How to Regain Control of Your Classroom Without Losing Relationships
Regaining control of a classroom without jeopardizing the vital relationships that underpin the educational experience is a nuanced endeavor that requires a delicate balance of authority and empathy. I, Mr. Funky Teacher, elucidate practical strategies designed to reestablish order when the classroom environment becomes chaotic, emphasizing the importance of maintaining respect and trust among students. By employing respectful redirection and affirming firm boundaries, we can cultivate an atmosphere conducive to learning while preserving the integrity of our relationships with students. The episode delineates effective techniques such as utilizing calming presence, implementing structured routines, and fostering open communication, all of which serve to reinforce a positive classroom dynamic. Ultimately, we aspire to create an educational milieu where students feel secure, respected, and motivated to engage meaningfully in their learning journey.
Regaining control within the classroom setting is a nuanced endeavor that requires a delicate balance between authority and empathy. The discourse presented herein elucidates the predicament of educators when faced with the inevitable disruptions that can arise during instructional periods. As the classroom's atmosphere shifts from focused engagement to chaotic disarray, it becomes imperative to implement strategies that not only restore order but also preserve the vital relationships that underpin the educational experience. The emphasis lies on maintaining calmness in the face of disorder, eschewing the all-too-common instinct to resort to vocal escalation. Instead, I advocate for the power of silence and the strategic use of non-verbal cues, which can effectively redirect student attention without inciting further disturbance. Furthermore, the application of established routines serves as a cornerstone for reinstating a conducive learning environment, providing students with the structure they inherently crave. The episode delineates specific techniques such as rhythmic clapping and call-and-response methods which facilitate a collective return to focus, thereby reinforcing a sense of community and shared responsibility within the classroom. Ultimately, the crux of the discussion advocates for a leadership approach that prioritizes trust and respect, illustrating that the path to effective classroom management is paved not with fear, but with understanding and consistent, firm boundaries.
Takeaways:
- Regaining control of a classroom necessitates a delicate balance between enforcing boundaries and maintaining trust with students.
- Yelling and raising one's voice often erodes respect rather than fostering a conducive learning environment for students.
- Implementing structured routines serves as an effective strategy to restore order and enhance classroom management.
- Students respond positively to calmness and presence, which can be more impactful than loudness in redirecting classroom behavior.
- Private redirection of student behavior, rather than public correction, promotes dignity and helps preserve the student-teacher relationship.
- Utilizing engaging and creative attention-getters can effectively regain student focus while infusing a sense of fun into the learning experience.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Be a Funky Teacher
Transcript
Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness, makes you feel good.
Speaker A:Like your favorite playlist.
Speaker A:Keeping that fresh and funky.
Speaker A:Yes, he does.
Speaker A:He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.
Speaker A:He can empower others, students and teachers.
Speaker A:It's all about hard work and creativity.
Speaker A:He brings out the kindness in everyone.
Speaker A:He's got the passion to teach.
Speaker A:You hear it when he speaks.
Speaker A:He knows how to build strong relationships.
Speaker A:If you're seeking the best bunkiest, he is it.
Speaker A:He will empower you to improve.
Speaker A:You'll be helping others and loving it too.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.
Speaker B:I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:Welcome, everyone.
Speaker B:I'm so excited to be here with you.
Speaker B:Today's episode is titled how to regain control of your classroom without losing relationships.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:That's what we're focusing on now.
Speaker B:We've all been there.
Speaker B:The class energy shifts, things get loud, students are distracted, and suddenly you realize you've lost the room.
Speaker B:The question is, how do you bring them back when without damaging trust?
Speaker B:That's where today's strategies come in.
Speaker B:But before we get into that, I want to talk about three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing I'm thankful for, y', all, is blankets, especially my football blanket, which is one of my favorite ones I use that my wife made.
Speaker B:It's one that has my favorite team on it.
Speaker B:Cozy.
Speaker B:It's handmade and helps me to remember that comfort and care matter in daily life.
Speaker B:Next up, I am thankful for going to bed early now.
Speaker B:Last night I was so tired.
Speaker B:It's been kind of a tough go this past week with my brother being in the hospital.
Speaker B:It's just a really tough go.
Speaker B:And I was so tired, I ended up going to bed early.
Speaker B:I it was nothing fancy.
Speaker B:It was just something that I definitely needed to do.
Speaker B:It was a gift that the gift of rest meant so much.
Speaker B:And this morning when I woke up, man, that I felt like I was on fire, ready to rock and roll with the day for myself and for my students.
Speaker B:Third thing I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:Brainstorming sessions.
Speaker B:Now, I've had an opportunity to be in multiple brainstorming sessions this week, thinking creatively, collaboratively, and trying to reimagine what's possible in teaching and working with students.
Speaker B:I really value those opportunities to have those brainstorming sessions with with colleagues and Some parents, those things, those opportunities are super powerful, y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker B:They really are.
Speaker B:All right, let's get into it now.
Speaker B:Let's go back and shift back to talking about how to regain control of your classroom without losing relationships.
Speaker B:Well, the first instinct when chaos hits is what?
Speaker B:Well, many, many teachers will raise their voice, will get into ranting and raving and yelling and screaming.
Speaker B:But yelling and screaming doesn't build respect.
Speaker B:It can actually often erode it, in fact.
Speaker B:And students.
Speaker B:We got to know that students feed off of our energy.
Speaker B:And if we escalate things, they escalate.
Speaker B:If you stay calm, you can be that anchor in a room.
Speaker B:Now, you might have to talk firmly to students, but be really careful not to just be the yelling, screaming teacher.
Speaker B:There's some practical resets that you can do.
Speaker B:Some.
Speaker B:Some approaches, things like walking closer to the behavior rather than calling across the room.
Speaker B:You can pause mid sentence and let silence do the work.
Speaker B:Kids will sometimes notice that.
Speaker B:Lower your tone instead of raising it.
Speaker B:Instead of going.
Speaker B:Going off the deep end, raising your tone.
Speaker B:Sometimes when you lower your tone, boy, that can really catch students attention.
Speaker B:I remember a day when my class was just buzzing after lunch.
Speaker B:Instead of barking at them and really going crazy, yelling and screaming at them, I simply walked.
Speaker B:Walked over to the board and stood silently and just kind of looked at the class.
Speaker B:And actually it within, I would say within about 30 seconds to a minute, the class started to get quiet and tried to kind of call each other out to get each other quiet.
Speaker B:And so that calm had more power than me yelling at them at that time.
Speaker B:Control comes from your presence, not necessarily your volume.
Speaker B:All right, the next thing is the reset.
Speaker B:With routines, students crave structure.
Speaker B:Oh, they do.
Speaker B:And when things are slipping, routines become the latter.
Speaker B:Back to order.
Speaker B:We gotta use those routines.
Speaker B:They get us back to order.
Speaker B:And so what are some tools that can work here?
Speaker B:Some sort of call and response where you can get the class back on track?
Speaker B:Where maybe you say something, one that I'm really big on using is.
Speaker B:And a hush falls over the crowd, and then the whole class breaks out and says, hush.
Speaker B:Another one I do is I do a clap, where I clap a rhythm out and they have to echo it back to me.
Speaker B:And that can get students right back on track.
Speaker B:And that can be pretty powerful, too.
Speaker B:I sometimes do countdowns, the three, two, one, eyes on me.
Speaker B:Or sometimes I do count.
Speaker B:I count up, counting to 10, and then we're on Mr. Cleave.
Speaker B:So I do different things.
Speaker B:Sometimes movement resets, you know, or maybe have Students stand or stretch and then sit.
Speaker B:I've broken out in the games of Simon says, and that can do.
Speaker B:That can be kind of like a master reset.
Speaker B:If the energy in the room is kind of chaotic, why do these things work?
Speaker B:Well, kids feel safer when they know exactly what the resets look like and sounds like.
Speaker B:So when you get those master resets, you teach them, like, how to get quiet, those master resets of, like, focus.
Speaker B:When they know what they look like and they know what they feel like, then they're more likely to be successful and more likely to do as you ask.
Speaker B:I sometimes use quirky phrases, too, like cool beans, my jelly beans, or sweet peas, my fleas.
Speaker B:Different things, too.
Speaker B:Some silly things that can get students quiet, too.
Speaker B:Just the silly, random things I do.
Speaker B:A lot of chance and a lot of just things that might.
Speaker B:There's a whole list of them.
Speaker B:So I don't just stick with just one.
Speaker B:I know there are some teachers that just have one, maybe two at the most.
Speaker B:You know, I. I certainly do much, many more than that to try to mix it up and kind of keep it fresh.
Speaker B:And sometimes this, sometimes when they're silly attention getters, you're going to have a little bit of laughter, but that kind of helps calm down the.
Speaker B:The energy of the room as well and get students back on track.
Speaker B:Sometimes I'll yell at everybody freeze.
Speaker B:And that's kind of a.
Speaker B:Kind of a fun, silly thing in the classroom, because everybody's got to go wherever you're at.
Speaker B:I don't care if your fingers up your nose, you freeze at wherever you're at, because I got something to say, and I unfreeze when I'm done saying what I need to say.
Speaker B:That's another thing, too.
Speaker B:I mean, so there's so many cool, fun things you can do to use like these master resets in your classroom that are part of your routines.
Speaker B:And if you don't have any, or if you don't have any that really work, then maybe I would encourage you to maybe spend some time teaching them and practicing them and making sure they work.
Speaker B:Because those routine, those reset routine, those resets are so important to the routine in the classroom.
Speaker B:And then I just want to say, y' all hold firm and keep trust.
Speaker B:This is the balance point where you need to correct behavior but not damage relationships.
Speaker B:There are times when you have to maybe get administration involved or get outside supports involved if students are being so distracting or so where they're.
Speaker B:Where they're causing such a disruption to the class where you can't even teach or get a word out.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:There's times like that you have to get administration involved or other outside support teachers involved though it does make sense.
Speaker B:But for most students, y', all, you can ultimately, you can correct behaviors but not damage relationships through the things that I've shared with you.
Speaker B:And students must know that, hey, you will enforce boundaries and you will treat them with dignity.
Speaker B:But of course, you know, if things escalate to a higher level, you might have to get other people involved.
Speaker B:But for the most part, it's setting the tone for how the classroom will be run.
Speaker B:Gotta hold firm.
Speaker B:You can't just throw up your hands and say, I don't have control of this classroom.
Speaker B:Now there might be moments you feel that way.
Speaker B:I certainly have felt that way in, in a classroom over, over 23 years.
Speaker B:Not a lot, but there's been a few moments where I felt like I don't have control right now.
Speaker B:You know, it's almost.
Speaker B:I, I hate saying that out loud.
Speaker B:But then like, if you get to that point, what do you do about it?
Speaker B:And are you strategizing and trying to figure out, okay, how do you address it so you can regain control back?
Speaker B:You could help, help students keep their dignity where you don't have to start yelling and, and screaming and, and berating students.
Speaker B:I mean that, that's, nobody loves that.
Speaker B:And, and so that's, that's the challenge here.
Speaker B:That's the balance here where enforce boundaries, but yet treat students with dignity.
Speaker B:Dignity too.
Speaker B:You of course want.
Speaker B:We want to correct behaviors, but we want to absolutely correct students behavior, but not the student's identity.
Speaker B:Like for example, if a student throws a pencil, of course that's not okay, but it doesn't mean it's a bad kid if a kid made a bad choice.
Speaker B:But it doesn't make, make that student a bad kid or like a throwaway human being.
Speaker B:I mean, that's even awful.
Speaker B:But there's some teachers who look at some kids as the naughty kids or the.
Speaker B:Oh, they're just going to.
Speaker B:Cause they're just the troublemaking kid and they almost tie their behavior to their identity.
Speaker B:You've got to be really careful about doing that.
Speaker B:I, I've never done that and I've really tried to avoid anything that ties behavior to one's identity.
Speaker B:You know, and here's the thing.
Speaker B:Whenever possible, try to redirect privately when you can instead of making a public show, public showing or a public scene.
Speaker B:So if you can, try to redirect kind of more quietly or off to the side or privately instead of putting on a bit, a show.
Speaker B:Because sometimes kids want a show.
Speaker B:They want a power struggle.
Speaker B:They're trying to go get into the, they're trying to bring the show to you and then you got a big old mess on your hands because there's a big old power struggle and we don't want that.
Speaker B:So just be very careful about that.
Speaker B:Getting pulled into a power struggle, big thing you can do is if you correct a student or redirect a student more soft or quieter off to the side.
Speaker B:Sometimes you got to, sometimes you guys say, hey, cut it out.
Speaker B:And you can move on where you don't have to really get into it.
Speaker B:Or, or sometimes you, you kind of like you, you just think, you shake your head motion to kind of tell a student to knock it off or just kind of look at a student and they can sometimes get the hint by that.
Speaker B:And if that doesn't work, you know, you may have to pull students aside.
Speaker B:Just be really careful about just berating humiliating, name calling students in front of everyone.
Speaker B:That's just not a place to be, you know, and then after class or you know, between classes, sometimes it's good to also then let students know, hey, I had to redirect you or I had to, I had to correct you.
Speaker B:And, and, but you know what?
Speaker B:I still believe in you and I know you can do it.
Speaker B:So it's still important to come back sometimes later and say to that student, hey, you got this.
Speaker B:You can do it.
Speaker B:Just reminding them that, hey, you're not mad at them, you still believe in them.
Speaker B:They got this.
Speaker B:That's an, that's also very important to do, I think as well when you have that opportunity.
Speaker B:And it, ultimately it can be a 15 second thing that you do with that child.
Speaker B:And it can be kind of get into that, some of that restorative teaching approach with dealing with behaviors that can be beneficial.
Speaker B:You know, I, there was one time I had a student who stormed out after I had asked him to reset and instead of shaming him later, you know, I quietly pulled him aside and worked with him once the ID office had to get him and, and kind of because you can't just wander the building.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:But, but we talked about it later, that student and I, and just reminded that student that hey, that was a bad choice.
Speaker B:I mean, there's consequences.
Speaker B:So let me put that out there too.
Speaker B:There was consequences for storming out of a classroom and just walking out.
Speaker B:But then after the fact, once it was all said and done, you know, I met with that student the next day and said, hey, you know, that was a bad choice, but it doesn't mean you're a bad kid.
Speaker B:And we just had that conversation.
Speaker B:And he actually was appreciative that I didn't embarrass him in front of the classroom or calling him out.
Speaker B:And so that's how you can keep trust even while holding firm.
Speaker B:So firm boundaries and respect make lasting influence when working with young people.
Speaker B:So big takeaways here.
Speaker B:Reflecting on as we bring this episode to a close.
Speaker B:Regaining control, y', all, isn't about power plays.
Speaker B:It's about leadership.
Speaker B:Stay calm instead of loud.
Speaker B:Use routines as your safety net.
Speaker B:Use routines.
Speaker B:I'm going to say that again because it's that important.
Speaker B:Use routines as your safety net.
Speaker B:And that means if you have to go back and teach a routine because it's not happening, teach it.
Speaker B:Teach it, Teach it.
Speaker B:Reteach it.
Speaker B:Reteach it.
Speaker B:Practice it.
Speaker B:Do it routines.
Speaker B:Use routines as your safety net and protect relationships while holding boundaries.
Speaker B:And when students trust you, they will let you reset them because they know it's not about power, it's about care.
Speaker B:Well, that's all I have on today's episode.
Speaker B:I hope that you found value in this episode.
Speaker B:And with that being said, remember to inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:And don't forget to be a funky teacher.
Speaker B:Bye, now.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher, yeah he's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah, yeah, yeah.
