Why it’s okay to not have “the” quiet classroom & how to get over it.
So, during my first few years of teaching, I thought it was always best to have the “quiet” classroom, the “well-behaved” classroom, you didn’t want to be “that teacher” with the rambunctious and loud students and get that knock on the door to “quiet down”…well lets just say over the years I have CHANGED my mind!
It is so ingrained in our teacher brains that having “the” quiet, respected, well behaved classroom is the only way that student learning can occur.
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!! Especially for us foreign language teachers! They have to talk and speak in the language they are learning?!? DUH!
Now does this mean every day in class is going to be loud, no. There are days where we had quiet learning and study times. Especially when introducing new material, taking notes or reviewing important topics with a class discussion. BUT…most students need to be active and engaged in their learning in more than just note taking, worksheets, speakings’, etc. Some of our students need to be moving and grooving to learn!
Especially being a world languages teacher our classes should be LOUD…why you may ask…because that means we are USING THE LANGUAGE! It may feel weird at first to have a noisy classroom and that’s okay..don’t mind the nosy neighbor teacher…they are just jealous they are not having so much fun! 😜 But getting our students to use the language they are learning is so important. Giving them that confidence of time and space to learn and practice the language they are speaking is so necessary.
So let go of what you THINK your classroom should be like and let it become the classroom you WANT it to be!
On the days that my students were all over the place, loud, talking, moving around, I felt those were the most accomplished days as a teacher. I could see my students learning and helping each other learn and that was such a blessing! Getting our students to actively engage in their learning is what it is all about. Giving them the tools and resources to create learning rather than us making it for them. That is how we create lifelong learners, and I am so proud to be a part of this journey with them.
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As always, I hope that you have found this information useful and helpful to you!
Merci,
Amanda