Steve Francis – Page 2 – Happy Schools

Avoid Defensiveness With Tricky Parents

July 11, 2024

Parents who are defensive of their child can be tricky to manage. Dealing with defensive reactions is difficult and often stressful. When people are defensive, they are often at their worst. They quickly become adversarial, irrational, hostile and angry. Through making subtle adjustments to our approach by anticipating and endeavoring to avoid a defensive reaction before it happens, can help manage tricky situations. According to Richard Carlson, author of “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, having the wisdom to anticipate defensive reactions allows you to avoid a great deal of conflict in the first place by not pushing certain buttons in people and by not engaging in behaviour that is likely to set them off. Respond in a composed manner, sticking…

What Will YOUR Students Remember?

April 25, 2024

Stevef

Engagement

Think back to who your favourite teacher was when YOU were a student. Now think about WHY you chose that particular teacher. The reason almost invariably comes back to the way that particular teacher made you feel. “I remember a teacher who made me feel welcome, safe and important. She saw something special in me.” Many people comment on how much the teacher cared about them, how they made them feel and how they took a genuine interest in them. How many of YOUR students, when confronted with the same question at some stage in their future, will name you? What will you be remembered for? Participants at a recent workshop said the following about their favourite teachers. “My teacher……

Relationships Are Important in Managing Student Behaviour

April 11, 2024

Stevef

Effectiveness

I’ve often heard the statement ‘students don’t learn from people they don’t like!’ In ‘Kids These Days’, author and psychologist Jody Carrington says, “Kids won’t learn from people who they think don’t like them.” This statement resonates with me and is consistent with behaviour management guru Bill Rogers’ position that the best teachers are warm-demanding. They have that balance where they have the warmth to relate to students but are also demanding and have clear expectations of their students. Teachers who are too warm and want to be every students BFF are unlikely to be respected. However, teachers who are too strict and gruff (They follow the “Don’t smile until Easter” philosophy), are unlikely to engage students. The sweet spot…

Positive Parent Information Sessions

February 1, 2024

Stevef

Communication

Developing a trusting partnership between the school and the home not only benefits the student but can reduce stress on school staff. Parents who trust teachers and the staff of the school are far more likely to give the school the benefit of the doubt and be more forgiving of a mistake. Where trust is not evident, parents are more likely to be cautious and suspicious. Parent information sessions are important opportunities for building trust with parents. Information afternoons or evenings for parents are important occasions for starting to build trust with parents and setting the tone for a productive year. It can be helpful to consider the session from the parents’ viewpoint. They come along to the session to…

Making the Most of 2024

January 25, 2024

Stevef

Engagement

It’s relatively easy to start the year feeling refreshed and recharged and ready for the year ahead. It’s a little more difficult to maintain that energy level throughout the year. A little planning now can set up 2024 as your best year yet! To make 2024 better than last year we need both reflection and action. Without reflection, we will continue to repeat the same mistakes of the past. Without action, nothing is achieved. Take a moment or two now to reflect on 2023. What areas worked well and what areas contributed to higher levels of stress? Were you organised and prepared for peak periods eg events and reporting time? Were you efficient with your time or did you procrastinate or…

Start Well – Finish Well

January 18, 2024

Stevef

Resilience

Working in schools can be demanding. Each year it seems that more is expected of you than ever before. Competing demands result in having too much to do and not enough time to do it. It is the cumulative effect of workload and insidious day-to-day sources of stress and not the less frequent intense sources of stress, which staff in schools are most concerned about. Most people start the year with renewed energy, focus and vigour. They have enjoyed a well-earned break and are ready for another challenging year. Establishing systems and good habits are essential at this time of the year. The start of a new school year should set the tone for the rest of the year. Now…

Distract Yourself to Reduce Anxious Thoughts

December 7, 2023

Stevef

Resilience

Almost everyone feels anxious at some point in their lives. For some people, anxiety occurs regularly, even daily. Research has shown that distracting yourself from feelings of anxiety can help to curb them. Actively distracting yourself takes your mind off of the anxiety you are experiencing. For this technique to be most effective, you need to choose to distract yourself, rather than someone else distracting you. What is a distraction strategy? A distraction strategy is simply an activity that takes your mind off your current emotions. Instead of putting your energy into your worries and increasing your anxiety, you can focus on other things instead to give your mind and body time to calm down. It can be difficult to…

Take the Initiative This World Teachers’ Day

October 26, 2023

Stevef

Resilience

Working in schools can be tough and demanding. Much of the work that staff in schools do, goes unrecognised. It can take years before we see the impact that we have had. The lack of respect for the work of staff in schools and the impact they have, has contributed to increased staff turnover and made recruitment more difficult than ever. As a result, staff shortages are common and attracting people to join the profession is challenging. However, our work is very important and can also be very rewarding. We have the opportunity to change people’s lives every single day. If we only focus on the problems and challenges of our profession and can’t find and talk about the positive…

Conveying Difficult Information on Student Reports

September 21, 2023

Stevef

Communication

One of the most difficult aspects of writing comments on student reports is figuring out how to phrase messages that may be difficult, challenging or confronting for parents to receive. The following tips are intended to help you determine the most tactful and compassionate way to write about tough topics in your report comments. No Surprises Don’t take the opportunity to drop a bomb. Student reports should not contain surprises. If there are major concerns then the parent needs to know before the end of the semester. No one wants to find out about a problem after it’s already spiralled out of control for weeks on end. The problems you discuss in report comments should not be a surprise to…

STOP – Make Rules That Help Your Well-Being

August 24, 2023

Stevef

Resilience

The default move for getting more done is to do more. That can work and it can also waste a lot of time, energy and attention doing stuff that just doesn’t really matter. We also need to know when to stop doing things. This week, create some stopping rules so you’ll know when to stop doing something. Here are 8 situations you might like to consider setting some rules that you should abide by. Inspired by Donald Sull and Kathleen Eisenhardt’s book, Simple Rules. Email – When have you spent enough time on email? If you are checking school email at night, set a time limit. You’ll be amazed at how much gets done in 15 minutes if we set…