"Stop”, “Listen”, & “Wait”
By Vanessa Kahlon, MA
For me when a child is happy, feeling safe physically and emotionally, that is when learning will take place. Everyone pushes academics first but what about the social emotional state of the child? When a child is under the desk or walks out of class whenever he/she are feeling overwhelmed and the adults around him/her are still pushing for the child to sit, pay attention, and stop fidgeting so the teachers can finish the lesson plan, what are we doing as educators to help every child understand what is happening with their body?
Sometimes it is just as important for educators to “Stop”, “Listen”, & “Wait” for the child to come back into his/her own body to proceed. Talk to the child about what is bothering him/her. You might be surprised that the child will tell you what is bothering them so it is our job as educators to “Listen” and see what WE can change for the child to help them learn. The child being heard is the first step for the child to feel safe in any setting. The child might say that he/she need a “Break” so having a break area can be the first step this child will need to learn.
In the classroom, having jobs for the child so he/she starts to feel good about himself/herself is key. Maybe the child will need to put paper in the printer or take out the trash. When a child is feeling part of the classroom you will see a change in behavior. They might be the first person to raise their hand for a job, where before he/she would never raise a hand. The child will see himself/herself in a positive light, which will then increase his/her self-esteem. As the child’s self esteem increases they are most likely to take more risks in their learning environment such as reading out loud if that was an issue at one time or answering a question that is stated to the group.
Being an educator is very hard work and each child has their own learning styles, which makes things more complicated. But to be able to slow the classroom down a bit and take a step back and see how each child learns you will find that the children will be more receptive once presented with the learning materials.
We just need to “Stop”, “Listen”, & “Wait”.
