For some of you who are fast processors of language you might start speaking in [name of language] at level 2, or even this spring. But not now. Do you get that and do you understand why?” (Ask someone to explain in words why output is delayed.)

“Again, the main thing you will be doing in this class this year is listening. So, let’s wrap up what I’m saying here about Point 4 on this poster with a class quiz. Please close your eyes. I will read some sentences. Keeping your eyes closed, put out a thumbs up if it is true and thumbs down if it is false. Keep your eyes closed.”

If even one student gets a question wrong, stop reading, tell them to open their eyes and discuss each point until everyone gets it.

1. “You need to listen a lot before you can speak.” T
2. “You need to know how to write before you can read in [name of language].” F
3. “The input skills of listening and reading set up the output skills of speaking and writing.” T
4. “You will do lots of speaking and writing here in level 1.” F
5. “For most people, speaking and writing first require years of listening and reading.” T
6. “Reading leads to writing and not the other way around.” T
7. “Speaking and writing are output skills.” T
8. “This year, you will probably have to memorize little speeches in [name of language]”. F
9. “As your teacher, I probably want you to enjoy the class and not have it be stressful for you this year.” T
10. “If you had to guess, you would probably say that I want you to stay through all four years of our language program here at [name of school] so that you can be proud of how much [name of language] you know when you graduate.” T

Poster 2 - Point 5

Have someone read it. Say: “Here are some points I want you to understand about Point 5 in this poster:

1. “You can’t just listen in this class. You have to comprehend. You have to understand. If you don’t understand, then why study the language? Does that make sense?”
2. “If you don’t understand, then many of your classmates probably don’t either.”
3. “As long as you are trying to understand, then I will do the rest.” (Then deliver on that promise.)
4. “Have you ever ‘fake-listened’, just to make a teacher think that you were paying attention.” Discuss that.
5. “There is that term again: negotiating shared meaning. What does it mean?” Discuss.
6. “Many language teachers tend to speak too fast, because they already know the language. So, the more you signal me when you don’t understand, the better. So, remind tell me if I’m speaking too fast this year. Just as you are trying to learn how to become better language students, I am trying to learn how to become a better language teacher."
7. “Most of my students get A’s and B’s in my class, but we have to keep the class communication open for that to happen. If you guys shut down in trying to listen and understand, then that will lower your grade big time.” (Read that last sentence again to them and let it sink in.)
8. “Don't forget that I am always grading you – you just can’t see it.”

Poster 2 - Point 6

Have someone read it.

1. Tell them that how they sit will influence their grade. Discuss, giving them this example: “Do you know how when you are sitting in the lunchroom having lunch with your friends how you can ‘tell’ if you are being listened to or not?” Tell them that in your class it’s the same thing. How they sit will tell you if they are listening to you or not.

Optional:

Here you can do an optional inclusion exercise for teachers who have a good strong relationship of trust with their students. Here are the steps:

1. Have a volunteer, a good student with a positive self-image, go into the hallway.
2. While she is gone, tell students to form up into groups of five or six.
3. One of the groups has an empty chair or desk in it.
4. The groups start a general conversation to practice listening to each other.
5. Tell the group with the empty desk to ignore the person when she come in from the hallway to join one of the groups. Tell them to ignore anything the “new” person to the group says. Tell them to subtly turn their backs to the person and to not acknowledge that she is in the group.
6. Someone brings the student back in from the hallway.
7. The student sits down in the group with the empty desk.
8. The students in the group keep ignoring her when she tries to join their conversation.
9. Stop the activity when the point is clear - don’t let it go on too long – only a minute or less - because it can be upsetting to the student who came in from the hallway.

Then have the students get back in their regular seats and process that activity. The point should emerge that it is not fun to be excluded and ignored. Tell them that you as their teacher will work very hard to include every student in the classroom in the learning this year.

Poster 2 - Point 7

Have someone read it. Then say:

“We’ve already touched on this point. How you listen in class this year includes how you sit and how your shoulders are squared up with me and what level of focus I see in your eyes. That will determine a full 50% of your grade, as we have already said. Are there any questions? You can slouch or sit however you want, but don’t complain to me later when your grade ends up being low.”

Poster 2 - Point 8

Have someone read it. Then make the following points:

“I won’t force you to speak in this class this year, but just because you don’t have to speak, that doesn’t let you off the hook for saying simple yes or no or one-word responses to my questions during class.”

“If you don’t do that during class, if you don’t answer my questions in class with short one-word answers like yes and no, you won’t get an A or B, because I will think that you don’t understand if you don’t answer me with single words when I ask questions during class.”

“You can answer my questions with your short one-word answers in either language. I just want to know if you understand - that’s the whole thing about this class.”

Poster 2 - Point 9

Have someone read it.

“So far, we’ve discussed eight talking points about this poster. This next one - Point 9 - is the most important one on the poster.” Discuss with them what talking over is.

“I can tell you that there is no way that anyone who talks over can get above a C in here, and that’s if you get all the quiz questions right. So, if you make random comments and generally ignore the advice given in this poster about not talking over, your highest grade in here is still going to be a C.”

“Look at the Classroom Rules poster. [Thomas], please read Classroom Rule 2.” Thomas reads it. “Does everyone get it?”

Poster 2 - Point 10

Note: Before discussing this point with your students, you may want to reread Articles 1 and 2 in Chapter 6 of The Star Book 1. They provide a feast of information about how people acquire languages.

Have someone read Point 10.

Discuss with them what this talking point might mean. Here are your talking points:

1. “Learning a language has nothing to do with focusing on the form of the language, how the different verbs are spelled, and stuff like that. You don’t even have to know how to spell a language to speak it well, if you think about it, because there are a lot of people in [name of country being studied] who are terrible at spelling and yet they can speak their language pretty well. Think about that.”

2. “So, don’t pay any attention right now to how the language is constructed. Everything we do in here should always be focused on me communicating a message to you. We don’t need to talk about how the language is constructed for you to learn [name of language].

3. “It’s all about understandable messages. You can learn how the language is constructed later, once you understand it. I want you all to understand that my real job in here is to turn the sounds of [name of language] into meaning for you so that you can understand what I say. That’s the main thing in a nutshell. Do you all get that?” (Repeat if necessary.)

4. “Of course, you have to do your part of showing me that you are trying to understand through how you sit and through your eyes and all that.”

5. “Remember: I’m grading you right now.”

6. “But the pressure is all on me to make myself understood. All you have to do is try to do your best to understand. And I promise that I am very aware that in some classes there are always a few kids who try to take over the class and make the teacher go too fast for everyone. I promise that I won't do that. But if I forget you have to remind me to slow down - that's your job. And my job is to listen to you. It's kind of weird, isn't it? The main job I have in this class is to listen to you, and the main job you have in this class is to listen to me.”

7. “Just always keep in mind when you are in my classroom that only the students in here who focus on my messages in class will get the high grades.”