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Articles for Teachers and Educators

Prof. Joe has written more than 150 articles for more than a dozen print and on-line publications, including Teachers.net, Empower Magazine, IMDiversity.com, and Student Leader Magazine. Here are some of his most requested articles for new teachers, including some from a few of his friends. Enjoy!

You Get What You Focus On

by Joe A. Martin, Ed.D.

Here’s some food for thought. If you want results, walk any problem you’re having through this scenario for better answers:

Focus 5% on what you fear and 95% on getting educated and skilled to face it.

Focus 5% on the problem and 95% on the spiritual solution.

Focus 5% on the mistake and 95% on learning from it.

Focus 5% on who to blame and 95% on making sure to heal.

Focus 5% on the conflict and 95% on a win-win resolution.

Focus 5% on what to do and 95% on enjoying the process.

Focus 5% on your prayers and 95% on your faith in God and yourself.

Focus 5% on reading this and 95% on applying it.

You get what you focus on. So be careful.

Phrases You Wish You Could Use at School

by Author Unknown

Want to release a little steam…check this out:

1. Ahhh...I see the screw up fairy has visited us again.

2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

3. How about never? Is never good for you?

4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.

6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.

7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

Getting Through to Your Teenager

by Joe A. Martin Jr., Ed.D.

Have you ever watched your teenager make a mistake (that you’ve made yourself) after you’ve warned them at least a thousand times? Is there anything more frustrating as a parent?

Well, this is somewhat typical in most “normal” households across America. We (parents) screw up, tell our children about it, and what do they do? They go out and repeat the same mistake. It makes you question your own gene pool.

In actuality, the problem isn’t with the teenager (at least not all of it), the problem is in our approach to teaching our teenager the lesson we want them to learn. In a sense, we act just as crazy sometimes; we teach them using the same strategies that didn’t work a month or year ago. We should be asking ourselves, when will we learn from our past mistakes?

Handling In-House School Conflict

by Jennifer Cheifetz

Nobody likes conflict in the workplace, especially when it impacts the way you do your job. But that’s exactly when you know you have to do something about it. A teacher gets evaluated by administrators, colleagues, parents, and oftentimes students.

Occasionally when those evaluations are uncomplimentary, they can lead to conflicts. The teacher becomes defensive and perhaps avoids those people, and maybe even becomes negative about the job. So what is a teacher to do?

It’s always good to be open and willing to hear the other side. If you approach the person with whom you disagree with respect and openmindedness, you can turn the conflict into more of a misunderstanding, and a misunderstanding can be cleared up with a mere conversation.

When the Teacher Becomes the Student

by Joe A. Martin, Jr., Ed.D.

A relationship expert once said that during an argument, there’s usually three sides to every story: his side, her side, and of course, the truth.

This is something we must definitely keep in mind as teachers. As educators (especially professors), we have been accused of having the biggest egos on this side of Mount Rushmore.

One of the quickest ways to burn out in education is to refuse to embrace change. Whether we want to admit it or not, life moves and changes constantly.

Students are constantly exposed to material we once never dreamed existed. Ironically, although students are exposed to more, they typically know less and are less mature than the generations before. However, that does not discredit the fact that students still bring a unique perspective to our classroom; it’s through their eyes that we can become better teachers.

What Do Teachers Make?

by Author Unknown

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: "Those who can...do. Those who can't...teach."

To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make?"

Getting Students to Commit to Learning

by Joe A. Martin, Jr., Ed.D.

I think one of the most tragic things to witness as a teacher is to see a student spend several years in school, only to “scratch” the surface of his or her potential.

Every year, millions of students are graduating with a diplomas, but not receiving an education. It’s also been reported in numerous studies that the average student only reads one book after college over the span of a lifetime. This is truly tragic.

One of the best things you can do for students is to turn them on to learning (as early as possible). In fact, you can’t afford to miss an opportunity to let your students know that learning is a lifelong process that should only stop when they do.

Getting Students to Believe in Themselves

by Joe A. Martin, Jr., Ed.D.

A great teacher once told me, “It doesn’t matter where you start in life…what counts is where you decide to finish.” I can’t begin to tell you the impact those words have had on my life.

I grew up (started) in one of the toughest inner city ghettos in Miami, son of a teenage mother, in a crime-ridden, drug-infested neighborhood; and I had friends who were known felons. To make matters worse, no one in my family had ever graduated from high school, let alone attended college, and my average grades and low standardized test scores insured that I probably wouldn’t be the first. Trust me, nothing sabotages future success like memories of past failures.

Failure is Not Final

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Have you seen the inspiring commercial that Michael Jordan did for Nike? It's the one where he talks about all of his mistakes, such as the free throws and game-deciding shots that he's missed over the years.

I love that commercial for its right attitude about failure, but I'm even more impressed with it after seeing a follow-up interview with Jordan.

A reporter asked Michael Jordan if the statistics that he quoted in the commercial were correct. Jordan's response? "I don't know."

Now that answer surprised me at first, until I realized its significance: Michael Jordan is so unconcerned with failure that he truly has no idea how many shots he's missed in his career or how many games have been lost because of his mistakes. He simply took the word of the statisticians at Nike for those numbers.

The 23rd Psalm for Teachers

The Lord is my real superintendent and I shall not want. He gives me peace when class chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray before I teach and to do all things without murmuring, whining, and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my source of strength and not my school. He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honor Him in everything I do.

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