Welcome to your weekly Classroom Management Quick Win Challenge . True classroom management is not how we address behavior when it pops up . Instead , it is a compounding effect of many , many micro decisions we make in our teaching practice before the behavior even pops up .
In these Quick Win episodes I'm handing over one actionable , small but mighty tool to help you move the needle every single week to stop crowd controlling and to start calmly classroom managing like a pro . Let's dive into this week's game changing challenge .
Hello wonderful teachers , welcome back to your quick win challenge for this week , and this one , pretty simply put , is pick up that phone and make a single call this week . Positive phone calls home are pure connection in action .
Not only do they foster that positive connection with the student themselves , but these phone calls also develop a crucial relationship and open up meaningful dialogue with parents and carers , especially if that student has had a lot of challenges in your class and you've had to make some really challenging phone calls home that are a bit more awkward .
If you think about it , those students who you're working with , who display challenging behaviors , rarely , if ever , would get a phone call home that's positive , and that phone ringing to them would signal another failure . You know , like another teacher calling to say that something went wrong and something's bad .
Like another teacher calling to say that something went wrong and something's bad . Having that phone ring and having a teacher on the other end saying something good and recognizing them for more than just the challenge or more than just the behavior and , oh my gosh , took time out of their day to celebrate them that is just connection gold .
So here's what I want you to do this week . You don't have to overdo it . Just commit to one call and see how you feel . Just make a call for a student that you've had a lot of challenges with . It might require you to catch the positive , which means going out of your way to really find something positive to make a call about .
If that student has exhibited a lot of challenges , go find a positive , and here's a bit of a script you can follow . So introduce yourself . Hey , ms Brown , I'm Claire James' English teacher , free for a quick chat .
I know that James has had some challenges this year , but I really wanted to touch base about something that I noticed today and that he can go and talk about . The positives you've caught . You can say you know that this year's been a bit of a challenge . You know that getting work out of James has been really tough and he does struggle to stay on task .
But what I've seen of his work , the stuff that he did today , I can see how creative he is . I can see how insightful he is and I just can't wait to see more of it . You can do anything to catch the positive . Just say something positive to that parent and then ask them to let the child know that you've made contact .
Ask them to let that student know . I would love it if you'd let James know his English teacher called . I know that it would give him a little bit boost . I know that it'd be nice for him to hear the good things that I've communicated to you and then open the lines of communication for the future . Do you have any questions for me ? I'm always available .
If you do , please feel free to contact me , call me , email me . This is going to be brilliant for the relationship with that parent and they're going to have so much more buy-in and be so much more on board when you have to make a call . That is not as nice , that's not as positive .
If you do take on any of these challenges , I would love to hear about it . Send me a message on Instagram at theunteachables , which is where I hang out most . So go and make the call . It really should only take about three to five minutes , and that one investment could make a huge impact on the student that you're calling about .
And remember something that I said a few episodes back behavior change doesn't happen overnight , but every single small action you take , it adds up . It has that compounding effect . So all you need to do is start with one positive thought , one moment of connection and one step toward changing the narrative .
You can't control everything , but you can control those things , and I just want you to go in there and feel hopeful that things can change . Okay , enough on that . This is supposed to be a really quick episode , so I'm going to wrap it up and I will see you next week . Take care , teachers .