Loosen up (your hold on classroom management)
If a student throws a paper airplane, I don’t stop the lesson, I just pick it up and throw it out. No nasty look, deep sigh or long lecture needed. It’s not that I don’t care that this is happening. It is annoying. But more times than not, they are just looking for a reaction/attention. If as a teacher, I can control my reaction, the disrupter sees that their technique is futile. The rest of the class also sees, that I’m not bothered by it, so they usual can ignore it too.
If what they are doing isn’t distracting others or dangerous, then I’ll just let them keep doing it. I’m not going to use my Vulcan death grip and force them to do anything. What a waste of (both our) energy that would be.
The only way to react with no reaction, is to do your inner work. Teachers need to constantly be sorting through your own issues and organizing your own life. If you are on edge about anything in your personal life, it will only be amplified in your reactions to your students.
Finally, if you can’t control your inner state your best option is to teach relevant and inspiring content in an engaging way. The students will be so absorbed in learning that they won’t remember to be disruptive.
-Katie Hellerman | How to Loosen Your Volcan Death Grip-Classroom Management
