Fast forward to one of the worst years of teaching I've ever had. Nothing worked. We've all had those, right? The ones that make you reconsider why you became a teacher in the first place? My students were SO naughty, my colleagues were SO negative, my administration was SO unhelpful, and my home life was SUCH a mess. I was sick, exhausted, and defeated. I was burnt out. One day I realized that I had spent more time behind my desk, sitting at my computer, ignoring my students, than EVER before. I actually wasn't even sure if I had gotten up out of my desk at all. I was devastated and so disappointed in myself. I cried. Literally. Once again I did not want to be that kind of teacher! Here were these young minds, waiting to learn and grow and discuss and question. And I just wanted them to be quiet so I could answer my emails or finish grading. It was a dark, dark place that I am not proud of. So, I did some soul searching and decided two things: 1) get rid of my desk so I had nowhere to hide 2) shut my computer when students were working. (I never have my phone out during class, so this wasn't a problem for me. But for some teachers, it is. Seriously. Put the phone AWAY). If I was going to do this right, I was going to engage with my students while I was face to face with them. No matter how stressed or how tired I was, there was no sitting and grading. No matter how many leadership responsibilities I had, there would be no "just a minute guys, I'm finishing an email." None. No excuses: It. Was. Life-changing. I felt so much more connected to my students and so much more successful. They weren't (as) naughty anymore. I didn't begrudge my colleagues quite as much. I had more fun and actually felt like I had more energy even though I was resting less and moving more. It made my soul happy. Every minute with my students is precious, and I will never get that minute back to do-over. I needed to capitalize on that "face time" to bring myself out of a dark place. They are the reason I'm here, not email about the copier or even vague leadership discussions about vision or efficacy. They needed my whole attention, heart and soul. My last story is related to the emotional distance and control that mindfulness brings. Bear with me. I am a bleeding heart. I am so sensitive to other people's emotions that I can't even watch someone cry without crying. I feel other people's pain. So during times of stress and conflict, I often have a hard time separating their emotions and reactions from my own. Everyone in teaching knows that DEVOLSON (Dark Evil Vortex of Late September, October, November) can suck the life out of even the most positive teacher. Last fall our building was in turmoil from top-down decisions, stressful protocol, and time-consuming initiatives. People were so angry and frustrated and disillusioned that it was not a fun place come to every day. PLCs were more about venting than collaboration, and don't even get me started about the faculty lounge (yikes!) One particular colleague always wanted to vent to me about his frustrations. He never wanted suggestions (nor would he take them if you offered) but just wanted to spew toxic vomit on everyone he met. Soon, simply seeing him in the hallway was triggering my anxiety. What's even worse was I began to blur the lines between his concerns and my own problems. I started to believe I felt the way he did. This was not true, and it was tearing my soul to tiny little sprinkles of sadness. I had a wonderful friend tell me, "feelings are not facts." She also suggested I choose where to spend my energy. So I stated giving myself distance from his complaints, listening objectively and asking him some countering questions. I also shrugged and walked away several times, saying, "If you're not willing to change your own actions, complaining isn't going to help." I chose not to spend my energy owning his unhappiness. I walked away more often, challenged his views more often, and told him to find ways to make himself less miserable. I changed my focus and got more in control of my own emotions. Instead of feeling like a ship tossed in the stormy waters, I was "the master of my fate/... the captain of my soul." And here I am today, a little farther on my journey of mindfulness. I've researched, read, watched, studied, compared, tried, discussed, connected. I've seen how life changing mindfulness can be on a personal level, and I can see how powerfully students react when they learn about it. I believe wholeheartedly that teaching mindfulness to teachers can make each classroom even better. One study predicted teaching mindfulness to students equated to 11-20 minutes of increased teaching time. Imagine how much more class time could be saved or capitalized to deepen learning with mindful teachers at the helm? Bell-to-bell learning, with purposeful activities and focused attention in between; teachers who feel calm, in control, and successful? Powerful. I'd even dare to say, unstoppable.
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11/12/2017 0 Comments Student Apathy & ways to Fight It
Now, don't get mad at me. I know any bad attitude, frustration, anger, or hurt you have has been caused by being let down by your students. They started it. So if you get called out on showing some of your resentment or it turns into your own chronic absenteeism or apathy, you'll get mad. Rightly so! But... they are kids. They will NEVER see their own actions as the cause of your problems. It's like genetically programmed into their little DNA to deny any responsibility. So if they see you stop caring, they will *think* that is all the reason in the world for them to (start) continue being apathetic. WE CANNOT LET THEM WIN. I had an administrator tell my staff this awhile ago, and I was raging angry. I thought I deserved to be mad, apathetic, resentful, bitter toward my most apathetic learners. And it was only through time that I realized that apathy breeds apathy, and I could kill more flies with honey than vinegar (is that even the right phrase? Anyway...) This mindshift was a choice, and it made my days A LOT more tolerable. Some times you have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, remind yourself that this is YOUR classroom and you are the adult, and by golly they are NOT going to win. You WILL teach them something. They WILL learn. And they WILL like it! Some days it's a whole lot of fake-it-till-you-make-it. Some days you are so good you even convince yourself. But wallowing in (well earned and totally understandable) self pity truly has no place in the classroom. Vent to your bestie over a glass (bottle) of wine, then LET. IT. GO. (see also these decompressing strategies) My second strategy is less preachy and more tangible. Always plan with the "why" in mind.(THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME). It's a hot trend now, but for ages people have wanted to know why they are doing what they are doing. Students, teachers, parents, your own spouse--they are not being disrespectful when they ask why. They need to see the PURPOSE in their time and action. Philosophically I believe humans sense that time is finite and want to make the most of their presence and experiences on earth. That comes across wrong sometimes, but it doesn't make the idea wrong. If you plan each lesson starting with WHY the students are learning it, you'll come a long way in getting their buy-in. And let me say right now... "you'll need this for the test" or "when you're in college, they'll make you do this..." isn't going to fly. They. Don't. Care. Connect with the big ideas and essential parts of being a human. As a former psychology teacher, I can connect nearly everything to social psychology. Students are totally egocentric, but also naturally social beings. This generation cares about their climate, their environment, equality for all. They care about justice and sustainability and change and power and technology and ethics. Why are we reading Lord of the Flies? Connect it to groupthink and mob-mentality. Why do we still learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? Tie it to the NFL National Anthem protests. Why are we memorizing verb tenses in Spanish? Discuss the future of American economy with the current population of immigrants and native Spanish speakers in your state. There is always a big idea, a big picture purpose. As teachers, it's our job to engage them in critical thinking that matters to us AND to them. Once you have lessons that give them their "why," capitalize on their strengths and create engaging lessons with engaging strategies to get them to... engage. Please do not underestimate the value of movement, games, conversations, laughter, brain breaks, music, and technology. I taught BELL-TO-BELL with reading, writing, listening, and speaking in almost all my lessons. I rarely sat at my desk. I was constantly managing by walking around, laughing with kids, asking them about their progress, expressing concerns, listening, and by the end of the day I was exhausted. They did most of the mental work, but I did the facilitation. And if I was bored, I KNEW they were bored. If I didn't know the why, I KNEW they wouldn't care. I am a person who loves routine but HATES monotony. So I made my classroom an engaging place. If you are looking for strategies, I suggest googling "SIOP" (Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol) or "TPT" (Total Participation Techniques) to find more. Here are some of my favorites:
Be fully present in the moment. Pay attention to your surroundings. Don't give up. Focus on the positive. Know that you always have more to learn. Grow your brain. Learn from your mistakes. These are all things we want our students to grow up to be, but waiting until they become adults is too late. We need to create classrooms that are mindfully calm, positively reflective, and continually resilient. Not only do we teach our students how to do this, we must model it in our own life and in our classroom climate. Over the years I've been learning about all of the ways positive psychology and eastern mindfulness practices can affect our lives. As an educator, I quickly made connections to the classroom. Because of the underlying psychology and biology behind all three of these things, I've begun to see them as woven together into one. Forgive me if I use them interchangeably. I'll try to address each separately, then bring them together in the end. Hang with me to see how you can use these practices in your classroom to make it as comfortable as it can be. Resilience (grit)
I always told my students I expected a lot of them. I raised the bar. I communicated what I would and would not accept from them. I told them and modeled what I would and would not allow. And I followed through. The coach in me rarely accepted their meager excuses or whining. I was hard core intimidating in the most loving and supportive way possible. I've been told I'm complicated :) But it works. When students see a passionate teacher who gives them (appropriate) challenges and helps them rise above, they will continue to grow and get "grittier." It's an ugly way of saying I helped challenge them and helped them meet those challenges head on. I believed in them, so they believed in themselves. I love the idea of productive struggle. "Try again." or "Not quite yet." or "I know this must be frustrating. What else can you try?" or "I see that you're ready to quit. Can we come back to this in two minutes? I bet your brain just needs a break." It's amazing what a little compassion, empathy, and facilitation can do. Don't let them off the hook. Don't helicopter and try to save them from all the trials that could ever challenge them. Let them struggle. Then help them overcome. Growth Mindset (positivity)
Mindfulness (Presence)
The main things about a comfortable classroom are positivity, trust, and respect. We do this by modeling, creating, and encouraging students. Cultivating resilience, mindfulness, and growth mindsets makes them better students. Eventually it will make them better spouses, parents, and citizens (I'm trying to teach my husband... but he's not cooperating... ) But more importantly, it will make them healthier and happier with themselves. With the rise of bullying, depression, anxiety, divorces, and suicides, there is no more important job than this. It is my belief that everyone's responsibility is to make the world a better place. And when you are responsible for so many young minds and futures, having a comfortable classroom is absolutely essential for learning.
For my next set of blogs I'll talk about making our classrooms challenging as well as comfortable. Higher order thinking, conceptual learning, construction of knowledge, discussion or problem-based classrooms... tons of strategies in store! |
AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
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