Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tips #45-49

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip Number #45 

SHOW EMOTION WHEN THINGS ARE GOING WELL 

Create a classroom where kids get to see a crazy, and/or explosively emotional teacher when things are going well. Yell about fractions. Jump up and down when talking about the Civil War. Kids have a biological drive to see emotion. If you give it to them when negative behaviors are present, you are reinforcing those behaviors. When you give them emotion when positive behaviors are present (such as being quiet and looking at you), you are reinforcing those behaviors. Which will it be? 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #46 

DON’T DEMONIZE BEHAVIORS 

Is there anything wrong with running? Chewing gum? Talking to your friends? Of course not. There is, however, something wrong with doing these things while taking a test. Freaking out about these behaviors as a teacher makes you look like a crazy, mean person to students who know that these behaviors are not inherently evil. Just asking students to save those behaviors for later is a better intervention than to tell them to simply stop the behaviors. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #47 

DON’T EXPECT KIDS TO BE RATIONAL BECAUSE THEIR BRAINS DON’T WORK 

This is a scientific fact. The human brain is not fully functional until the age of 25. This is why trying to reason with a student is as helpful as trying to reason with a drunk hamster. Effective teachers don’t spend their time reasoning with kids. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #48 

DON’T DOUBLE-HANDICAP YOUR STUDENTS 

Students with special needs are often disabled again by teachers who set standards of behavior that are far too low for what these students are capable of. The lower behavioral expectations are often more disabling than their original disability. 

Kid Whisperer Nation Teacher Tip #49 

DON’T DOUBLE-INJURE YOUR STUDENTS 

Students who are going through a tough life event such as the death of a loved one, or abuse, are often injured again by their teachers who excuse negative behaviors while they are going through these tough times. Behavioral expectations for a student whose father just died are the same as they are for everyone else. When we are utilizing empathy and using consequences instead of punishments, we can hold students accountable without hurting their self-concept. This still holds true when the student is going through something horrible. The limits still being in place can actually be comforting while the student feels out of control in other areas of her life.