First Yours

Take care of YOU first, so you can take care of THEM.

About ten years ago, I wrote a book called The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom.

So you would think that, by now, I’ve learned to be pretty Zen in the classroom.

And for the most part, that’s true.

But the other day, my ninth graders had a body paragraph due, and I asked them to hold up the rough drafts of the paragraph so I could eyeball them and check their progress.

In one class of 33 students, only four people had completed it.

Four.

I was furious at the lack of work ethic and the waste of their time.

I gave them a very heated sermon and gave them yet more time to finish up.

When I saw a group of three or four students still just sitting there and gabbing with only one or two sentences of their paragraph completed, I completely lost it, and I raised my voice.

“START WRITING!!” I yelled.

I wasn’t proud of myself and asked my co-teacher if I could take a moment outside and she said yes. In other words, I gave myself a timeout.

It doesn’t happen often and after thirty-three years in the classroom, I know that sometimes we lose it. It happens. It’s part of the job and it’s part of what makes us human.

But it’s also true that someone who wrote a book called The Zen Teacher should hold himself to a higher standard.

But there is also this funny little thing called Grace. And sometimes we need to give that grace to ourselves.

I have since forgiven myself, but I was the one who learned an important lesson (really, a reminder) that day.

The best classroom strategy is when everyone’s nervous system is regulated.

First yours.

Then theirs. TZT

You can find more about these kinds of topics in my book written especially for teachers called The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom. It is currently on sale for a RIDICULOUSLY low price.

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