Bad Days
I remember how often at morning break in the school staffroom a teacher would enter exclaiming how badly behaved their class was today. I could relate to these odd days when the whole class seemed to be working against you. It was not difficult to work out what was happening. The night before the students had all been messaging each other and plotting how they would all make the next day a nightmare for their teacher. It was nothing to do with the teacher it was a conspiracy involving every single student in that class!
Of course, the reality is that something else is different and quite often it is something about ourselves that is the cause of the student's more challenging behaviour. It is our ability to cope with the demands of the class that day that has most likely changed. We may also leak out 'signals' about ourselves that unsettle the students. No matter how professional we are there are subtle and sometimes not so subtle changes in our own behaviour that relate to our underlying mental and physical well-being. So just as each student's capacity to learn and behave will reflect their physical, emotional and mental state at any given time; we too are so influenced in our ability to teach, lead and manage the students.
On days such as these it is worth reflecting over morning coffee for a minute or two. Am I feeling perfectly well and rested; or am I just about coping with all the things I need to juggle, both at home and at work. Are you having one of those days when you feel that: the world can just xxx off if it expects any more from me!
The reality will usually be somewhere between these two extremes but when it is closer to the latter we may find that we are:
less able to cope with classroom noise and chatter
less tolerant of students who forget things
easily frustrated by students' lack of understanding
more likely to use negative rather than positive forms of classroom behaviour management
On these bad days it is worth starting the lesson after break with an activity to break any tension and restore the teacher/student relationship. This can be:
a short fun activity or game
giving out a reward (earnt on a previous day)
Some other celebration of work
Depending on the age and relationship with students sometimes confiding with them that you are not well can work. Some teacher's particularly of younger children have found that this can work but I would advise cautious use.
Establishing positive relationships with students
Building a solid professional working relationship with students takes an investment of social and emotional energy over time. Getting to know a little about each student and having empathy is somewhat of a cliche, straight out of a Hollywood film, but it is actually fairly sound advice. Unfortunately, in the real world, we can't know everything about every student and finding time to learn anything about a student can sometimes be a struggle. However, students rightly expect you to:
learn their name
treat them with curtesy and respect
use the opportunities available to model and exchange social pleasanties
acquire an understanding of their individual learning strengths and weaknesses
Equally crucial for any relationship is trust and this can be achieved through the following:
always being explicitly clear about expectations and rules
always doing what you say you will do
explaining and if necessary apologising when you need to make changes
willingness to listen before making judgements
