Between surviving a house fire that destroyed my digs, and agreeing to take part in an experimental program to sink or swim as an elementary school teacher, I felt like I was staggering around looking for directions in the vast sandy landscape swallowing me.
Since I graduated in December, off cycle, I was fortunate to have six months free before the start of my Teacher Intern On-The-Job Training in June.
So I registered for substitute assignments, both regular and Special Ed, in schools around the Monterrey Bay. In effect I arranged for my own personal pre boot camp before the official one. Those experiences proved invaluable to me in preparation for handling my own class in September.
Every elementary school is different. The specific operational details required me to be a quick study. Absent teachers were expected to leave plans, but each classroom has a unique emotional environment and distinct patterns. It behooves a sub to Read the Room quickly, establish a connection, and set a positive tone for the day.
It behooves a sub to Read the Room quickly, establish a connection, and set a positive tone for the day.
I soon found ways to build rapport with students. It was as simple as doing what we do automatically with babies and toddlers: combine deliberate body language with words. When communicating via large and small motor control, kids don’t tend to put up defenses. They participate and are comfortable. We can trust each other.
I challenge them to stand up and be my mirror. Follow my movements. I start simple, and stop after each move to check that everyone is tracking.
Arms straight over my head, stretching for an apple on a tree, one arm at a time.
Next, arms straight apart.
Keep elbows straight apart, let lower arms dangle down.
Swing lower arms as a pair, same direction back and forth like a pendulum.
Now swing lower arms as a pair, make a full circle. Reverse the circle.
If you have unique personal skills (perhaps honed over the years by practicing in front of your own mirror) you might reward the group for their good attention by showing them your secret super powers.1
In my case, I can:
Raise one eyebrow at a time, alternating rather quickly.
Wiggle my nostrils at varying speeds.
Wiggle my ears.
Stretch my top and bottom lip in opposite directions, then quickly switch them.
Finale: eyebrows + nose + ears + lips, so they’re all happening together. Wow!
Another way to use movement to choreograph the group energy is to notice when boredom is creeping in through the breathing pattern of the room (i.e. yawning, pencils dropping, feet tapping). This is a good time for an impromptu whispered command while modeling the movements you ask the students to imitate:
“Stand up. Shake your arms over your head.
”Hop on one foot seven times.”
“Cover your ears and stand on your tip toes.”
“When I raise my arm, everybody all together, howl like a coyote till I sit down.”
“When I put my hands on my head, sit back down and continue your work.”
Each of these sequences only takes a couple of minutes. But each provides a beneficial shift in mental and physical energy, and serves as an emotional release of tension for the whole group.
For an outsider and temporary group manager, it is of immediate benefit. And it’s effective whether you ever repeat it together again or not.
As a full time teacher with my own class, I improvised and incorporated these breaks as often as needed. Then the students themselves presented new routines and led them.
I have written about my first day as a substitute teacher here . Hoo Boy! I did not break down and sob until, driving home, I was pulled over by the Highway Patrol for making a ‘reckless turn’ off Highway One, across oncoming traffic. It was my first ever ticket.
I am addressing the reader as if you are a ‘teacher’ because the suggestions here are for mental and physical energizers and focus. These would apply whenever you want to connect and communicate ‘in the room’ with any audience: your children, grandchildren, workshop attendees, presentations, or any groups you might lead.