Stay off the Escalator!!!!
Paul Bailey
7/25/2017
It is easy to step on the
escalator, ride it to the top, get off, and move on to your destination.
However, when managing behaviors, stay off the ‘escalator.’ While interacting
with kids, there is no easy way to move on to a destination once arriving at
the top of the ‘escalator.’
“An escalator can never break; it can only become stairs.”
Mitch Hedberg
Mitch Hedberg
It was a mid-morning
class and Jimmy had told me that he did not have his assignment from the
previous night. Jimmy had frequently not completed his assignment and I began
to question him about the incomplete assignment even though I already knew what
his response would be. I asked him a few questions that escalated the situation
to the point in which he decided to give me the middle finger. Immediately I
sent him to the office and I moved on with the lesson.
Over the next few days in
which Jimmy was not in class, I began to reflect upon my actions that day. I came to the conclusion that I could have
prevented Jimmy’s actions that day. I did not have to prod him with questions
about not having his homework assignment. If I had just accepted his response
of not having the assignment and moved on, then, the situation would have never
escalated to an action that led to suspension. I completely understand that
there were two individuals involved with this situation. However, I have
control over my actions and frankly, I was supposed to be the adult in the
situation. After reflecting upon this situation, I realized that my actions as
an educator, as a colleague, and as a person have a profound effect on the
individual(s) I interact with daily.
“What we do does not define who we are.
What defines us is how well we rise after falling.”
Bob Hoskins
After that dreadful
method of dealing with a student, I began a concentrated effort to make better
use of my communication skills when speaking with students. I have collected
some ideas from Todd Whitaker about communicating with students. Todd mentions
that teachers should not scream, use sarcasm, or tell kids to shut up. I would
also add that teachers should not use profanity with students. It seems simple until
one day in a class full of students, one student is defiantly choosing not to
do as have requested. Physiological changes begin to occur in the body, heart
rate increases, sympathetic nervous system kicks in the ‘fight or flight’
mechanism, and the teacher utilizes the actions, whether productive or not,
that have been used in his/her past. However, if teachers would practice, yes I
said ‘Practice,’ communicating with everyone in their life without using
sarcasm, screaming, profanity, and shut up, then, it becomes easier to speak
with students in the same manner in a heated situation.
Screaming, or even
raising your voice, at students who never are spoken to by parents in that tone
will most likely get the requested behavior from the student. Otherwise, when
an adult in a school yells at a kid who is frequently yelled at by his/her
parents, the teacher is ‘running up the escalator.’ The student will
immediately retort with a raised voice and most likely using profane and vulgar
language. As educators we immediately believe this is disrespectful. However,
when viewed from the student’s perspective, yelling is part of his/her everyday
communication with an adult. Not yelling will help to keep stress levels down
for the teacher and students without removing students from class for
disrespect.
The type of language used
towards students has a profound effect on their reactions. Many students
frequently use profanity in their everyday communication with friends and
parents. Some students would need to call their parents from the privacy of my
office. The language that I overheard being used with a parent was similar to
the language in which the student was sent to the office for using in class.
When teachers use disrespectful and inappropriate language in a classroom, students
that frequently use that type of language will reciprocate with similar
language. Profanity from a teacher demonstrates that students can use the same
type of language. Use of the phrase ‘shut up’ from a teacher demonstrates that
students can use the same level of disrespect. Sarcasm by a teacher expresses
that students can use similar demeaning comments towards others.
“Great teachers have high
expectations for their students,
but even higher expectations for themselves.”
Todd Whitaker
As adults in a school, we
can also unknowingly disrespect students. Without forming relationships with
students and completely understanding the student’s background, educators can
easily become disrespectful towards students.
As an assistant principal I spoke with students about their
inappropriate interactions with a teacher. Many times the student would begin
by telling me that the teacher was disrespectful to him/her and so the student
chose to be disrespectful in return.
One student came to speak
with me about a situation with her teacher. After discussing the situation, we
came to the understanding that her reaction was excessive for the situation.
During the discussion, she shared with me that the teacher was ‘in her bubble.’
She explained that the teacher had stood next to her and quietly addressed her
individually to remain on task. However, the student felt the teacher was in
her bubble and, at that moment, the student became defensive and responded
angrily. The teacher was only subtly redirecting behavior without singling out
the student in front of the class, which is how we[educators] have been
instructed as best practice. After providing the student with strategies for
handling responses when people enter her ‘bubble’ and providing the teacher
with an explanation for the student’s reaction, both individuals better
understood each other for the remainder of the school year.
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