Communication Management in a Classroom
When you are a teacher, there are going to be many obstacles you are going to face when it comes to dealing with your students. Some days are going to be going very smoothly, and other days it is going to seem like there is problem after problem. One thing I have learned is that student’s are going to feed off of your reactions to situations. If you stay calm and act professionally through a situation, they will look at you as being confident and they will look up to you as a role model. But as soon as you start to show any sign of weakness, the students will start to feed off that negative feedback and start to act like out. When a student is making you angry, the number one thing you do NOT do is start to yell at them. You should resolve the problem professionally, by giving them a warning, and instead of yelling, take a privilege away from them. I’m not saying students are going to be cooperative at first, but the moment you start to yell, they feel like that have won. Not only do they react to your voice, but your simple body language. If you’re not smiling and seem sad, students notice that.
Eye contact is a very important to students. If you are not looking at them when you’re speaking or when they are speaking, they can conclude that you are not paying attention to them. This will affect them negatively and they will stop volunteering in class, or trying to talk to you as one of their friends. But, when you are in a heated argument with a student, instead of constantly having eye contact, if you look away from time to time, it will break the tension between the two of you.
Another part of body language students will automatically notice, is your posture between you and a student. Not only are you not looking at the student, but you aren’t facing them, or your slouching. This shows them you are not interested in what the student is saying, and again you are going to discourage them. But if you are facing the student and sitting up properly while the student is confiding in you, they will see how interested you are, and it will definitely mean a lot to them that you are listening. Maybe they don’t have anyone at home that they can talk to?
Children in general always state the obvious. Of course weight, height and any other physical appearance you have that they are not used to, they will say it out loud. You can’t get mad at the students. Just take the criticism and turn it around to you being positive. Instead of getting angry, just say a general statement, such as “everyone is built differently”. You are taking a negative situation and turning it into a mini lesson or everyone being different.
An area of insecurity to me is the fact that I am short but not as skinny as I should be. Most students view people as when they are taller, they should be bigger, and smaller they should be little. I have had students come up to me, but like I said before, I turned the situation around. It isn’t about the content of what they said; it is about the response you give them, in ANY situation.
Eye contact is a very important to students. If you are not looking at them when you’re speaking or when they are speaking, they can conclude that you are not paying attention to them. This will affect them negatively and they will stop volunteering in class, or trying to talk to you as one of their friends. But, when you are in a heated argument with a student, instead of constantly having eye contact, if you look away from time to time, it will break the tension between the two of you.
Another part of body language students will automatically notice, is your posture between you and a student. Not only are you not looking at the student, but you aren’t facing them, or your slouching. This shows them you are not interested in what the student is saying, and again you are going to discourage them. But if you are facing the student and sitting up properly while the student is confiding in you, they will see how interested you are, and it will definitely mean a lot to them that you are listening. Maybe they don’t have anyone at home that they can talk to?
Children in general always state the obvious. Of course weight, height and any other physical appearance you have that they are not used to, they will say it out loud. You can’t get mad at the students. Just take the criticism and turn it around to you being positive. Instead of getting angry, just say a general statement, such as “everyone is built differently”. You are taking a negative situation and turning it into a mini lesson or everyone being different.
An area of insecurity to me is the fact that I am short but not as skinny as I should be. Most students view people as when they are taller, they should be bigger, and smaller they should be little. I have had students come up to me, but like I said before, I turned the situation around. It isn’t about the content of what they said; it is about the response you give them, in ANY situation.
