We all take ourselves too seriously at times. Sometimes when I'm frustrated with my class, I have to take a step back and lighten up. If I don't, my head is liable to pop off from the stress. At that moment I can turn the situation into a joke and lighten the mood. Often I will just walk up to a student and roar. The act must be funny to watch because the students start to laugh and I'm able to calm down.
When we were visiting my in-laws in Louisville several years ago, my then five-year-old was upset about some injustice. She was complaining while watching herself in the mirror that was on the wall. The site was quite ridiculous. Although I knew she was quite upset, I started to laugh. Since she was five and angry, she did not find my laughter amusing. I guess you need to be older to be able to take yourself less seriously.
Kelly, I love the picture and your post is great too. Though I’m not a parent, I definitely understand and relate to getting frustrated with students. I’m curious to know if you’ve ever had a class that hasn’t responded well to your use of humor and attempts to lighten the mood. Perhaps it’s more likely to happen at the high school level (where I currently teach) but I’ve had a couple bands for which this approach just made things worse. Fortunately, I haven’t had a group like that in several years. Perhaps I’m just doing a better job of using humor and actually taking myself less seriously than earlier in my teaching career.
ReplyDeleteEric,
ReplyDeleteI am a joke-y type of person anyway. My students know this about me and so when I turn a frustration into a joke, the mood is lightened and they are not so scared. They tend to quiet down a lot when I get angry because it doesn't happen too often. It could be the age, too. Things that work in the younger grades don't always work with the older ones.