I recently watched an Instagram reel of a girl tandem jumping. I can’t stop thinking about it. She is stuck at the start, her whole body tight, her eyes darting back and forth. She’s terrified. Less than one minute later, she is grinning ear-to-ear, laughing, arms outstretched and soaring! How did this shift happen?
As I watched the video back a second time, I noticed the tandem-jumping expert coached her to take such tiny steps. She moved her foot a centimeter, and he freaked out, “You’re doing it, yes!” I think many of us teachers are all clenched up, terrified, scared we’re doing this wrong, scared we won’t be able to keep doing this long term, scared of parents, scared of kids, scared that we’re not quite enough for what this requires. What if instead of being so worried, we took some baby steps and celebrated even our small moments of progress.
In that spirit, here are 10 tips I’ve picked up along the way in my 18 years of teaching. They may seem simple, but each of these represents a much-needed re-start that mattered to me. My hope is that these teaching nuggets might help us all spread out, soar, laugh, and even find the JOY in teaching.
Visualize Success
Some kids need a visual schedule – or pictures to make sense of what is happening. I had one student who was always an EXTREME behavior problem—to the tune of kicking at me under his desk. That was him as a fifth grader. Fast forward to his sophomore year of high school and he found his way and was thriving. Part of our work is to keep the kids moving through.
I tried a ton of things with him. Two, easy concrete things actually helped. I gave him a visual schedule with images and blocks of time so that he could have a sense of what we were doing. I also bought one of those visual timers where it looks like a red piece of pie instead of numbers or a clock hand circling. I was amazed at how much difference this made.
Empower Your Students
If something is driving you nuts in your room, make the kids fix it as a procedure. For example, I was always super annoyed that there were always pencils or some weird mess on the floor at day’s end. Each day as I was bending over, picking them up, I felt myself turning into a growly troll. Someone suggested that I build it into my last class to have a routine to have the kids clean them up. With this shift I felt more like I was steering the ship, less of a victim.
See It Through Their Eyes
One of my college professors told me I should take time to sit in a student’s desk at the day’s end. This is a little thing, but a concrete thing that has—on many days—provided the shift in perspective I needed. It’s hard to see it through their eyes when we are always seeing it through our own. What does it feel like to be in my class? Is this any fun? Is this going too fast? Is this all just kind of boring from a kid’s perspective?
Check In With Your Students
Once or twice a semester I do a whole-class activity called Plus – Check – Minus. You can do this with any age of students. This is like a “tune up” for a car or a bicycle. Have the students get into small groups and make a list of (+) things they like about the class, (checkmark) things that are essentially good even if not super fun, and (-) things they wish would change. I put them in groups because the group will help to filter out any comments that might be way off. There are also two generally positive categories because it helps us take the formative feedback. Yes, there will be some crazy ideas—like we should have ice cream every day—but those can turn into reasonable things, like an ice cream celebration of a writing unit. The kids actually have good ideas about how to make it better. This system/structure helps those ideas to come to light and builds classroom community.
Make It Local
I took a grad class in college that can be boiled down to one key idea. Place matters. Look around. Not every classroom is the same. Not every community is the same. Design a unit or lesson that could not be taught in another place with different students. Kids know it when we’re teaching a generic lesson for generic students. They LOVE it when they feel seen. Could the lesson connect with a business or person in your community? This feels real to them and brings energy to the classroom. Genuine lesson excitement is also the best classroom management strategy I’ve learned yet.
Embrace the Mulligan
There will come a time when you give a really bad assignment. Maybe it’s a test. Maybe it’s a piece of homework, but as you look at the student work you know this was a bad idea. Throw it away. Even if the kids put a ton of work into it. Even if you put a ton of work into it. This is your permission slip to call a mulligan in the classroom. Grab that stack—either physically or electronically—and ditch it. In Biblical times every once in awhile they had a jubilee, which mean that all debts got erased. It’s a crazy idea. And it works. Sometimes you just need a palette cleanser, and need to restart everything. Don’t make a habit of it, but give yourself a break. Most students won’t notice, and my experience is that those who do will get over it faster than you think.
Incorporate Food
Food builds community. It might seem like a mess. It might seem like work. It might be the last thing you want to do this week, but I guarantee if you have a project presentation or unit assessment, if you can incorporate food—and even have students bring the food (within school policy)—this is the stuff that makes a classroom family. Some classes you don’t want to make into a family; I get it. Go with God and get through with them, but I would say that most can handle it, and most will dig it. Even the anticipation of the food can be a classroom management strategy. Everyone acting like jerks, re-orient the attention to Friday’s upcoming food. Mischief managed.
Take Your Class Outside
A school can feel like a jail. It can also feel like play—and creativity—and learning—and excitement—and joy! So often we feel like we have to stay in our room with our kids in their assigned seats. Yes, routine is good. Yes, students thrive on routine, but every once in awhile, get outside. What if you’re operating in a prison of your own making? What if instead of lamenting how, “It’s such a beautiful Spring day, wish I could be outside,” you opted to outside instead? If you’re unsure about your school’s policy, don’t ask, just go. Tell the secretary that such-and-such-class will be outside from 2-3 this afternoon. The objectives can wait. The sunshine can’t. These are kids, not mini-adults.
Build Connections Early
Don’t wait for them to happen. Work at it. Early on in the year have students divide a paper into four sections (or photo copy one divided up depending on their ages) have them write/draw a) their people, b) their place, c) their passion, and d) how they like to spend their time. Modify as fits your group, but my experience is that this activity gets at more good stuff than worksheet questionnaire. Then, as students share out, have them take notes on the back of how they are the same and have the share connections at the end. Every student is connectible, but we’ve got to work at it.
Use a “Sanity Jar”
As teachers, we will learn things about kids that we can’t do anything about. It has been VERY helpful to me to write a genetic note about things that seem beyond my control. Then, when those creeping thoughts come in, I say “It’s in the jar,” and I trust that all will be well. Certainly do all you can to help students, but sometimes even after we’ve alerted all the right folks, nothing changes. A jar helps you acknowledge the issues without letting them consume your thoughts. The Jar is a way of saving your sanity and holding a place for the hard stuff of teaching.
I hesitate to even share this list of ten things as I know teachers are so busy. These are not 10 more things to add to your to-do list, but instead they are small, intentional steps, we can use to loosen up, spread our arms, and experience the joy that comes with trusting ourselves and our students. Sometimes a simple shift in mindset or classroom practice can foster joy, connection, and resilience. Remember, it’s okay to try, stumble, and try again—because the only way to soar is to take that first baby step.
Evi Wusk, Ed.D. Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at Peru State College. My 18 years in the classroom include roles as a High Ability Learning Coordinator, Language Arts Teacher, fifth-grade teacher, and PK-12 Librarian. All of it gives me a heart for teachers and helps me prepare teachers today.