Unruly Students

There are many different students in all classes, and the funny thing is you never know what you're going to get! In any situation there is only one thing you can control, and that's yourself. You can control what is coming out of your mouth, the actions you do, the behavior you exhibit, the way you teach the class and the way you plan for the class. But overall, those are the only things you can control as a teacher - YOU.

Unfortunately, we cannot control our students. If there's anything I have learned from teaching three years ballet it's that control is never in my hands. I must always control myself and stay calm. By doing this I am able to influence my students and they follow me with ease (most of the time). But the same goes for older students and adult students: we cannot control them, we can only influence them.

There are many ways we can present the content we are lecturing about and each way is going to represent something different to each student. They all have their own perceptions and attitudes towards the material, the other students, the classroom, and myself as the instructor. But what I can do is allow myself to remain calm and in control of my own thoughts, actions and behavior so that I am better equipped to handle any off comment or behavior.

When thinking about this longer I keep going back to the thought that every moment is a teaching opportunity. Even if the content goes off course for a brief moment the way the instructor brings it back is a teaching moment for the students of how to direct conversation. Or even if a student is disruptive - well there are plenty of teaching moments then! But in essence we are creating an environment of learning no matter what we do. If a student is disruptive we can dismiss the student, ask them a question, ignore them and so on, but with each act we are instructing the class on how to handle that situation.

I suppose the biggest thought to take from here is to stay calm and in control of myself so that I can influence others, and also to be prepared to teach no matter what is going on because every moment is a teaching opportunity.

Challenge - Control myself / Influence students. Every moment is a teaching moment.