Additional information
by Julie Smith (Author)
If you teach in a school with difficult students, this book is for you. Are they snarky? Do they try to negotiate with you or simply refuse when you ask them to do the simplest things? Do you feel disrespected and unappreciated? If you answered yes to any and all of these questions, you need to read this! It turns out that new brain research shows that adolescents are simply wired way differently than adults. Because various parts of their brain have not yet come into full maturity, they make way different choices than they might in ten or so years. Motivated by thrills, adventure, rewards and fun, they could really care less about threats of punishment. We teachers can put this to our advantage to have fun, engaging, interesting classrooms even in the most challenging of circumstances. Ms. Smith also deals with topics such as bullying and violence in the classroom; even what to do if you are threatened. This book could be considered to be a definitive guide for how to teach in the most challenging classrooms anywhere!
Author Biography
Julie Smith teaches in an inner-city school in Los Angeles, California, where most students would be considered to be at risk. She frequently presents at state, local, national and international conferences about how to teach Math, Science, Technology and Engineering to students with many challenges.
