Latest / New Teacher Talk / Ep 214: Structure, High Expectations, and Real Connection

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Ep 214: Structure, High Expectations, and Real Connection · New Teacher Talk

Okay,
this is one of those episodes we've been looking forward
to.
Welcome to New Teacher Talk.
I'm Anna Quinzio-Zafran.
And I'm Beth Wilkins.
We're talking with Chloe Lillie today about handling
student behavior, and honestly,
we think every new teacher needs to hear this.
Student behavior is often treated like a puzzle that needs
to be solved,
when in reality interacting with our own students should
not feel artificial.
Hi, my name is Chloe,
I teach general music and today I will be talking about
handling behavior within the classroom.
Since I just finished my first year teaching,
I think it's important to talk about some advice that I was
given, but maybe didn't take as seriously as I should have,
which is okay because to be a teacher is to be a lifelong
learner.
But the advice that I was given was to start off strict and
to give all of the roles of the classroom,
the expectations,
and what consequences there will be if students do not
follow through with these roles and expectations.
Students really like discipline because it provides them
structure,
and although it might feel like you're being a little too
strict at times, at the very beginning of the year,
you just want to make sure that they know exactly what is
expected of them.
This doesn't mean that you have to be harsh or rude,
it just means that you have to be very clear and to follow
through with what you say.
To follow up on structure,
structure is so important because students,
even up through high school,
they do not necessarily know how to be organized,
so they're going to look towards you to see what
organization looks like.
It's still a soft skill that they're developing,
and some students will be organized,
some students will not be organized,
but it's important that they have an environment that is
very structured and clear so they know exactly what's going
on.
To have any confusion takes away from their ability to
learn,
even if it's about where pencils should be or what to do if
you need a piece of paper.
Not only might that be stressful for some students,
but it might take away some of their ability to stay
focused and learn what you are focusing on in the classroom
at that moment.
Now another thing that students appreciate is when you have
high expectations of them.
Now this shows that you have confidence in their abilities,
and therefore they become less afraid to try new things and
make mistakes.
One thing that I find to be very effective is making a
mistake and whether that's intentional,
it's a mistake that you've planned,
or it's a mistake that you just make because it's an
accident,
which is okay because you are still human and the kids want
to see that you're human, you know you're not perfect,
but not dwelling on the mistakes that you make,
but showing them that those mistakes are part of a learning
process and showing them how you use that process to get to
the answers that you need.
So with all of that in mind,
I would say that students' behavior is often a reaction of
the condition of the classroom environment,
and of course there will always be outside reasons for why
students might be acting up,
but it's a lot easier to control that behavior if you have
a controlled environment within the classroom.
Now I have a few things to mention that don't directly
relate to students' behavior,
but I think are also very important to talk about.
So the first one is to not shy away from sensitive topics
in hard discussions.
Students are asking you because they admire your guidance,
especially on topics that might be challenging to discuss,
and that doesn't mean that you have to start that
discussion right when a question is asked,
but you could take some time to think about how you want to
approach that discussion and maybe say,
you know that's a good question,
maybe let's look back at it tomorrow and we could discuss
it,
and that will give you some time to prepare what you want
to say,
but kids are curious and sometimes they ask questions where
you might not know exactly how to respond, and that's okay.
But often just addressing these hard topics which might
involve politics or mental health,
it shows that you value their curiosity and also their
concerns.
I had one of these moments during the holiday season,
so our school had a Christmas musical that I was in charge
of,
so I was showing my kindergarten class a choir that was singing
one of the songs that I was going to have them learn for
the show.
And a kid asked me why all of the people within this video
had brown skin.
And then another student told him, hey, you can't say that.
And I had to step in and say that recognizing appearance
and identity is never a bad thing,
and it rather should be celebrated.
And then after that,
I was able to explain that there are many different types
of choirs and musical groups,
and a lot of them look different from one another.
And I was able to expose them to different styles of music.
So then they were able to learn about different cultures
and different music.
And at the end of the day,
I was able to help them learn and grow,
rather than shying away from a topic and just kind of
ignoring that question.
Now, this last piece of advice might sound kind of silly,
but it's to treat your younger students like they are older
and to treat your older students at times like they are
younger.
Now, I taught preschool through eighth grade general music,
and a lot of times my younger students,
they dealt with a lot of adult-like situations that you're
not usually aware of.
So if they come into the classroom and automatically
they're being treated like a child and kind of talked down
to like they're less than,
then that might create some negative emotions,
which this doesn't mean that you should not treat them like
a child at all.
You should still give them the ability to be a child,
of course,
but not being demeaning in any way when you talk to them or
have them try new things,
treating them like they are capable of challenging things
because they are.
Now,
I think this also ties back to not shying away from difficult
discussions,
but rather encouraging discussions that might be a little
bit uncomfortable and also asking them their opinion on it.
Or I will often find students telling me that something is
too hard and saying that they can't do it because it's too
hard for them, and I have to remind them that, hey,
you are capable of doing hard things.
Remember maybe during a previous class when you completed
this or when you completed this and giving them confidence,
but also relating it back to things that they've previously
done so they could reflect on what they've done and say,
hey,
I could use those same skills in whatever I'm trying to
complete now.
And this might surprise you at times as well as a teacher.
I was teaching my first graders soul fudge and the hand
signs that go along with it.
And one day I was thinking,
why don't I try teaching them how to read sheet music as
well?
So on the board I pulled up actual sheet music like the
staff and the notes,
and we went over what notes were what and how they align
with the hand signs and soul fudge we were learning.
And they started sight reading do, re,
and me by themselves and they didn't realize how impressive
that was because they just thought that they were learning
something new and that I have high expectations of them.
But I was very surprised that they were able to do that,
which those moments are some of the coolest moments as a
teacher when they really surprise you and show you what
they're capable of.
So it's important not to underestimate students just
because they are young.
Now on the flip side of this is still allowing your other
students even through high school to still be children,
because often they forget that they are still children.
We look at them as the older students,
but they are they are still children.
Now between all of the responsibilities that they now have
being in charge of their projects and their assignments and
due dates,
and maybe even preparing for high school or preparing for
college if you're teaching high schoolers,
they often forget that they are still young.
And we might have to remind them of that, which for me,
it's pretty easy because I already have music in the
classroom.
And a lot of times I act goofy, I act childish,
because you kind of have to if you're teaching music or
choir,
you have to make goofy noises for vocal warm ups and be
expressive when you teach them new songs and show that
you're not afraid to act kind of childlike and still be
connected to your inner child.
So around the holiday season,
I had these many holiday themed stuffed animals,
and I had just enough to pass out between the students that
were acting in the musical.
Now these were middle schoolers.
And at first I thought, Oh, well,
they're a little too old to like stuffed animals,
maybe like I maybe will think this is too goofy.
And then I thought and I'm like, I'm an adult.
And sometimes I still like receiving stuffed animals, like,
that is okay.
And I'm sure they will actually really enjoy it.
And I was right,
they really enjoyed the many stuffed animals,
which I had students that were more reserved,
and usually acted serious and like they were too cool for a
lot of things.
Because that's what middle schoolers and high schoolers
will do.
They will act like they are too cool for something.
But showing them that they can enjoy things that they might
feel a little too grown for and giving them the ability to
enjoy those things without judgment is often very
important.
Now the last few points that I talked about were about
building connections with the students and with the class,
which a lot of times will tie into behavior because the
stronger of a connection you have with them and the more
that they look up to you and feel safe in that classroom,
the better behavior they will have.
They really are just looking for confident leaders that
will care for them,
not professionals that are perfect and know everything.
The more human that you are around them,
the easier it will be to connect to them and then they will
just want to learn from you rather than feeling like they
have to learn from you.
Thank you so much for listening and I hope you have an
amazing start to this upcoming school year.
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