We hear time and time again that we should avoid power struggles with students. This is excellent advice and something we should work to do. At times, however, it is hard to know how to avoid power struggles. One way to avoid such power struggles is to simply walk away.
A behavior specialist asked to observe a teacher whose students were on task 100% of the time. An observer asked, "You have the most difficult students in the school, but you don't have any problem behaviors. What is your secret?"
There will be times when it is required that you speak to a student one on one about their inappropriate behavior. Each time I had to talk to a student one on one, I would get so nervous about what to say. There were times when I talked so long that the student checked out of the conversation. There were also times when I didn't discuss the concerns long enough so that the student could make any changes to the behavior.
Review this article for some great advice from substitute teachers regarding classroom management.
We all want the permanent teacher to like us, so how can we make that happen when we have limited interaction with him/her? One way to do this is to leave an excellent substitute teacher report.
Great handbook training.