We all feel a little sad 😞, angry 😡, frustrated 😖or overwhelmed sometimes. Some of us are better than others at managing our emotions and not letting it come with us into the classroom or even influence our working or personal relationships, but as adults we have at least a semblance of EQ to keep ourselves in check.
The same cannot always be said for the children we work with on a daily basis. 3 year olds’ tantrums, clinginess or attention seeking, all the way to petulant, aloof or insecure teenagers are just par for the course for most teachers, but let’s be honest, it can become fairly challenging with a room full of, shall we say more flamboyant personalities who are usually attracted to drama lessons.
It can truly be a test of your EQ and patience to manage such emotions or outbursts in class. This past week we had a discussion about emotions with our Kindy kids as part of their All About Me theme, and that got me thinking about how we can manage the emotions of children who attend our classes so that everyone in class can still have a productive day, but at the same time we must still validate the feelings of, and show empathy to the children who are having a bad day.
Now I’m sure any teacher out there will agree that that is a pretty tall order and I promise you there is no way I’m pretending that I have it down to a T!
So, I did a bit or research and I’m happy to report that there is a plethora of information, articles and tips out there to help manage emotions in the classroom, like:
How To Handle Temper Tantrums, Emotional Outbursts, And Other Outrageously Immature Behavior on www.smartclassroommanagement.com
And of course let’s remember our favourite quote by Ashleigh Warner:-
“Beneath every behaviour there is a feeling. And beneath each feeling there is a need. And when we meet that need rather than focus on the behaviour, we begin to deal with the cause and not the symptom”
Sometimes you can also turn the emotional situation into a teaching opportunity by having a discussion about the particular emotion in question, or emotions in general, and how understanding our emotions can help us when we do character work. Then act out various emotions walking around, making sounds or sentences to express that emotion. You can even let them choose characters who are experiencing different emotions. Sometimes the group can even come up with some solutions of how they can manage their own emotions.
Sadly, we live in a world where many kids face a multitude of challenges in their lives like bullying (physical, verbal and online) as well as enormous stresses and pressure academically, socially, at home, and even from the media, depending on their age. We need to be prepared and have a strategy to deal with unpredictable behaviour or risk losing valuable teaching time or even control of the classroom altogether. Once again, as I have said so often before, I believe that we are in a very privileged position to give the children a safe place to express their feelings.
Finally, I often think, as I’m sure you will agree, a hug and validation go a long way and is sometimes just what a child needs to make them feel ok again!
- Charlotte Tervit (Vice-Principal)
