Sometimes Less is More

As a teacher, I admittedly had some improvements which needed to be made during the course of my career. When I entered the world of public education, what I had in energy and vitality, I lacked some when it came to keeping students from occasionally escalating. As I gained experience, I learned many things, most of them taught to me by students in one form or another.

One of these nuggets I was taught was to not over talk things. I do tend to be a talker by nature and for the most part that did not get in the way of my teaching successes. When I needed to slow down and let the quiet happen at times was when I could tell a student was starting to get emotionally ramped up. During my first few years of teaching, I did not quite pick up on the sometimes subtle clues the students were sending me. For some, it was fist clenching. For others, the pitch and loudness of their voices would raise. With a lower level of experience, I unknowingly at times, did not help the situation at hand and due to my actions, would create a higher level of escalation than perhaps could have been.

Age is a blessing and sometimes a curse. In my case of educational experience, I had to view my experiences as a blessing. I learned some simple techniques that helped me for the remainder of my career. One of them I will pass onto you. As you get to know the nuances of your students, you will know within a few weeks what triggers to avoid as well as how to interact differently with each student. We don't live in a one size fits all system.

One thing that can completely set some students into an escalated state is when the adults use too many words. If you think about it, during times when the student is in the flight, fight or freeze state, their brain is not processing super well. Their brain is telling them they are "in danger" and need to get out of the situation however they can. If a teacher or para-educator swoops in and begins to speak a lot, this can confuse the student's situation even more. They will not be able to process what you are saying. The words become a jumble of more frustration, which can lead to a higher level of fight, flight or freeze. (Quick side note- I cannot recall a student ever freezing in my lifetime- it has been either fight or flight).

Over time, I learned the following. First of all, know your students well. Based on the relationships I created with my students within the classroom, I knew who I could joke with a little more than others. I learned who to call on for what information, etc. I also learned who were the ones who could potentially escalate and under what circumstances as well. I tried to avoid getting into these situations and my record was pretty darned good after my first couple of years of teaching.

Another thing I learned is that sometimes less is more. When a student is becoming escalated, using a quiet tone of voice with very little inflection as well as very few words can help to de-escalate situations. I would quietly reassure the students I was there to help support them and they would be ok. If necessary, I would allow them to take a short break either in a different part of my classroom or out in the hallway for a few minutes. In my case, either a para-educator or myself would quietly supervise the student to make sure they were safe. 9.9 times out of 10, the student would willingly come back into the classroom or back with the group within a few minutes and would be back to baseline.

This little tip will hopefully help you with your classroom. Keep moving forward. Continue to build those positive relationships with your students and remember, sometimes less is more.

Have a great week,

Jon