“Your heart is fine, Alan.” The doctor laid his stethoscope on the counter and smiled. “Try to relax more and not worry so much. Stress can really mess with your body.”
I liked Dr. J. for his straightforward nature, but this advice seemed too simplistic to be helpful. Relax and stop worrying? How could I manage that? Six classes of mischievous students regularly made my clock feel like it was going to blow through my sternum.
Thankfully, I have learned a lot about managing children and stress since that doctor visit more than thirty years ago. Even so, feelings of irritation and inadequacy can still interfere with my teaching abilities.
Those vexing mental states are one of my reasons for relying on a healing approach to classroom culture instead of a creating approach. What difference do the words really make? As I have mentioned in this blog series, the language of classroom culture as something we create is useful as a first step, but it can disappoint us when our creative efforts unravel. Shifting to a posture of healing has helped me navigate situations that earlier would have seemed overwhelming. Allow me to explain.
A healing approach modeled by our Creator
I can follow the protocols of creating a supportive learning environment and still have a classroom culture that is characterized by griping, belittling, or holding back. How frustrating! My disappointment is compounded by worry that I have failed at a basic professional obligation, described in this way by my Iowa Teaching Standards: to “[create] a learning community that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement, and self-regulation for every student.”
What’s more, classroom culture struggles tempt me to think of resistant learners as my adversaries. After all, they are the ones undermining my supportive learning environment (and causing the cramps in my chest). As a result, I find myself drawn into conflicts with kids instead of seeking to redirect and restore.
When I fizzle at creating a positive classroom culture, I take comfort and guidance from God’s pattern in Scripture. As the Genesis account explains, the perfect setting of harmony and delight that God created was soon spoiled by human self assertion. This resistant pattern framed much of the Old Testament story.
Thankfully, God did not give up on people, but eventually God did expand beyond creating. In the gospels, we see the Creator entering history as a Healer in the person of Jesus Christ. Considering that God (who is perfect and almighty) shifted beyond creating to a capacity that accounted for the needs of people, we (who exist as imperfect image bearers of God) might also think about our work in broader terms than just creators of learning environments.
If we approach classroom culture struggles with a posture of healing, what is the essential malady in need of care? I find it helpful to picture the human condition as an eye problem: we struggle with limited perception. From a spiritual standpoint, personal desires tend to consume more attention than our neighbors’ needs. Moreover, biological wiring can intensify a self-referenced state of mind, especially when our connection to others or our social standing feels at risk. Ultimately, an inward focus exposes learning communities to the kinds of hurt that I mentioned a moment ago (i.e., griping, belittling, or holding back among students, as well as overreacting on the part of teachers).
Health-giving practices
I cannot cure anyone’s eyesight in the way that Christ performed miracles during his earthly ministry, but I can incorporate antidotes that allow healing to occur. Let’s briefly explore some health-giving practices.
In the spirit of Psalm 139, I can ask God to search me and reveal any offensive ways in my heart. Do I exude bias, inflexibility, indifference, or vindictiveness toward any of my students? If I carry a me-first attitude, can I shift so that my focus is on my students’ wellbeing and learning? At the biological level, I might access mindfulness strategies to calm my heart rate and increase my sense of wellbeing. In turn, a composed mental state allows the muscles of my ears and eyes to take in the perspectives of those around me.
Additionally, as Dr. Stephen Porges explains, there are facial expressions and voice tones known to awaken the neurological social engagement systems of those in proximity to us. Along those lines, a teacher can combine a calming demeanor with words to assure young people that they are safe and valuable members of the learning community. As students become more trusting of me as their teacher, they concurrently grow in their ability to see themselves as members of a community and to perceive the effects of their actions on the people around them.
The limited space of a blog post prevents us from digging deeper into a healing approach. If you are interested in learning more, I invite you to read my book Solutions That Heal: Responding to Infectious Behavior in Learning Spaces.
