Respond rather than react..

I can't believe that I have left my blog left unattended for one whole month...seriously I was busy with so many things that I could barely be able to breathe.....now that I have time to breathe why don't I blog something to motivate you guys out there ( Teachers).....

Fire drills in schools are a goodthing. They enable you to respond rather than react to an emergency. Anger, embarrassment and fear - these are reactions. Clarity, decisiveness, and action - these are responses, there's a difference.When you react, you're out of control. When you respond, you exercise control.

Disruptive behaviour, passive aggression, abusive language - these are the 'emergencies' that you can expect in classroom. Most often thay are symptomatic of a greater problem that the student is dealing with personally. At other times, the student is merely reflecting the behaviour he or she has witnessed at home.

How will you face those emergencies? Will you respond, or will you react?If you react, you may heighten the disruption. If you learn to respond, you may quell the disturbance. Think about your strategy. Go through the drills in your mind. " If action A happens, then response A will be employed." Prepare your mind to control your actions. Bring the situation under control by, first, getting yourself under control.
Plan for your own emergencies, and when they happen, you'll respond accordingly.

Been there done that!!!! so you can always try this...especially when you are teaching the real problematic ones!!

adapted from,
Minute Motivators for Teachers