Flexibility, Change, and Panic
July 11, 2019
Full disclosure - I'm not a fan of change. It causes me stress and panic. I like to plan; I like knowing what's going to happen. I'm really, really best when there's a routine.
When I started reading about executive functions, and I read about the function of shift/flexibility, I found myself nodding and saying, "Ohhhhhh!" a lot. It made me understand myself a bit better, but it also gave me some insight into how to help people who are weaker in managing this executive function.
I'm known as the structured teacher in our building. I think of James Earl Jones saying it. I'm known for having consistent expectations; I'm known for having high expectations for myself and my students. (Side note - reading What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, and he has chapters on these topics. It's a great read if you haven't picked it up.) I tend to get students who need structure and consistency (think students who have identified behavior concerns). It's been interesting. Students who aren't successful in other classrooms typically - typically - have a better success rate in my classroom. (Please note I said better success - not they are 100% incredibly perfect.)
One reason we've identified is that students know what to expect. The daily routine may not always be exactly the same, but the expectations for what we're doing do not change. Please stay seated while someone is talking. When asked to work, get going (whatever this might look like - reading, writing, working with a partner). If you have a problem, talk to me (no book, don't know where we are in the writing process, can't stand your partner). Respect others (we talk about what this means in a variety of settings/events). The level of what is tolerated isn't really high one day and really low another. It might vary off the line a little day to day, but it doesn't swing wildly. This consistency, this routine, helps those students who have trouble with the shift/flexibility executive function.
One part of my classroom is what I call "warning" students. It isn't so much of a warn as it is an alert. If something is going to change, I will let them know as soon as I do. It's my solemn promise to them. For some kids, this doesn't matter. Truthfully, this executive function is better developed in some of them than it is me. For others, this makes all the difference in the world. In Whitaker's book, he talks about how teachers react to a surprise assembly. He says we have to be positive. I don't disagree with him, but I will tell you it causes me panic. Do I share that panic? With a select few. I certainly don't with my students! Some of them are already stressing themselves.
Ever watched that student work on something you know is a lost cause, the student probably knows is a lost cause, but the student won't quit on the path? That student potentially has struggle with the shift/flexibility executive function. Our role as teachers is to help that student find a way to successfully change the path. Transition times are also difficult for students who have trouble with this executive function. It's change - they aren't ready, or they don't know how to wrap something up to come back to it.
Knowing our weaknesses is the first step in gaining strength. Coping strategies are imperative. Small successes can lead to larger ones (just like in anything else). People have called me a control freak for years. I finally figured out that it's because I hate change and the unknown, and if I leave it up to others, I don't have that knowledge of what is coming up. I'm not flexible in that way.
One thing that bothers me a lot is hearing from others - "Well, life isn't always like this, so those people/students/kids are just going to have to learn to adapt. They're going to have to learn to be flexible. Change is a way of life."
It is a way of life. But having people be understanding of feelings should also be a way of life. Again, teaching coping strategies is necessary. If I know I'm going to have to change during an activity, I set a timer 15 minutes before that change. It gives me time to process and wrap things up; it is less abrupt. People around me also know to "alert" me to change in routine because I've asked them to (this is a true-friend test, I swear). We have to do the same things for our students whether all need them or not.
I talk about this in my classroom - that I often do these things for me because I need these to help me transition. Several kids nod and look relieved. Other kids say thanks, but it's clear they would be ok with just changing. Understanding that we all have different needs is just part of being human; trying to meet those needs is being a person.
(Information on executive functions was researched from "Understanding Executive Functioning Issues" by Amanda Morin and "Lazy Kid or Executive Dysfunction?" by Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel.)
Full disclosure - I'm not a fan of change. It causes me stress and panic. I like to plan; I like knowing what's going to happen. I'm really, really best when there's a routine.
When I started reading about executive functions, and I read about the function of shift/flexibility, I found myself nodding and saying, "Ohhhhhh!" a lot. It made me understand myself a bit better, but it also gave me some insight into how to help people who are weaker in managing this executive function.
I'm known as the structured teacher in our building. I think of James Earl Jones saying it. I'm known for having consistent expectations; I'm known for having high expectations for myself and my students. (Side note - reading What Great Teachers Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, and he has chapters on these topics. It's a great read if you haven't picked it up.) I tend to get students who need structure and consistency (think students who have identified behavior concerns). It's been interesting. Students who aren't successful in other classrooms typically - typically - have a better success rate in my classroom. (Please note I said better success - not they are 100% incredibly perfect.)
One reason we've identified is that students know what to expect. The daily routine may not always be exactly the same, but the expectations for what we're doing do not change. Please stay seated while someone is talking. When asked to work, get going (whatever this might look like - reading, writing, working with a partner). If you have a problem, talk to me (no book, don't know where we are in the writing process, can't stand your partner). Respect others (we talk about what this means in a variety of settings/events). The level of what is tolerated isn't really high one day and really low another. It might vary off the line a little day to day, but it doesn't swing wildly. This consistency, this routine, helps those students who have trouble with the shift/flexibility executive function.
One part of my classroom is what I call "warning" students. It isn't so much of a warn as it is an alert. If something is going to change, I will let them know as soon as I do. It's my solemn promise to them. For some kids, this doesn't matter. Truthfully, this executive function is better developed in some of them than it is me. For others, this makes all the difference in the world. In Whitaker's book, he talks about how teachers react to a surprise assembly. He says we have to be positive. I don't disagree with him, but I will tell you it causes me panic. Do I share that panic? With a select few. I certainly don't with my students! Some of them are already stressing themselves.
Ever watched that student work on something you know is a lost cause, the student probably knows is a lost cause, but the student won't quit on the path? That student potentially has struggle with the shift/flexibility executive function. Our role as teachers is to help that student find a way to successfully change the path. Transition times are also difficult for students who have trouble with this executive function. It's change - they aren't ready, or they don't know how to wrap something up to come back to it.
Knowing our weaknesses is the first step in gaining strength. Coping strategies are imperative. Small successes can lead to larger ones (just like in anything else). People have called me a control freak for years. I finally figured out that it's because I hate change and the unknown, and if I leave it up to others, I don't have that knowledge of what is coming up. I'm not flexible in that way.
One thing that bothers me a lot is hearing from others - "Well, life isn't always like this, so those people/students/kids are just going to have to learn to adapt. They're going to have to learn to be flexible. Change is a way of life."
It is a way of life. But having people be understanding of feelings should also be a way of life. Again, teaching coping strategies is necessary. If I know I'm going to have to change during an activity, I set a timer 15 minutes before that change. It gives me time to process and wrap things up; it is less abrupt. People around me also know to "alert" me to change in routine because I've asked them to (this is a true-friend test, I swear). We have to do the same things for our students whether all need them or not.
I talk about this in my classroom - that I often do these things for me because I need these to help me transition. Several kids nod and look relieved. Other kids say thanks, but it's clear they would be ok with just changing. Understanding that we all have different needs is just part of being human; trying to meet those needs is being a person.
(Information on executive functions was researched from "Understanding Executive Functioning Issues" by Amanda Morin and "Lazy Kid or Executive Dysfunction?" by Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel.)
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