Teacher Tip Tuesday: Create a Plan
Over the past several weeks and months, I’ve been reading a lot of stories online about teachers who are navigating extremely difficult student outbursts. Many of these are in need of support in the form of skill sets, a sense of structure, or emotional and behavioral wellness. And, while teachers recognize their students need additional resources and support, educators also are responsible for the learning outcomes and physical/mental safety of many other students. How can teachers continue to provide quality instruction when they are constantly on the phone with the office, trying to get support, or physically protecting the rest of their students when a child is behaving violently? This balancing act can feel overwhelming and helpless at times.
My Teacher Tip today does not propose a solution to these situations. However, it’s a strategy to try to prepare the rest of your class for when these situations do arise. My tip: Create a plan.
Step 1: Communicate Your Expectations: Have an explicit conversation with your students, explaining that sometimes you will have to pause your time with them and answer a phone call, talk with an adult who walks in, or support someone who needs immediate help. Tell your students exactly what you expect them to do when this happens. This will depend on the age of your students.
Play Rock-Paper-Scissors with your neighbor
Pictionary challenge
Work on homework that needs to be completed
Step 2: Practice the Expectations: Take time to practice the expectations with your students, just like any other classroom routine. For younger students, you may even want to establish a word or phrase that signals you expect them to begin this activity.
Step 3: Establish Accountability: In this case, because there may already be higher tension in the classroom due to other reasons, I recommend establishing a positive, fun accountability approach for students who are following your expectations. For example: Let’s say you are on the phone for a few minutes, trying to reach someone who can help support a student in crisis. The rest of your class has taken out a piece of paper and launched into a Pictionary challenge with their neighbor, because that is their expectation. When you are able to rejoin your class with full focus, you say, “Wow! It looks like we have some really creative Pictionary games happening. Raise your hand if you think your partner had the most creative idea.” Then you pick one student to share their picture with the entire class.
This may take a few more minutes out of the instruction, but it does two things. First, it allows you to bring yourself to a calm place before diving into instruction, by focusing on something positive and fun the students are doing. Secondly, it validates students for following the expectation and shows them you are going to check in with what they were doing in an uplifting way.
All in all, having to navigate difficult student situations is never easy, and our schools need strong, lasting solutions to be put into place. In the meantime, creating a plan for the rest of your students helps them feel a sense of confidence and control in an otherwise confusing situation. This helps your entire classroom build a sense of respect, community, and responsibility.
