Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tips #112-116

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #112 

NEVER ALLOW YOUR STUDENTS TO START WITH DOWNTIME 

Kids need breaks from work, but they don’t need a break first thing in the morning. ALWAYS have an academic activity that does not need to be explained by the teacher available at the beginning of each day. This gives the implicit message that school is a place for working and learning, not a place for lounging and getting to know your neighbor better. Of course, students should be able to eat breakfast (if applicable) and talk with friends while working at this time, but their first priority must be the work in front of them. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #113 

SEPARATE THE STIMULUS FROM THE RESPONSE 

Train your brain to respond with a calm, empathetic response to the actions of the humans around you. Make your response the same every time. Mine is “Oh, man.” It could just be a sound or an exhale. Doing this acts as you pressing the pause button on your classroom. It gives you time to calm down, think, and decide what to do next. This effectively slows down your hectic day and models being calm and thoughtful to your students. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip Number #114 

BE “UNFAIR” 

Our schools have systematically trained our children that if someone gets something, everyone else is entitled to it as well. This isn’t how life works, so we might as well teach kids that now. If you are doing a demonstration, let’s say cutting up a Twizzler as a way to teach fractions and you give the fractional parts out to students who answer correctly, you are not obligated to make sure everyone in the room gets candy. In fact, if you take the time to make sure everyone gets candy, you are missing an opportunity to teach kids the real-life skill of dealing with disappointment. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip Number #115 

DON’T GIVE OUT TANGIBLE REWARDS FOR KIDS DOING WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO ANYWAY 

There is absolutely no research that shows any long-term benefit for kids being given tangible “prizes” for exhibiting positive behaviors. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip Number #116 

BE STRICT IN ORDER TO BE NICE 

Adults cannot be consistently nice unless they are consistently getting the behaviors that they want from their students. Allowing behaviors that annoy you is a recipe for stress, hypertension, and an early exit from your teaching career.