Are You A Petty Tyrant?

Don't get me wrong, kids like some kind of order. If you watch a class with little control the students are not happy. So this is not about letting kids run wild. What it is about is stepping back and taking a look at your routines and rules. How many of them are necessary? How many are simply the result of your own need to have order and control in your life? When you come from a place of compassion and caring, when you truly have your student's best interests at heart and when they know this, then many of the dictates you perceive to be necessary simply fall away. You may be the captain, but remember your crew know a lot more than you think about keeping the ship in order and they will be happier and better learners when you give them credit for this.