Fast Llamas,
Today, I am going to share with you Doug Curry's free resource, titled "How to Become a Slow Llama".
Free Llama Training resources can be found at: http://www.fastllama.com/free-resources
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be breaking down this piece into chunks. My hope is a variety of resources and a source of reflection for you. I like to build on strengths rather than on deficits, so, as you read, you will see a lot os what you are already succeeding at, so accept them and benefit from the affirmation. However, I don't know about you, but, I am always looking for ways to "level up" and get better. Lot's of "oh yeah, I do that! but, I could do it better!" moments today.
I will interject with Quantum Learning practices as well.
Here is Doug Curry -
At your school right now, no matter how difficult you think it is, there are teachers who have command of their classrooms and are teaching with very few, if any, disruptions. The students in these classrooms respect the teacher. The students appear eager to learn. The classroom environment is conducive to learning.
When you are a teacher, you rarely have the opportunity to watch others in action. If you are struggling with classroom management, you begin to think that everyone else must be struggling as well, or at least you kind of hope that they are so that you can feel a bit better about yourself. I’m sorry to tell you, but here goes: There are fast llamas in your school! Many times these fast llamas are very quiet about their success. They don’t want others believing that they think too highly of themselves. You weren’t born a slow llama! What is it that you have done that has caused you to be limping so badly?
Let’s examine what possibly caused this to happen.
What Makes Llamas Slow
1. Easily Defeated
It is in the nature of children to “test the limits” of the person in charge. They want to find out if you really mean what you say and if you are committed to being the person in charge of the classroom. It’s not personal. It’s just what they do, and they have been doing it since the beginning of mankind. You cheat them when you don’t accept your role of being the person in charge of the classroom. Kids, from KG to high school, in fact CRAVE the teacher being in charge. I know that this point sounds crazy, but it’s true. When the teacher is in command of the classroom, kids feel safe, both physically and emotionally. When the classroom is out of control and chaos occurs, they suffer.
This is true even when they are the ones causing the chaos!
• Is it hard to be the person in charge? ——Of course!
• Shouldn’t they just be nice and accept that the teacher is the authority in the classroom? ——-Sounds good but it’s not the way things work.
• Isn’t it their responsibility to act right as students and allow you to teach? ———Maybe on some other planet, but on ours it is in the nature of children to test you out.
• Shouldn’t they just test me one time and know that I mean it? ———Sorry, doesn’t work that way.
• So are you saying I just have to be mean all the time? ———-No, mean has nothing to do with it. Fast llamas are very nice and engaging. But you had better be STRONG, DETERMINED, AND NEVER GIVE UP.
Slow llamas are easily defeated.
This happens for a number of reasons, but ultimately, the reasons don’t matter.
The kids just know that if they keep on pushing, the teacher will give up, surrender, and be overrun by enemy troops. Have you ever gone to the local dollar store and observed this scenario? You know, the one where a parent (llama) goes in to buy something and brings along their cute but strong-willed 3 year-old child (tiger).
Tiger: “BUY ME SOMETHING!”
Llama: “I’m not going to buy you something every time we go into a store. I just need to get some new pens, and then we are going home.”
Tiger: “BUY ME SOMETHING!”
Llama: “No, just sit in the cart and be a good little tiger.”
Tiger: “BUY ME SOMETHING!”
Llama: “Shhhhhhh!”
Tiger: (now jumping up and down in the cart and causing others to look on in horror) “BUY ME SOMETHING!”
Llama: “Sit down!”
Tiger: (now causing every other 3 year-old in the store to join in, creating an event worthy of TV news) “BUY ME SOMETHING!”
Llama: “Okay, okay. I’ll buy you something.”
And the beat goes on. So………………what is the answer if you are a teacher who is easily defeated?
We need you to realize something. You represent everything that is good and hopeful in the lives of the students in front of you. It is not a mistake that you were chosen for this position. Your district and your state completely vetted you before they chose you to teach their children. You have the right to tell kids what to do and to expect them to do it.
You can’t be a jerk about it. You do have to learn to use all of your engaging and persuasive skills, but the truth is you do have the right to stand in front of them and alongside them and to ultimately be in charge of your classroom.
Education is the key to their future. What you are doing matters. Teaching is a real opportunity to influence young persons in positive ways.
Let this sink in. When you stand in front of them, consider these truths.
Is teaching hard? Definitely! Are some students going to be difficult? For sure! HOWEVER, BE DETERMINED THAT THE SIDE YOU REPRESENT IS GOING TO WIN IN THIS CLASSROOM——not by being hateful, not by being sarcastic, not by being rigid and uncompromising, but by being the loving authority that the students need at all times. Someone is going to be in charge in the classroom. It needs to be you!
Remember being nice changes lives and you can still be firm, in fact, students want consistency... bucking up against it is a natural part of growing up. I like this graphic from Kristen Wiens.
- a foundational issue? does everyone know what is expected and how to interact with one another
- is the problem with the atmosphere? do students have feelings of safety, support and belonging? are they willing to take educational risks?
- how about the environment? is your classroom pleasant? does the physical space make students feel comfortable? is it free of chaos?
- how about the design and delivery of content? is instruction purposefully created to ignite creativity, autonomy, critical thinking and reflection? are you just going through the motions, or do kids see how excited you are to teach your subject
5. Celebrate the success of the students adhering to the new plan
I have never been one to wait, if something wasn't working in my classroom, I would have a heart to heart with students and introduce a new way of doing things.
It might of sounded like this...
"Hey students, I have noticed that you are entering the classroom, haphazardly and there is a bit of chaos. This behavior is causing us to start class later that we need. We need all of the time we have together to be focused! So, starting tomorrow we.."
The change might be a better system and expectation of what they are to do when they come into class. Creating a "warm-up booklet" (pre-Covid mind you) helped focus kids to start their warm-ups when they walked in, the booklet was filled with questions, quotes, jokes and puzzles. Kids loved them. Having music playing when kids walk in can create a sense of wonder, especially when the songs tie into the lesson. Colleagues, Emily Smith and Denise Aaron, ask students content questions at the door. This engaging activity is so good and the kids really like the challenge, it's fun and gets kids focused on science as they enter the room. Game changer. You could institute a class song or mantra too. Anything that gets the kids excited to be there!
Shampoo and repeat whenever you observe something happening in the classroom that you want to see change. In other words, the things that make you crazy, the things you want to take command of...
turning in work, getting your attention, answering questions, leaving the room, managing supplies, how to get help, what to do when the teacher is talking...
Lastly, do not ever say to kids, "you should know this".
Maybe they don't or maybe they forgot... remember, their brains are different than yours. Heck, I forget policies too sometimes and need a reminder. Think about the message you send when you say this...(one, they forgot and they should of remembered, two, they are dumb because they don't know - shame game, three, he/she only calls out what I don't know, etc. etc. etc.) Shaming kids does not change behavior. Let that sink in... Shaming does not change behavior.
You can remind them in ways that give them the power they need to do the right thing. It starts with you.
Don't be defeated. The thing I like best about education is the challenge of it... you can get command of your classroom, the kids are craving it! Don't ever think that a classroom is a lost cause. Start with your reflection of it and get to action! There are fast llamas here at Labay (ahh, the collective!), seek them out, let them show you their ways.
Stay tuned for next week - How to Become a Slow Llama - #2 Bad Body Language
