Its your first job, you’ve put in the work and battled through university, you’ve endured countless hours in the library to get to this point, nothing can go wrong, you are master of your own domain, you control the world, today is your day to shine! But wait… the PowerPoint won’t load.
There it is, that moment when you’ve lost a class. Your lesson went awry, you didn’t have anything else but that PowerPoint planned, the noise builds, the focus drops, the chaos ensues and you do that one thing that you aren’t supposed to do, you yell at the top of your lungs. For a split second all the training you’ve ever had goes out the window. Its like Muhammed Ali said, “Every fighter has a plan until he gets punched.” Well, every teacher has a plan until they meet that one class that throws a metaphorical punch right on the chin.
So let’s rewind to that moment before you lose your cool and raise your voice. As you step back, dazed. Trying to find the ropes of the classroom. Heart rate rising. Fear and uncertainty in your belly. You have two options. Stay down for the count and lose control of the class, or stand back up, recall your professional development seminars, your behavior management strategies, your classroom procedures and all the hours you spent on university practicum behavior reflections and be the teacher you always knew you could be.
I can assure you, at some point in your young teaching career (or several points in most teacher’s cases) you will run into every glitch, hitch, snag, holdup, and overall problem that there is. Murphy’s Law puts it best when it states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. In a classroom, this law applies more than ever. The first advice I can give you is this, DON’T PANIC. Teaching isn’t necessarily a clash between you and the students, however the analogy of getting punched is very appropriate for the first time you are actually taken aback by a class. It will catch you off guard and it will test your own will and strength.
From the second you step foot in your school you control the classroom, you and you alone dictate how the day will go. No matter what goes wrong or what problem you encounter you need to stay in control, not only for the sake of the learners, but for the sake of your own sanity.
Controlling the classroom was possibly my biggest flaw when doing my practicum placement during university so I went to my teacher advisor for her advice. When I asked this sweet, kind, petite lady what to do she looked me square in the eyes and sternly said, “be a badass.” The shock on my face from hearing this sweet lady curse must have been quite apparent but she went on to tell me that I am their teacher, I am their educator, no matter how friendly I am I am not their friend. It isn’t about being liked or disliked, it is about being respected. Your main purpose as a teacher is to do precisely as the job title states – teach! You are there to educate, start with that.
We create long unit lesson plans, align learning outcomes to achievable goals, get to school hours early and stay hours after the bell just so we can prepare engaging and exciting lessons for learners… but how do we prepare for the unknown? We simply stay calm, take a deep breath, reach into our bag of tricks and move forward, like nothing ever went wrong in the first place.
