What do we do when our environment is in chaos? We know that teaching in chaos leads to ineffectual communication and an unproductive learning environment. In times of chaos, you can’t think straight, the rules of engagement are not clear and protocols are ambiguous.
Chaotic classrooms are difficult to manage. Teachers are left feeling desperate, unmotivated and issues become personalized. It is hard to think rationally when the system starts to break down.
One of the reasons the system breaks down is when expectations are too low. The fallout from this is that too much energy gets spent on classroom management. It’s easy to fall into the trap of lowering expectations and getting stuck in a negative feedback loop.
How do we break out of a negative feedback loop? Sometimes, we’re so blinded by what is right in front of us that we lose sight of the obvious.
As teachers, when this happens, we must consult, seek help, share ideas and open our doors. It's also a time when we owe it to ourselves as professionals to make a concerted effort to reach out and help our colleagues. Struggling, suffering and set backs are all part of life. As educators, we absolutely must be the lead learner by modelling openness, collaboration and investigation.
Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - Albert Einstein
If I always do what I‘ve always done, I'll always get what I always got
No comments:
Post a Comment