June 23, 2020July 2, 2020 Linda Markley

The Teacher Voice

calling to make a difference, making connections, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

How do teachers use their voice both in the classroom and beyond?  Too often the voice of the teacher is portrayed by the “wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah” sound that echoed in the classroom of the Peanuts characters created by Charles Shultz. 

          The teacher voice is so much more.  What we say and how we 
          say it holds enormous power and potential impact on children…
          ....for better or for worse...!  How do you use your teacher voice?

I taught world languages, specifically Spanish and French.  I wanted my students to learn words and to use them to communicate both effectively and affectively in order to connect with other people at the heart level and not just through a checklist of rules accompanied by lengthy lists of meaningless vocabulary or other content.

	“People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, 
         But people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

I knew that words had power.  And I knew that if I chose my words and actions carefully, with loving, positive and affirming intentions to see and hear each one of them, it would then connect us at the heart.  When we make connections at the heart, there is more meaning, and therefore, more memory and motivation.

Our students' voices are an extension of our voice. 
     How we make our students feel through what we say 
     and what we do matters and makes a difference! 

How will you use your teacher voice?

In his book, Messages in Water, Masaru Emoto, a Japanese researcher, shared his study of the effect of words through an experiment he did using water crystals.  He spoke different words over water, and immediately froze the water, which then created crystals.  When he examined the crystals, he found that negative words like hate, dumb, ugly, (in any language) created deformed, dark crystals.  On the other hand, positive words like love, smart, beautiful produced bright, perfectly shaped, clear crystals.  It was all about the energy behind the words.  And energy is a reflection of our feelings and the emotions of what we are experiencing

                 Emotion, from Latin, emotere, meaning “energy in motion”. 

So, it seems that the teacher’s voice and the words we choose to create that voice, both literally and figuratively, are not as simple or meaningless as “wah-wah-wah”. 

Yes, we are human.  Our students are human.  BUT, also as humans, we have the power of choice.  And as Deepak Chopra says, “where our intention goes, our energy flows.”  +++ Let’s make it positive! +++

How to set the intention for your teacher voice:

1. Commit to creating a positive classroom climate through words and actions that produce positive feelings and emotions
2. Make a word wall of kind and loving expressions to use for you and for students
3. Create a class contract using words that promote kindness and positive behaviors
4. Commit and make a contract with each individual student to connect and communicate  needs in order to have a more harmonious union and partnernship in learning
5. Place a chart of “growth mindset” expressions that help motivate and encourage
6. Learn more about best practices for SEL (Social-emotional learning), Mindfulness in the classroom and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)
7. Include positive affirmations in your lesson plans such as “Every student is important”.  or “When a student misbehaves or is not performing as expected, I will speak to that student with kind words and a genuine curiosity to discover why.”
8. Check out and use some of the “Can Do Statements” and the “Positive Affirmations” in the “Spirit Lessons“.  More guidance can be found in  “Spirit Resources”

 

Inspirational song:  Power in the Words by The Green

Image by John Hain