Michael Linsin > Quotes

“*See the many everyday tasks of learning as goals to be reached. Define them as goals for your students, and then track their pursuit and eventual attainment of them. Reaching goals—and making a point of acknowledging their achievement—will help your students realize what they’re capable of.”
― Michael Linsin, Dream Class: How To Transform Any Group Of Students Into The Class You've Always Wanted

“Clutter also deeply affects the teacher and their ability to focus on their job and their students. Overflowing cabinets, boxes piled in corners, art projects yellowing on the walls, papers and materials stacked on tables, and backpacks lying on the floor all compete for the teacher's attention.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“When you love your work, you're naturally going to be more effective. Your students are going to like you a lot more. Your lessons will be more dynamic and you'll have more energy. It becomes a virtuous cycle. In”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“I tell my students often, “It’s my job to teach, and I’ll make sure you have the best, most fun, and most exciting lessons in the world. However, it’s your job and responsibility to listen and learn what is being taught and then to practice with great effort. It’s a two-way street. I’m giving my best for you, and you have to do the same for me.”
― Michael Linsin, Dream Class: How To Transform Any Group Of Students Into The Class You've Always Wanted

“Saying no puts you in position to be the greatest benefit to your students, your family, and those you care most about.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“When you let things go, even seemingly innocent behaviors, it nudges a tiny speck of a snowball down a steep and bottomless hill. And the farther it gets down the hill, the more difficult it is to push it back up to the top.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“smiling is a powerful classroom management strategy you should begin using the first day of school.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

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― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“A line of students can indicate: How much they respect their teacher. How much they respect each other. How well they follow directions. How ready they are to receive instruction. The amount of time spent on—or off—task in the classroom.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“The 80/20 rule was the brainchild of economist and mathematician Vilfredo Pareto, who in 1906 observed that 80 percent of the land wealth in Italy was owned by just 20 percent of the population. This distribution has often been described as a universal law that is as predictable and provable as the law of gravity. The rule states that 20 percent of inputs tend to produce 80 percent of the outputs.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“Stories stimulate connections in the listener and have been shown to improve empathy and social skills, deepen understanding, and prompt predictions all the way up to a resolution.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“Establish a peaceful pace to your classroom by speaking calmly but firmly, taking your time, pausing often, and never moving on until you get exactly what you want from your new students.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“As teachers, our primary job is to provide context, to bring depth and meaning and vivacity to our lessons. It's to point out what is interesting, lovely, tragic, beautiful, heartbreaking, and otherwise noteworthy about our topic and then to fill in the backstory, the history, and the details that make it worth learning.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“When you smile on the first day of school, it makes your non-negotiable classroom management plan and the realization that a lot is expected go down easier.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“The second you open your eyes after visualizing your day, you can forget about the future. You can forget about the past. You're free to inspire your students, to laugh and love, and to enjoy the journey.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“By offering students points or prizes for good behavior or attentiveness, you're communicating to them that being conscientious, respectful, and kind is work deserving of payment. You're putting a price tag on what is inherently rewarding, effectively snuffing out the intrinsic value of doing the right thing. The”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“smile is a subtle message that kindness and politeness are expected in your classroom.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“1. Having blurry or movable boundary lines of accountability is ineffective and unfair to children and causes tension in the classroom. 2. Once your consequences are in place and have been communicated clearly to your students, never waver. 3. When a student breaks a rule, especially in a dramatic way, don’t react immediately. Slow down your response and don’t let it affect you emotionally. 4. You have a responsibility to your students to enforce your consequences every time and to the letter. 5. Don’t make personal judgments or give lectures to individual students. Simply let the consequences do their job. 6. Never argue with students. Nothing good ever comes of it.”
― Michael Linsin, Dream Class: How To Transform Any Group Of Students Into The Class You've Always Wanted

“To be good at anything, whether professionally or personally, takes a willingness, even eagerness, to say no.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“It is creating a classroom your students love being part of combined with an unwavering commitment to accountability.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“Teachers, too, can use the 80/20 rule to lower their stress and improve their job satisfaction, as well as the results they're getting in the classroom.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

“Having different behavior expectations based on the importance of an activity doesn’t work because it sends a confusing message to students.”
― Michael Linsin, The Classroom Management Secret: And 45 Other Keys to a Well-Behaved Class

“An effective plan consists of a set of rules that cover every possible misbehavior and a set of consequences that matter to students. The plans I recommend, one for elementary and lower middle school teachers and one for high school and upper middle school teachers , are available for purchase and immediate download at [the author's website].”
― Michael Linsin, The Total Classroom Management Makeover: in 18 short, simple lessons

“In teaching, the point where working harder becomes a detriment comes quickly. It comes fast and furious because, perhaps more than any other profession, teaching requires you to be at your best. It requires you to be fresh and rested. It requires you to be mentally sharp and patient and passionate about your work. It requires you to be relaxed, calm, and acutely aware of your surroundings.”
― Michael Linsin, The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth