Born to be wild
(Email question)

Teacher: In Monterey we have already completed three weeks of school. I have applied a number of your techniques, but I need some advice. The music was great at first, but now that the kids are getting more comfortable, the songs--clean up, clean your desks, and transition--are getting them wound up.

Why is this happening? Did I slip? Are 2nd graders too young for this? I want my class to be fun, but not hyper.

I feel as if part of the problem is the songs make them RUSH, and when they do that, there seems to be an out-of-control energy that builds on itself. If I can't rein it in, I might have to discontinue, and I don't want to do that!

A couple of thoughts:

You said, "...now that the kids are getting more comfortable, the songs...are getting them wound up." This is a very telling phrase. It says, among other things, that you're a kind and loving teacher who wants to try ideas. It also says that your students have learned if they don't do what's right, they're not going to get punished for it. (Punishment is not limited to just consequences. It can be about a teacher's slowly building anger and frustration. It can be about a raised voice and a threatening manner. It can be some form of emotional blackmail. Whatever form it takes, these teacher behaviors violate the students' need for safety.) Obviously, though, your students feel very safe around you, and that's a good thing. What's not good, of course, is that they're taking advantage of this safety. Which leads to the second thought:

Kids being kids, they're always looking to get out of control--which fills the limbic brain's needs for freedom and fun--and the music is providing them with an opportunity (excuse, if you will) to do just that.

Two suggestions:

1. When they get too wound up, pause the music. Don't say a thing but look for the students who do stop and look at you. Give them a nod to show that looking at you is the correct response whenever the music stops. For those who don't stop right away, jot down their names. When you finally have everyone's attention, let them know that their energy level is not appropriate. Before putting the music back on, call to you the students whose names you wrote down. While everyone else is back on the prescribed task, let the non-compliers know that when the music stops, they should look your way. Since they didn't, you wrote their names down. Then tell them that the reason you had to pause the music was because some students were getting out of control. Let them know that this is not okay. ("Not okay" was an expression I used to use to show my displeasure at inappropriate student behavior that needed to cease. It was safe language but got the point across.) Include in your discussion the fact that you will remove anyone from the procedure who does not stay under control. Finish up with, "What are you going to do the next time music is interrupted?" (Pitiful student response goes here.) "And what about if you get wild during the procedure?" (More sniveling and pleas for mercy.) When you're done, release them to join the others in the task. That's assuming, of course, that the music hasn't ended yet. If it has, oh well. Maybe they'll do it right the next time.

2. The problem with suggestion one is that everyone has to stop, even the students who are abiding by your established procedure. So, an alternate idea is to remove any students who are too wild and isolate them in a "time out" area. A section of the carpet, a reading group table, or a corner of the room would work. This enables you to focus on just the non-compliers while leaving the others to go about their business. You could then engage in the dialog mentioned above to just the small group of limit-testers.

Whatever you do, it's going to take some action on your part to make a change in their behavior. Words alone won't do it.

Tell me about kindergarten
(Question asked during seminar break)

During my opening remarks at today's seminar, I happened to mention that I had visited a friend's kindergarten room the day before. It was the first day of school for our district and I went into the classroom after lunch to introduce the Kcons concept to her students. I thought it would be beneficial for me to get some first-hand experience. (Boy, did I.)

Anyway, during one of the breaks, a teacher came up to me to ask me a question. She started off by saying that she was going to be a new kindergarten teacher. She wanted to know if I had some words of wisdom about kindergarten students that she could take back to her school.

Without too much pause, I told her that it was important to bear in mind that many of her students are going to arrive in class having spent the past five years living with adults who don't really mean what they say. I told her that she would be able to recognize these students right away because they will be the ones who don't respond immediately when asked to do something.

Kindergarten Reality
While I was waiting in the classroom for the teacher to bring the students in at the conclusion of lunch recess, I noticed three boys who came into the room on their own. (There are two classroom doors, both of which were open. The teacher, however, was standing near the north door as she waited for everyone to line up to go in. The three boys, toward the back of the line, came in the south door.) They immediately walked into a play area that had a variety of interesting objects and began to mess with some of the stuff. One boy was turning a lamp on and off repeatedly while another one began picking up pieces of a kitchen set. The third boy was just kind of hanging back watching the other two.

Rick
Speaking calmly to the three boys:
Boys, you need to go outside and line up.

Right away, the boy who had been watching the other two turned and walked outside. The other two boys turned their backs to me and continued to do what they had been doing. It was pretty obvious they were going to wait until some adult either raised a voice or threatened them with punishment if they didn't do what was asked. I did neither.

Rick
Getting down on a knee between the two of them:
Boys. I said that you need to line up outside. Do that now, please.

Well, one boy went outside but the other continued to play with the lamp. I put a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned him so that he was facing me.

Rick
In a calm but deliberate manner:
Young man. You are not obeying.

Young man
In typical denial mode:
But I want to stay in here.

Me
Keeping it personal and direct:
No.
Pause:
You may not. You need to listen to my words and follow my directions the first time you hear them. Go outside, please.

He finally stopped what he was doing and went outside. I made it a point, though, to talk with him privately several times over the next hour or so in an attempt to hold him accountable for both listening and obeying. By the end of my short time with the class, he had begun to realize that Mr. Morris is not like his mom or dad. Mr. Morris is serious when asking but never rude or disrespectful. I fully expect that by the time I've made two or three visits, this little guy will begin to show a change in behavior and become more compliant.

Keys to success:

Key #1: Keep it focused. It would have done little good to make general comments about lining up outside and then try to shoo them out the door. What works is when you engage these students in non-emotional, one-on-one, conversations. (And by conversations, I mean close together with some kind of indication that the student is paying attention to the teacher's presence. In fact, I actually had to ask him to look at me when I was talking to him since he was desperately trying to avoid eye contact: more denial behavior.) It's also important that the conversation reflects directly upon the student's own behavior and not general class behavior. I want to talk about behavior being exhibited by the student himself and leave him with the unmistakable impression that I was: 1) speaking specifically about his non-compliance; and 2) wasn't going to ignore or overlook it.

Key #2: Be patient. We're going to be working with these kindergarteners all year long. There's no need to try to fix every problem right away. That would be impossible anyway. What is possible is to work on little things in a consistent and calm fashion. Important point: It's the accumulation of little things that lead to big things. By dealing with these types of non-compliance issues in this manner, the students are able to slowly accept this new reality--the adults in this classroom mean what they say--and adapt to it. Your patience, though, is critical. After all, they've been through five years of bad conditioning which has led to the development of inappropriate behavior patterns. Just keep reminding yourself that you can't fix it overnight but it is possible over time.

Soft speaker and the "Echo" strategy
(Question asked during seminar break)

Teacher: I need some advice. One of my students has a very soft voice. Almost every time she speaks, someone calls out, 'Echo!'

It then takes 5 or 6 repeated cries of 'Echo!' before everyone finally understands what she had said originally. What should I do?

This is a frequently asked question which means, among other things, it's something that occurs in lots of classrooms. The reason I'm making this point is that teachers sometimes feel as if they are the only ones suffering from some problem. We're each in our own little boxes without the ability to communicate with others in our profession. And when we run into difficult situations, we have a tendency to feel somewhat responsible for the behavior itself.

So, when you're experiencing difficulty, please rest assured that you're most likely not alone. There are brothers and sisters in the struggle who currently find themselves in your same situation. It's just that you're not aware they're out there.

Anyway, I'd like to offer some advice.

One: The "Echo" technique is worth your effort. Don't give up. Don't quit. Stay the course and win the day. Before you know it, the soft speaker has slowly become a more understandable speaker.

Two: The "Echo" technique is one that requires time and practice in order to work properly. It requires a lot of patience on your part and experience on their part. (When they said, "Rome wasn't built in a day," they weren't kidding. Nothing is ever built in a day. Maybe a house of cards, but how long is it going to stand? The bottom line: effective teaching takes time.) So count on a month or so of using "Echo" before everyone has it figured out. But by month two, they'll have it down and the "Echo" procedure will really fly.

Three: Make an effort to support students who hear "Echo" a lot when they speak. They need you to defend them until such time as they can speak in a loud, clear voice. Allowing students to dog pile on a soft speaker will only make the child withdraw and resist. So, go to bat for that child. Express your opinion that your classroom is built on respect and that no child will be treated with anything less than complete and sincere respect. When students know you're in their corner, and they'll know whenever this is the case, you'll see more of them making the effort to improve. It's a form of pay-back for the protection you've afforded them.

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