Practice Empathy

I take inspiration from the most random of places. I’m currently sitting in a PD session on behaviors and trauma. This PD session is part of a larger conference put on by Cincinnati Public Schools. During the conference the keynote speaker was George Couros. During his keynote address he stated, “Innovation begins and ends with empathy.” This behavioral PD session is a great reminder that students come from all walks of life and different experiences.

One topic that stood out to me the the phrase, “flip your lid.” We had a great discussion about 2 parts of the brain – the upstairs brain and downstairs brain. The upstairs brain is the part that calms and organizes a child during stressful situations. In contrast, the downstairs brain is the fearful part that responds to stressful situations. When students have repeated, traumatic and stressful situations, the downstairs brain over-develops and the upstairs brain doesn’t know how to calm it down. This entire concept is illustrated in this picture (linked here).

This simple visual made this topic come together for me. As teachers we need to expect bumps in the road and expect that not every situation will be perfect. The question becomes, how can we make the most of every situation?

1. Build Relationships – A simple, “Hello and how are you?” goes a looong way in the classroom. As educators, we to understand the needs of every student. A great reminder for everyone: if a student comes in and lays his or her head down, don’t treat the situation as disrespectful. Instead, treat this situation as way to figure what that student needs. Sometimes, everyday life is more important than a your subject.
2. Give Choices – Avoid saying, “No,” with an explanation. Instead, tell students what they can have with options. For example, if a student is slumped in their seat or not “sitting up,” give them choices of sitting up or moving to a new location in the room where they would be more comfortable. However, choices shouldn’t be restricted to behavior. Choices should be included with lessons. Allowing students to have choice and voice is a great way to empower them and alleviate many classroom management problems.
3. Change the Classroom Environment – To change my classroom environment, I started with a mission statement and built my class expectations from there. In my class expectations, you will never see the words “no” and “don’t.” These words carry too much negativity with them. Let’s face it, with the world we live in today, we need to stay positive and keep school positive. Other ways I intend to change my classroom environment include: have students decorate my walls and have a passion wall where students can post the things they enjoy outside of school.