Chapter 23
My role as a teacher is extremely important. Extremely important. The future generation needs support and guidance in so many different aspects of learning. Their need transcends beyond the book into skills that will provide them with confidence to face life and accept any challenges it presents. Understanding this is my role. Accepting this is my responsibility. It is my duty to fulfill what is needed. Many are not worthy to accept this, and don’t completely realize that they are heroes in their students’ eyes.
Emotionally, students come from various levels and needs. We have to “pre-consider” our own emotional boundaries, needs, and actions to be able to serve the needs of others. If we understand that our work as a teacher is rewarding, giving of ourselves will not be a drain to our own emotional and spiritual levels. The reason I believe this awareness to oneself is important is because we will be tested and give a huge piece of ourselves to fuel the being of others. Many teachers get burnt out or frustrated, but this “pre-consideration” I mention mitigates most of these effects. In teaching, emotional needs are fluid, and may change daily. We must prepare ourselves for this and by doing so better prepares us to serve our students.
Behaviorally, students have different fundamentals of knowledge and general different life experiences that shape their foundation entering your room. With supportive, stable, consistent, and compassionate behavior from the teacher creating the environment in the classroom, a student experiences balance unlike anything they have achieved before. I have always called my classroom or sports team “a haven away from the worries of the world”. It is where for the time we are all together, we can compartmentalize our needs for learning away from the needs of the world. I let my students know that in this moment, everyone knows they are here and it is where they belong. Bringing this attention to them, usually generates peace within themselves and allows them to let go of the worries for the time we are in our class or at practice. Being in the moment at peace allows them to escape their temporary problems of the world. Hidden within this exercise, I am teaching them that this place can be created for themselves in the future wherever they may be. This is such a powerful skill to develop, and one that will serve them well when adversity and hard work faces them in their life. Teaching them to find balance also allows them to reset and generate a new foundation that can help them move forward instead of staying stagnant in their life or even their present day. This healthy trait is something I will help students develop in my classroom.
Life has expectations. I generally use an exercise where I flash them into the future and have them look at the world from a different lens. This lens asks them to look at what the world wants from them and their role in it. By doing this, I minimize their current stressors from their lives and allow them to see that 1) Everything will be okay and 2) Creates a platform for them to generate goals for their life. By doing this brings us back to the present and asks them the question, “What are you doing now to achieve those things you saw in the future?” I use this to have them create their own expectations, and then my expectations in class are easy to follow because they have “self-established” their own before someone tells them what they want from them as a demand. I cannot tell you how powerful this is. I do this with my teams, and I own 10 League Championships because of it. I am ready to take this to my own classroom. I believe this will be immensely powerful in the education environment as well.
In my world, everyone is included. I was always the smallest kid in the room. I eventually grew up, so I know how it feels to be left out, diminished, picked last, etc. I do not want that for my kids because everyone has their own special talent and we are all created differently. I believe this mantra comes in two forms: understanding and life experience. Many don’t have either – and that creates a barrier in some classrooms. In my inclusive classroom, everyone has value and everyone gets to contribute. The world is different all around us, and creating that understanding will be a crucial skill my students can learn to value coming out of my classroom.
It is my hope, with compassion, respect for oneself and others, self-created expectations for school and life, a student will be naturally inclined to want to stay engaged in class because the environment is interesting and dynamic. I want a student to look forward to coming to class asking the question, “What are we going to learn today?” If you have students that are interested and they question you this as they enter, then the class is on the right path. Once I ever have to get my kids attention, beg for engagement, or coerce them to do work, I have lost; and most likely it is my fault because I lacked the awareness to help my students. That’s when the need for discipline is apparent for teachers because they have to “enforce” rules. Imagine if discipline was not even a vocabulary word in your class and because of the effective management skills that were promoted, created, and consistently followed, the students didn’t need to be told what to do as a part of discipline, because they already knew the expectations and they would put forth effort to attain them in your class? It can be a reality.
My approach to classroom management is simple. Inspire everyone. Inspire the students. Inspire my fellow teachers. Inspire the administration. Inspire the staff. Inspire anyone that has forgotten our job is to build people up. When something special occurs in a classroom, it can be seen almost immediately. The atmosphere is different. Average is thrown out the door, and traditional working environments are non-existent. Imagination, creativity, and belief for oneself is created in a classroom that challenges the norms. Be different. Make sure to uphold the fundamentals to the standards that are required, but why not challenge them and make them exciting? I believe we live in a world of constrictions. I understand that there are rules, regulations, and procedures that must be followed, respected, and maintained; but I believe all these have been not to hold us down in education as a teacher, but are meant to set us free! Many of my counterparts look at what “I can’t do” or “shouldn’t do”, and operate on the assumption of “maybe” or “maybe I can do something like that.” I challenge these perceived limitations with questioning “WHY NOT?”. This challenge allows a person, both educator and student, to grow to limitless possibilities. The only obstruction is oneself. When the realization occurs that the world is looking for people to lead, inspire, help, build, and create a future that has passion and confidence, then a teacher can truly understand what their role is in their classroom. Management is not limited things we can’t do, but things we can do. Any student who believes this won’t need classroom management, they’ll be a willing passenger on the education ride of their life. That is how I want operate in my classroom. What new adventures will I take my students on? What new explorations will they discover taking this journey? There is a huge world out there, and it starts in my classroom. I can’t wait to help my students begin their voyage. It starts with me.
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Written By Chris Hulme ( aka – Coach Hulme ) #CoachHulme #ChrisHulme
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