Frank Dunlap

Attention Educators – New and Veteran! Whether you’re preparing for your first year in the classroom or your fifteenth, the foundational work of Harry Wong and Fred Jones still rings true today. Harry Wong’s “The First Days of School” reminds us that procedures and consistency aren’t just helpful—they’re transformational. From greeting students at the door to setting clear expectations from Day 1, Wong’s strategies help build classrooms rooted in structure, safety, and student success. Fred Jones’s “Tools for Teaching” adds powerful insights into classroom management, body language, visual cues, and proactive discipline—helping teachers maximize instructional time and minimize disruptions. Both advocate: •Teaching and practicing procedures until they become habits •Using positive reinforcement and clear consequences •Building relationships and managing behavior simultaneously •Staying consistent with expectations, tone, and follow-through These aren’t just “first-year teacher tricks”—they’re enduring best practices that apply year after year. What’s one piece of advice or a tool from Wong or Jones that shaped your teaching? Or better yet—what would you recommend to a first-year teacher walking into their classroom this fall?

Structure, Engagement, and Restoration: A Blueprint for Transformational Teaching What does a high-impact classroom look like? It starts with structure—where the physical layout allows teachers to work the crowd and connect quickly with every student. But it doesn’t stop there. Educators who maximize student success design lessons that are rigorous, engaging, and efficient. They explicitly teach and reinforce rules and routines until they become second nature. They use proximity and purposeful movement, and they provide descriptive feedback using Praise, Prompt, and Leave. They use Visual Instructional Plans so students always know what to do next. They make lessons meaningful through authentic tasks. They teach through Say, See, Do: learning by doing, with constant input and output. They engineer lessons around cooperative learning using PIES—Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Equal Participation, and Simultaneous Interaction. And most importantly, they transform students into learners by embedding the five strategies of formative assessment: •Students know the learning target and how success is measured. •They understand the relevance of what they’re learning. •They self-assess and set goals. •They engage in peer feedback to stay focused on learning. Limit setting is handled with calm, consistent, clear body language. Disruptions don’t derail the room—students are coached back on track through refocus and corrective teaching, not punishment. And when more is needed, we don’t fall back on zero-tolerance. We move forward with Restorative Practices. This is not a program—it’s a way of being. It’s about healing, repairing, and building stronger individuals and a stronger school community. This is what teaching can be—and what our students deserve

“#Good” by Jocko Willink, retired Navy SEAL Commander How do I deal with setbacks, failures, delays, defeat, or other disasters? I actually have a fairly simple way of dealing with these situations. There is one word to deal with all those situations, and that is: “good.” This is something that one of my direct subordinates, one of the guys who worked for me, a guy who became one of my best friends, pointed out. He would call me up or pull me aside with some major problem or some issue that was going on, and he’d say, “Boss, we got this, that, or the other thing going wrong,” and I would look at him and I’d say, “Good.” And finally, one day, he was telling me about some situation that was going off the rails, and as soon as he got done explaining it to me, he said, “I already know what you’re going to say.” And I asked, “What am I going to say?” He said, “You’re going to say: ‘Good.’” He continued, “That’s what you always say. When something is wrong or going bad, you just look at me and say, ‘Good.’” “And I said, “Well, I mean it. Because that is how I operate.” So I explained to him that when things are going bad, there’s going to be some good that will come from it. Oh, mission got cancelled? Good. We can focus on another one. Didn’t get the new high-speed gear we wanted? Good. We can keep it simple. Didn’t get promoted? Good. More time to get better. Didn’t get funded? Good. We own more of the company. Didn’t get the job you wanted? Good. Go out, gain more experience, and build a better résumé. Got injured? Good. Needed a break from training. Got tapped out? Good. It’s better to tap out in training than to tap out on the street. Got beat? Good. We learned. Unexpected problems? Good. We have the opportunity to figure out a solution. That’s it. When things are going bad, don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say: “Good.” “Now. I don’t mean to say something clichéd. I’m not trying to sound like Mr. Smiley Positive Guy. That guy ignores the hard truth. That guy thinks a positive attitude will solve problems. It won’t. But neither will dwelling on the problem. No. Accept reality, but focus on the solution. Take that issue, take that setback, take that problem, and turn it into something good. Go forward. And, if you are part of a team, that attitude will spread throughout. Finally, to close this up: If you can say the word “good,” guess what? It means you’re still alive. It means you’re still breathing. And if you’re still breathing, that means you’ve still got some fight left in you. So get up, dust off, reload, recalibrate, re-engage, and go out on the attack. And that, right there, is about as good as it gets.” Excerpt From #ToolsofTitans Timothy Ferriss & Arnold Schwarzenegger @jockowillink @tferriss @Schwarzenegger – at Brighton, CO