The Worst Mistakes
Good Teachers and Youth Professionals Make

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Here are the two worst mistakes good youth professionals and teachers make. Since Youth Change is your Problem Student Problem-Solver, of course, we supply solutions you can use right away.

I'm trainer and author Ruth Herman Wells, M.S. with the answers that can help.

The Top Youth Professional & Teacher Mistakes

Feeling Discouraged About Overcoming Problems
There is no doubt that these are extremely difficult times to be a teacher, counselor or youth professional. You cope with the most serious student behavior, social and family problems that may have ever existed in our nation's history, and now you must also face one of the most serious budget crunches ever. You have twin battles to fight. We know you have to do more with less.

That is why we have started a free, fast weekly podcast called 5 Minute Classroom Management Fixes. It's a fast five minutes worth of ready-to-use solutions for problems like misbehavior, poor motivation, work refusal, bad attitudes and disruption. Listen to this strategy-filled podcast online here.

For additional help with both your behavior and budget problems, remember that there are thousands of other free solutions throughout our website.
 

Using Yesterday's Methods with Today's Kids
So many terrific teachers, principals and counselors are still using old-style interventions with new-style kids. Older methods are often ineffective when used to combat some more modern concerns like gangs, serious substance abuse, extreme violence, apathy, and cyber bullying.

Here's a good test to see if you are using an out-of-date method for a youth problem. If the method was invented decades before the problem was, there is likely to be a mismatch. For example, combatting cyber-bullying with character ed may produce inferior results. Switching to more updated, lively, compelling contemporary approaches can enhance your results combatting contemporary problems.

To use apathy as an example, relying on an old-style approach like mere words to combat apathy is often insufficient. Using methods from the 1950s to combat 21st century problems is the equivalent of using a record player instead of an iPod. You can certainly hear current songs on a record player but is the best, most reliable way? Just as record players and iPods exist in different universes, atomic age student intervention methods may not be the best fit for our new millennium.

Here's an example of an eye-catching, cutting-edge method to combat apathy. Contrast this method to mere words, and the difference in potential impact is obvious. This intervention is such a perfect match for these scary economic times. It is also our Poster #43, but you can just do the intervention activity pictured on the poster without buying anything. This intervention can also work as a handout.