The way we speak to children, becomes their inner voice. — Peggy O’Mara
So often I am amazed at the innocence of kids. It almost doesn’t even matter the age; their desire to please and do their best runs across every age level. I find myself at times so frustrated with friends and neighbors who complain incessantly about the youth today and how lost they are… if only they saw the daily truth I, not unlike every other teacher out there, witnesses every day. It is that very innocence, willing spirit and need for approval and encouragement that keeps us in this profession.
What Strategies Usually Work?
Now, many educators out there would agree that pretty much anyone can follow and teach a scripted lesson from a curriculum manual; however, without mastery in classroom management (that fancy term for behaving in class), all learning goes out the window. Fortunately for me, I have the luxury of seeking help from my husband (a behavioral therapist for emotional and behavioral disabled children) on behavior management strategies to use in the classroom. His strategies are probably what has made me excel as a teacher to this very day. Having started teaching in elementary school, strategies were easy ones: “if you hear my voice clap once”, “all pencils down on 3…2…1”, “I love the way Jimmy is sitting nicely in his desk”. (That one is really magical! Mention 1 student doing the right thing and all of a sudden, contagiously, the rest of the room vies for that same verbal approval). We’ve all used those tried and true go-to strategies. But then working my way into middle school brought me to question him on strategies for the adolescent student. His immediate response, “Do the same thing you did with the elementary kids”. Seriously? As if! Well, through a bit of trial and error using what I thought to be more ‘mature’ techniques, I found myself going back to the old go-to’s and, he was dead right, they worked! These were my consistent go-to resources for help with classroom management:
Do I Change the Strategy with a Change in Grade?
Years later I take the plunge to work with high school students. My sophomores range from 15 to 18 years old, some as big as 6’3” and 250+ pounds who play defensive end on the varsity football team. So once again, I go to the expert with the same question. His immediate response, “do the same thing you did with the elementary and middle school kids”. Genuinely believing my husband had lost complete touch with the young adult age group, I chuckle as I walk away thanking him for his profound words of wisdom… NOT! Shame on me though. Once again, a bout of trying those more ‘mature’ techniques once more brought me straight back to the tried and true go-to’s. Lesson learned? The size of the body does not change a child’s willingness to do and behave well. It is the size of the positive reinforcement and consistent feedback from their teacher, especially when given with firmness and love, that dictates their behavior.
Be Mindful…They’re Little Kids at Heart
I share one quick little anecdote with you to further prove my point. Test season had arrived and my high schoolers were nervously awaiting taking their state assessment, asking for quick reviews, a hug and the nearest bathroom because they’re feeling nauseous. I grab a 3×3 stack of post-it notes and a pen and write a small note of personalized encouragement for each and every one of the 180 students I have. It was literally my last stitch effort to show them I believed in them. I thought my hand would fall off for sure but maybe this would get them to behave well enough to perform well enough.
At the end of the day, I ran into my Assistant Principal in the hallway who asked me about the students in the cafeteria wearing post-it notes on their shirts. Others were carrying their post-it notes in their see-through cell phone cases that they carry around with them like an extra appendage. Others still, have been found carrying theirs on them weeks later inside their hoodie pockets. Who knew that a small little note would have such an impact. Well, actually, I did.
Conclusion
How did I know what would work? I know that kids are kids: innocent, willing to be good, wanting to please, eager to receive approval, open to doing their best. So dust off those ol’ skool best practices for managing their behaviors and watch the magic happen. Pencils up…3…2…1… Nice job!