Latest / ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿 / 🙌 Respect in the Classroom: 🏫 Building a Culture That Works ✅

Transcript

🙌 Respect in the Classroom: 🏫 Building a Culture That Works ✅ · ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿

• 0:05
  Hey guys, and welcome to another episode of The Lines and
• 0:08
  Thriving for Teachers. I'm still Mel, and today we are
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  diving into something that every teacher faces every single year
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  and that is building a respectful classroom
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  environment. Now let's be honest, respect in
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  the classroom isn't something that just happens because we
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  show up with a planner and a smile.
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  It is something that we actually have to work really hard to
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  create. Well, Co create really, and it
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  all starts with us. So let's talk about the real
• 0:44
  stuff, the moments, the mindset and the methods that make
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  respect something that is felt and not just something that's
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  talked about or stuck up on a poster in the classroom.
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  So if you want respect, you have to give it first.
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  Honest truth bomb there. If it doesn't, it doesn't really
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  matter how young or old your students are.
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  Respect is a two way St. You can't demand something from
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  someone that you're not willing to model yourself.
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  Kids will pick up on that energy really fast.
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  Now, I'm not saying that you should be your student's best
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  friend. Absolutely not.
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  In fact, let's be let's be clear, you're not their mate.
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  You are their leader. You are more like a parent
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  figure. You hold the boundaries.
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  You set the tone. Yeah, you can still laugh.
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  You can still dance around the room.
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  You can still joke about how your coffee is the only reason
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  you're still standing upright. But the difference is there is
• 1:44
  structure behind it, and you still have that boundary in
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  place. OK, so you're imagining as
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  parents, we have fun with the kids, but we also have
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  boundaries. And that's the way we need to be
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  as teachers. We are imagining that we are the
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  world's best parent, however that looks to you, and that we
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  are setting boundaries. But if you want respect, you
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  have to give it first and you need to explicitly teach it
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  because, and I'm going to say the thing that I really don't
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  like saying, but kids these days, kids these days may not
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  have had a really healthy role model that has modelled what
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  respect is and looks like to them.
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  So they're bringing with them what they think it is to your
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  classroom. You need to explicitly teach
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  what that looks like, feels like, sounds like in your
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  classroom. OK, You can't just expect to
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  say, oh, we are respectful in this classroom.
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  Well, what is that? You need to teach them what that
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  actually is. And that's on you.
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  Now, I still remember back when we had the four clear school
• 2:58
  terms. Sorry, let me rephrase that.
• 3:00
  We have 4 school terms now. Three, we had three.
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  And the saying used to go don't smile until after Easter.
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  So that first term was broken up by Easter.
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  So you'd sort of do a big chunk and then you have a little break
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  and then you come back for the last little bit and then you
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  have holidays. And the rule was you don't smile
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  until after Easter. And I get it.
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  The idea behind that old school advice was to make sure that
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  your students understood the expectations before you started
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  building that more playful, relaxed type of relationship.
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  Now, I think we're sort of evolved from that a bit.
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  We know now that relationships matter from day one, but the
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  core idea still stands. Spend the early part of the year
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  making your expectations crystal clear so that there is nothing
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  that's assumed. There's nothing that's hinted
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  at. It's not.
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  Well, I thought I told them crystal clear.
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  Kids can't read our minds. It's just like husbands.
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  They can't read our minds the same as we can't read this,
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  which thank goodness because Can you imagine what they'd see on a
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  Thursday afternoon at 2:45 PM if kids could read your mind and
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  you'll just sit standing there going, I just really wish it was
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  Friday. Why is it not Friday?
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  Or why can't you just leave? Imagine if they could read your
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  mind and all of the thoughts going on in your head.
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  Not that you should be having those thoughts, but I'm, I'm
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  100% positive we've all had them.
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  But seriousness, all of the steps that and the expectations
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  that you're saying they need to be broken down.
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  If you want a respectful classroom, you have got to teach
• 4:36
  them what that looks like. So that brings me to my next
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  point of model, model, model. You want your kids to speak
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  kindly, speak kindly yourself. You want them to take ownership,
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  own your stuff too. You want them to listen, Don't
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  talk over them. You can't say respect is our
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  class value and then slam the desk when you're frustrated.
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  You can't demand kindness from your students and then go and
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  gossip in the staff room about how annoying Year 5 is this
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  year. What you model is what you
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  multiply. Even when the kids aren't in
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  front of you, other people are seeing what's going on.
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  OK so just remember that. Honestly the amount of PLS that
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  I have sat in where there's the message like we literally every
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  behaviour training that I've been to it's the same.
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  You have to model what you want to see and respect starts with
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  you. Then that's where you get into
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  the gold part, which is when you can Co create with your class so
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  you're creating it together. I always start the year by
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  working with my students to build a class agreement.
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  We talk about what respect looks like, what it sounds like, and
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  how it would feel in our classroom if we were all being
• 6:00
  respectful people. They help us to write the rules.
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  They help create the vibes. Then they'll buy into it because
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  they've helped to build it. And yes, it means that it takes
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  time at the start of your year. But that investment, it pays off
• 6:14
  big time when the mid year burnout hits and your system is
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  still holding strong and all you need to do is refer back to the
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  expectations that you've written together.
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  It's all worth it. But in saying that, that means
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  that when you set the bar, you've got to stick to it.
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  So let me ask you a question. Do you have a clear response
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  when students aren't being respectful?
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  Because if you don't and you let that one thing slide today, it's
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  going to grow legs tomorrow. And I'm telling you now, little
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  things become big things when you just ignore them.
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  So set your bar, then stick to it and be consistent.
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  Kids thrive on consistency. I thrive on consistency, really.
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  But honestly, you've got to have clear consequences when
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  expectations aren't being met. But you can also have your
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  rewards and your incentives because we all love something to
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  work towards. I mean, personally, I love
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  getting to work early because it means that I have time to go get
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  a coffee on the way to work. It's a simple reward for me.
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  It's a motivator. It works for me.
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  It also breaks up our trip on the way to school because
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  obviously my kids are with me and they have a bit of time, but
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  that's it. It The same thing goes for our
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  kids. Even just the small things of a
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  Friday high 5, like where you have a kid of not a kid of the
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  week, but a Friday high 5, like something that they've done.
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  I had a class once and we would have a bunch of hand like hand
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  cutouts and our high 5 was when people did nice things or you
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  wanted to give someone a shout out, you would write it on a
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  hand and you would put it in the jar.
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  And at the end of the week we'd just pull one out and be like,
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  oh, high 5 to Sarah because she helped such such go get the
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  scissors out when we were getting ready for this.
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  And then you just pull out some and you'd read them and they
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  could be and not like it doesn't have to say who it's from.
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  It's just a high 5 to that kid. And then they're like, oh,
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  someone noticed me. Oh, someone did that for me.
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  You could have a a game of class bingo or a compliment jar.
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  Like all of those moments matter.
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  And it makes those kids in that room feel special and important
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  and like they are part of their own and they are their own
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  little community and they all work together.
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  So think about all of that when you are getting ready to start
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  your year and you're in that process of building those
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  expectations with your class and with your kids.
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  That's what you're working on. Then you need to find your
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  space. So your classroom is your space.
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  You need to claim it. You need to use it as your space
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  to create calm and it's your energy that sets the tone.
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  So if you are a constantly negative person, your class are
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  going to end up mirroring that without you realising it.
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  If you are a reactive person, your class will become reactive
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  too. But if you lead with calm,
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  clarity and kindness, then your class are going to start to
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  reflect that back to you as well.
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  And it's not perfect. I'm not saying it's perfect.
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  It's not magic, but it is so powerful that when you model,
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  model, model, and you are doing everything in your power to be
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  the best human you can be in front of that class, then they
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  are doing it too. And it's going to be hard.
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  I'm not saying it's going to be easy.
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  I I'm still learning and I have been teaching for over 15 years.
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  I have never had two classes exactly the same.
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  I have never had a class where we've created the world's most
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  perfect expectations. I have had challenges, I have
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  had challenging students. You will have them too, but what
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  helps is setting up these really clear expectations and
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  explicitly modelling what respect actually is to these
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  kids to then help us frame up our calm and orderly classroom.
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  And we get to have fun. Because with all of those
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  things, if the kids see that and they see that you care enough to
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  put boundaries in place to keep them safe and to keep them being
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  a learner and a friend and all of those things, it will bounce
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  back to you tenfold. And they will try their absolute
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  best and work really, really hard.
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  Some of the toughest classes I have had when I was teaching
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  high school, they, they would have their little windows where
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  they would be amazing. And we worked really, really
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  hard to get to that point. And I had to take a deep breath
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  before walking into some of those classes, especially Friday
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  afternoon maths lessons or the Friday afternoon PE session, I
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  should say, when I would end up with most of my class back
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  because they would have gotten in trouble or whatever.
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  But then we would have that time together to really talk about
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  our expectations and say, well, what didn't you do?
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  What do you need to work on? Because this is, this is our
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  expectation. What weren't you doing?
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  These are the consequences. This is what happens.
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  And then they, Oh yeah, that's right.
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  I need to work on this, able to own it, name it up and work on
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  it. So taking a deep breath, it was
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  a lot. But this is your pep talk, my
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  friends. You've got this.
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  You don't need to be perfect, you don't need to be everyone's
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  favourite. But you do need to be
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  consistent. You do need to lead with
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  respect. You do need to remember that you
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  are in charge of the energy in your room.
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  And when you feel like it's not working, ask for help.
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  Lean on your team. Reach out to those colleagues
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  who always seem to have the calmest classroom and ask what
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  they're doing like this work is hard, but it is so completely
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  and utterly worth it, so it's going to be something that takes
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  time. If you are just a beginning
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  teacher, you can't be expected to do this perfectly straight
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  out When you get your first class.
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  It is so exciting and you are still learning the same as they
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  are learning. So you will get better each
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  term, each year. And, and this is the other thing
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  too, you can't just set up those expectations at the start of the
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  year and expect that's done and dusted.
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  You are going to have to revisit them every couple of weeks.
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  Every term you got to whip them back out.
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  They are not a poster that gets stuck on the wall and they all
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  sign it or whatever and then it stays there.
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  No, it is a living breathing document that you have to pull
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  off and show them and talk to them and remind them and
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  continually refer back to. Please don't just make it
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  another glorified laminated piece of paper that goes on the
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  wall. You need to be getting your kids
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  to engage with it and rewarding them in some way, shape or form.
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  They need an incentive of some kind, but that does not mean
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  that they need to be given a toy every single day.
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  I mean, seriously, talk to my own children.
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  They have to work for a reward. They do not get to have
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  something every single day of their life just because they
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  made their bed. They have to accumulate and work
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  towards a goal. So set those goals with your
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  class. You've got those expectations of
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  this is what respect is like. When we've done this, then we
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  get this. OK, so set those things, whether
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  they're individual or class or whatever they might be, you've
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  got to have something that you can work towards with them.
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  Again, this work is hard, but it is so worth it.
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  So all right, my friends, that's it for today's episode because
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  there was a lot of information in there.
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  And I hope that you will walk away from this episode feeling
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  inspired and clear and reminded that you are the leader that
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  your students need. You're creating more than just a
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  classroom. You're creating a safe,
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  respectful, and thriving space. OK.
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  And they're going to turn up to school wanting to be seen, to be
• 14:31
  heard, to feel loved, and to feel safe.
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  If I said that, and if you are an educator or ATA or whatever
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  else you are that works in a school, you are still part of
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  this process just because you're not the teacher in front of the
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  classroom. If you walk into any classroom,
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  you then become a follower of those expectations.
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  So you again need to model, model, model.
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  That means that you might have to touch base with some of those
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  teachers whose classrooms you work in and say what?
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  What are your expectations? Because when I come in and I
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  work with this person, I want to be able to reinforce that.
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  So whether you've got school wide expectations or just
• 15:05
  classroom ones, whatever it is, we all need to be on the same
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  page so that we can have that respectful, thriving school
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  environment. Cool.
• 15:15
  So if you love this episode, please take a second to share it
• 15:18
  with another teacher, friend or educator who just needs the
• 15:21
  reminders. And hey, don't forget to
• 15:25
  subscribe so that you click the little bell and get
• 15:27
  notifications so you don't miss an episode.
• 15:30
  As next week's episode, we're going to dive into lots of
• 15:32
  different things. So don't miss out.
• 15:35
  So yeah, share this with a friend, remind others.
• 15:37
  And you are doing amazing, amazing things, in case you
• 15:41
  weren't told today. And you are loved And keep being
• 15:44
  aligned, keep thriving. And until next time, I will talk
• 15:48
  to you again soon. Bye, guys.