Episode 501: Self-Regulation Strategies: Calming the Storm Within

Calm your students by teaching them these practical self-regulation strategies. Join us in conversation with Amy Beasley and Mary Simmons in our very special Season 5 premiere!

TRANSCRIPT

 

Ashley Mengwasser: Hello, hello. Welcome to Classroom Conversations. We're the platform for Georgia's teachers, bringing you a place to share and learn. If you know you know and if you don't know, prepare to glean something good from today's half hour. We're kicking things into high gear with a novel season of Teacher Talk. Our fifth season topics are truly original. Don't miss a single one. This collection of episodes featuring teacher voices continues to grow and thrive. Thanks to the symbiosis between educator, listeners and our presenting co-sponsors the Georgia Department of Education and Georgia Public Broadcasting. I'm host Ashley Mengwasser, focusing on my breath work. Take a deep breath with me. It makes all the difference in today's topic. This episode covers self-regulation strategies. Not to psych you out, but this is a matter of applied psychology. Self-regulation, like learning, boils down to brain power. And there is a relieving, soothing corollary to that brain power premise. That means it's a skill, it can be taught just like your curriculum. Self-regulation is deeply relevant to our K through 12 student population. It's the way to understand and then bridle behavior. It's a practiced response to their internal state feelings or the surrounding environment. Self-regulation enables students to govern themselves. The opposite of this would be impulsivity where the reflex can be react instead of respond. Imagine how reactivity and emotional activation could unintentionally block a student's quest for knowledge. With self-regulation, educators can support student wellbeing and engineer a positive classroom climate. I'm calling today's guests the strategists because they are proven innovators of student self-regulation strategies. 20 year educator, Amy Beasley teaches eighth grade math at Henderson Middle School in Jackson, Georgia. Part of the Butts County School System. And representing the elementary level is 10 year educator, Mary Simmons. Fourth grade teacher at Model Elementary School in Rome. That's part of Floyd County Schools. Welcome, Amy and Mary.

Mary Simmons: Hey.

Amy Beasley: Thank you.

Ashley Mengwasser: Hi. How are you both today?

Mary Simmons: We're good. doing well.

Ashley Mengwasser: You too, Amy. I'm glad. It would be awkward if you said, "I'm actually not well, Ashley. Thank you for bringing that up". Mary Simmons, who are Simmons Smarties, let's start with you.

Mary Simmons: Yes, they are my class babies. Those are the kids. That's our name for our classroom that we came up with. My team teacher a few years ago, Holly Brown, she said, "We've got to come up with a class name for you." Because I was new to the school. And we brainstormed and then we came up with Simmons Smarties. So ever since then, that's been our acronym. That's what we've used to go by.

Ashley Mengwasser: Simmons Smarties. Amy, anything for your middle schoolers? Do you call them by any names?

Amy Beasley: I call them all babies because eventually I forget their name. You think every year, "I'll never forget this child's name," and then a few months after summer when you see them the next year, I always forget their names. So if I call them baby, we're good.

Ashley Mengwasser: Covered. You'll never get it wrong. That's a really good trick. You've both been at this for one or two decades respectively. What advice would you go back and give your early teacher self in those raw first couple of years? You first, Mary.

Mary Simmons: I would love to go back and just tell that first-year teacher to take a breath, to calm your nerves that-

Ashley Mengwasser: Self-regulate.

Mary Simmons: Self-regulate. You may not know how to do it, but that there will be days that are hard, that are stressful, but then there are days that are wonderful that you just enjoy what you do every day and it's not a job per se. It's what you love and it's what you're passionate about. That things will be okay, that you'll be just fine, keep working hard.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. Get to the other side of the frenzy.

Mary Simmons: Yep.

Ashley Mengwasser: How about for you, Amy?

Amy Beasley: I think I would just say start each year building those relationships. Don't wait until you start having problems with kids. You read posts all the time about, "My kids are acting so bad and I don't know what to do with this and they're so low in this." And at that point I feel like you've already lost them. But if you start the year with that positive attitude and with building the relationships, not only with the students but with their families too. And go ahead and build that trust upfront and those procedures and those expectations that you have upfront, then it goes much smoother.

Ashley Mengwasser: Much smoother.

Amy Beasley: Much smoother.

Ashley Mengwasser: Much smoother. Spoken from a 20 year expert here. Can you think of a time when you may have felt dysregulated in this profession? I'm sure there's been a couple.

Amy Beasley: Every Monday.

Ashley Mengwasser: Every Monday. The human experience.

Amy Beasley: I think I see it, a lot of people make the joke about the full moon, but I don't know if that's a joke. I really do feel it.

Ashley Mengwasser: My mom's a nurse and she agrees.

Amy Beasley: Yes. But on those days when you know can see kids coming in and you can tell they're not quite right, they'll typically speak to you and today all of a sudden they just walk by. Just little things like that. Or you're just seeing that the class as a whole just isn't quite right, maybe too active, maybe not active enough. We, a lot of times, stop the middle of what we're doing and do of three to five minute yoga.

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh, wow.

Amy Beasley: So that helps myself also, I try to get in there with them. I'm like, "Y'all, if I can do it, I know y'all can do it."

Ashley Mengwasser: You can do it. A little downward dog.

Amy Beasley: Right. Focusing, like you said, on our breathing, on stretching those muscles and just getting our mind centered and back to learning.

Ashley Mengwasser: Mary, can you think of a time where you may have felt dysregulated?

Mary Simmons: As a professional and as a person, a lot of times, no. Probably one that I can think of was at the beginning of the year and you have your programs that you're used to using. We changed it up a little bit and it just seemed that we had three or four new programs at one time. And once you've been doing something a certain way for a little while, you get used to it. And I can remember sitting there thinking, "Oh my goodness, wow. This is a lot that I'm going to have to take in that we're going to have to do. It's going to change different things." And so just being able to get myself organized, I think that always makes me feel better and prepared. And that always puts me in a better state of mind before I go in anywhere. If I'm organized and prepared, that can make a world of difference.

Ashley Mengwasser: Absolutely. When you're not helping students self-regulate, how do you spend your personal time?

Mary Simmons: We are busy. I have two babies and so we are always on the go. We're doing different things. Right now, we're in the lull without sports, but it'll pick back up in the spring and that's just what we love and wouldn't have it any other way.

Ashley Mengwasser: And you said you're married to your best friend?

Mary Simmons: Yes, ma'am.

Ashley Mengwasser: That sounds nice.

Mary Simmons: Yes, ma'am.

Ashley Mengwasser: What's he like?

Mary Simmons: Yes, he's wonderful. He drove me today. So he's outside, he drove in Atlanta traffic for me.

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh, that's love.

Mary Simmons: Yes, that is.

Ashley Mengwasser: He should have come in here. Amy, what are you doing with your personal time?

Amy Beasley: My husband just started his own business, so we're super busy with that.

Ashley Mengwasser: Entrepreneur. Yeah.

Amy Beasley: Yes. But our son actually is in college. He's in Coastal Carolina. He graduates the 16th of December, so we're proud of him for that. But a lot of our time is not consumed with sports and 4-H and all that stuff anymore, so that's nice. But we still manage to stay super busy.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yes, busy lives out here. Could you share a fun fact about your personality, each of you? Mary, would you like to go first?

Mary Simmons: I think when we were talking about it, it's hard when you're asked that up front. But I'm very competitive and that's what we were talking about. We have a competition going on at school right now and so we are all in it. And so anytime there's anything fun learning wise or anything that's competition wise, I'm all in.

Ashley Mengwasser: You want to win?

Mary Simmons: I want to win.

Ashley Mengwasser: What is this competition you're doing?

Mary Simmons: We're raising donations for our local Paul's community. So the students are bringing in dog and cat food. And so if we win, they get to bring the animals and play with them at school.

Ashley Mengwasser: To your class? Oh my gosh. Yeah, that's a good goal.

Mary Simmons: So, I have about 21 babies right now who are trying their hardest to win.

Ashley Mengwasser: I would fight for that too. Good for them. Tell me about your personality, Amy.

Amy Beasley: Mine would be, I love corny jokes. So I'm always-

Ashley Mengwasser: You're in the right place.

Amy Beasley: Yes. I'm always telling them. And then the kids, they're like, "Oh, that's so cheesy." Actually, I had a student who made me a shirt, "Cheesy Beasley."

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh, that's clever. I like it.

Amy Beasley: But now they're starting to find puns in different ways to say things. It's just a lot of fun.

Ashley Mengwasser: Aren't they contagious, puns? They're my favorite form of humor. Someone once told me that they're the lowest form of humor, which I resented very much. On this podcast series, we've discussed the proven benefits of positive affirmations on a prior episode. And I'm wondering, what do you find to be just a primo affirmation for self-regulation and self-soothing? The tried and true, "You've got this," or, "Everything will be okay." But I think I have two that are a big chill pill for me. One is, "I am capable of handling difficulties." Sometimes I'll say that to myself when things just feel really hard. "I'm capable of handling difficulties." Which switches me into confidence mode. And then I also like this one, "I simply manage my emotions." Which is a beautiful feeling, the simplicity. It's not as hard as it feels when we're feeling activated. That one works for me. The one that doesn't work is, "I am calm." It never calms me down. What resonates with you? What kind of affirmations do you find yourself saying to yourself or to your students to help them regulate in activated moments?

Mary Simmons: For my fourth-grade students, it's hard for them at times to realize it's okay to struggle. And so that's what I tell them, "It's okay if things are hard."

Ashley Mengwasser: That's good.

Mary Simmons: "You are built to do hard things." And we talk about that a lot, that even if a new skill, even if I came in and I had a hard morning, I'll be okay.

Ashley Mengwasser: Hard doesn't mean bad. Okay. How about for you, Amy?

Amy Beasley: I think for my eighth graders, it's more of, "I don't care." That's what they'll say. If they're getting in trouble and here's the consequence, "I don't care." Or they've got something that they're struggling with, "I don't care. It doesn't matter anyway." They just have that I don't care attitude, but I have to tell them, "You do care because if you didn't care, you wouldn't say I don't care."

Ashley Mengwasser: That's actually dismissive, right?

Amy Beasley: Right. You do care. So we talk about it. And I don't know if this is going to come up, but one thing that I was going to say is that I never correct or redirect my students in front of their peers.

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh, wow.

Amy Beasley: So, a lot of times we'll step into the hallway, and we call that my office. I'll say, "Go meet me in my office." And at first kids think that's a bad thing. You only get pulled into the hallway if you're being bad. But soon they'll ask me, "Let's go step into your office."

Ashley Mengwasser: Smart.

Amy Beasley: And they know that that's a safe place. And so when we go talk about, "And you really do care." And then once I get them away from those eyes that they're trying to show out for, they do open up. And I think you do care and I care about you.

Ashley Mengwasser: Of course, yours are in middle school, so they're going through so much, which you'll tell us about a bit later. I mentioned respiration. Breath work has already come up for us. And there is scientific support for this. Have you heard of the physiological sigh? Have either of you heard of this? I want to tell you about it. It works for rapid reduction in our internal stress levels. And you may have heard of it, it is the double inhale, when you inhale twice, followed by an exhale that's very long. And we actually do this when we sleep. If you watch your pets, if you have. Dogs do this when they're sleeping. And if you watch a child who is sobbing, they'll do the quick and it's two inhales followed by an exhale. Now this is the autonomous nervous system presentation of it. But the reason it works is because when we do the physiological side, we offload a huge amount of carbon dioxide at one time out of our bodies. So that just seems to be one simple trick that we can teach ourselves to practice the double inhale and long exhale as a soothing technique. But what wellbeing and self-regulating techniques have you guys come up with and are you practicing with your students today? You want to go first, Mary?

Mary Simmons: Yeah. We do the breathing activities before an activity. Transition times for elementary students are a little bit tougher for them to come in, especially if they've had a busy morning and they come into class. Maybe they're really excited or it's just hard for them to sit and calm. So we'll start by breathing. And so they'll take deep breaths or they'll blow out. And so we do that a lot to do in class. We do some other things in class for self-regulation that they don't even realize at times that I'm leading them through that we're doing. So it's really neat to get to see that.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. And I know in your class, Amy, you're doing yoga. You already told us that. Do you have any other techniques?

Amy Beasley: We have our calm down kit.

Ashley Mengwasser: Calm?

Amy Beasley: Calm down kit. Getting eighth graders to understand what they're feeling is a bit of a struggle because they do have so many emotions and hormones and everything else playing in. But once we identify those emotions, they have a calm down kit. It's got fidgets, got a little timer that they can turn on, different sensory objects in there. But the most important thing I think is it's got a few handouts about identifying the emotion that you are feeling and then some simple strategies. Just laying your head down for a few minutes, taking a little lap around the classroom, standing up and doing a quick pushup. Just different very quick things that they can do to, number one, take their mind off of whatever is happening, if it's just a silly eighth grade something. But also to build strategies for their future so that they know when I start feeling this way, this is what it means and this is what calms me down.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yes. And Mary, you've said for your elementary kids, there's actually a place in the back of the classroom where they could go. Tell me about that.

Mary Simmons: Well, I'm blessed enough this year that I have a really big space for students. And so I've created a room where they can move around and it's okay for them to get up if they need to go. I had a student the other day in the back laying on the floor, doing their work just because they needed to spread out. And then they would come back and join the classroom. Just different places in the area. I've used in the past, I had a tent that was in the back that a student could go in and write or do their classwork. It was just a pop-up tent. It wasn't anything I had to go out, the school had it and I put it up and they used it-

Ashley Mengwasser: Might well put it to use. Yeah.

Mary Simmons: It had a weighted blanket in it. And some of my students who didn't even really need it times a weighted blanket would say, "Oh, this feels really good."

Ashley Mengwasser: "This feels good."

Mary Simmons: Yeah, this is good. They would go and do that. And we've also taught them, our counselor comes in at the beginning of the year and teaches different strategies for the students too.

Ashley Mengwasser: That's great.

Mary Simmons: And one of the breathing strategies they use is where they hold their hand out and they breathe up their fingers and blow out. So it's a visual for them. So they trace their hands. And so that's one thing. And another thing is they can be sitting at their chair and they can pull up on their chair and it releases some of the stress because they're using their body weight to push down. So they just do different things in their area that just help them.

Ashley Mengwasser: A little bit cathartic. And Mary, you told me there is a big key one step in all of this in your experience, and that's watch and learn the students first. Tell me more?

Mary Simmons: I start each year with just getting to know my students. When we were talking, it takes me about a month, the first month of school, just talking with them and getting to know them before anything can happen. When they come into the classroom, I know their background, I know where they are, I know where they were last year before they came in here. And I really try to focus on what they need as individual students, what they like, what they don't like. Some students can't work well in loud noises. So your classroom really, for them, has to be a place of calmness. And again, that comes with organization and being prepared for different things in your classroom.

Ashley Mengwasser: Which we know is big for you.

Mary Simmons: Yeah.

Ashley Mengwasser: Have there been any consistent wellbeing or self-regulation challenges that you have seen in your students as a pattern at the elementary level?

Mary Simmons: I think the biggest thing that I've seen is that overstimulation piece. The past 10 years that I've been in education, from when I first started to now, there's been a paradigm shift in overstimulation with technology and different things in the world and their environment. And for us as educators, it's hard for us at times to combat that when they come into the classroom. But I think that having a place that's safe, having a place of predictability where they come in and they know what to expect can also help with that regulation.

Ashley Mengwasser: Absolutely. How about for your middle schoolers, Amy? Are you seeing any patterns in their wellbeing or self-regulation challenges?

Amy Beasley: I alluded to this earlier, but ours is more identifying what we're feeling. They confuse anxiety and stress and fear. They confuse those. Or they confuse something's happened at home and I have that going on and I come to school and now all of a sudden one person does one little thing to me and I just lash out. It's hard for them to separate all those emotions that they're feeling just all piled into one. And that once you're feeling this point, having that strategy to calm down is such a big difference.

Ashley Mengwasser: Right. Because that tension within them can build and come out at an inopportune moment. Take me through the experience of being dysregulated. This doesn't just happen to students, this happens to us too. So what kind of symptoms of dysregulation might we learn to recognize?

Mary Simmons: I think a lot of times it comes out in different emotions, sadness, irritability, anger, frustration. And the students can't really identify. Maybe an activity was hard, but the way that they're reacting to that situation isn't really typical. And so for them, just knowing that those things are normal responses to stress or things that are happening. And so just figuring out ways for them to slow that down a little bit.

Ashley Mengwasser: What do you think, Amy?

Amy Beasley: Yeah, I agree. I was going to say something pretty similar, that it's normal. Everybody's going to go through this.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. Normalize it.

Amy Beasley: Right. But how you respond to it and you use the word react, how you react to it rather than how you can use strategies and calm yourself down before you have that outburst.

Ashley Mengwasser: That big blow up moment. Yes. In every class, I was probably this person as a kid because I could be very sensitive to nervous energy. It gets my nervous system going. So I'm hypervigilant. I can find the person in the room who's upset maybe before they know that they're upset. So when somebody in the class is really worked up, could that put other students on edge? And how do you talk them through that?

Mary Simmons: A part of that is having that classroom culture and climate where you know your friends, you know the people that are around you. That happens often and students are very adaptable and so they understand sometimes when their classmates are having a moment or they need something. I think the more that they're around that and they experience that, they're more compassionate too in teaching that.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. They can hold space for their classmate.

Amy Beasley: I have a chart on our whiteboard. It's very simple. It's basically just an laminated board. But it has a place for, "I'm really upset and I need help now. Just check on me." Or, "I'm in a great space." And I don't require them to do it, but a lot of them will put their name on a sticky note and put it in one of those places. And that serves as a tool for me so I know-

Ashley Mengwasser: Where everybody's starting. Right.

Amy Beasley: ... what I need to be looking for. And it also serves for other students because my eighth graders are not as empathetic as your fourth graders. And sometimes it is hard to know what people are going through and to put yourself in those shoes. But when they see that whoever is down there and needs a minute is not feeling well, it makes them more in tune of, let me be careful of how I work with that friend.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yes. Let's go to that next. Beautiful segue. You can co-host with this job if you ever like, Amy. Empathy. How can we help students learn empathy? And how can we show them and demonstrate with our behaviors to support their classmates?

Mary Simmons: We have, piggybacking off of what she said, at the beginning of the year, our students, again, our counselor sets up these little pie charts for students and they have a gauge on it. And it's how to fill your tank? Or how full is your tank? And so it's color coded and so the students can say, "I'm a little low today." That means I need a little bit of extra love. I need some support. There's one in the middle that says, "Just right." I'm right where I need to be. I'm ready to go. And then there's one that says, "I'm too high." I am feeling too much emotion right now. I need some support on how to manage that. And so we talk about that as a whole group. And I have one that sits on my front too. And so the students see me and we talk about those things. And it's okay for your teacher to do it so I can do it too. So I can share how I'm feeling and share with my classmates. I also let them, they write letters. If they need to write me a note and say, "I need you to know this." Or they'll hand it to somebody and then it'll get back to me and so then we can address that too.

Ashley Mengwasser: Very good. And that's teaching them the very pragmatic skill of self-reporting, self-aware, identifying, like you're working on with your eighth graders. Identifying what's going on within and communicating that for the benefit of the others. What about empathy and support for these tougher ones, Amy, in middle school?

Amy Beasley: We write letters also. We write affirmations to one another.

Ashley Mengwasser: I like that.

Amy Beasley: And we put in a lot of work at the beginning, understanding what a good affirmation is, not necessarily, "I like your shoes."

Ashley Mengwasser: That's just a compliment.

Amy Beasley: Right. Or, "Your fit is fire."

Ashley Mengwasser: Fit is fire.

Amy Beasley: Right. More sincere, deep, looking at the person and their personality and the unique qualities and creativity that they have. We spend a lot of time working on that. But every Wednesday we just write affirmations to each other. And I encourage them to write it to someone they don't typically talk to all the time. And some of them stray away from it as awkward at first, but by this time of year they're asking for it. They're asking, "I need to give her an affirmation." And eventually it turns into something that they just say to someone. They don't have to hide behind that pencil and actually write it down.

Ashley Mengwasser: Anymore. They're just out with it.

Amy Beasley: Yep.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. You've told me each of you about several really great self-regulation strategies that you use. I'd love you to tell me about more if you have them, but also which get the most buy-in from students. What is their favorite out of these techniques?

Mary Simmons: I would say their favorites would have to be the fidgets that we have. The stress balls. Those are easy tools that students can have.

Ashley Mengwasser: Keeping their hands busy.

Mary Simmons: Keeping their hands busy. One thing I have learned is the fidgets or the poppets with noise makers, that might affect your classroom management a little bit so just prepare for that. But if you teach them the right way when they're feeling a certain way, they can grab those tools out of their backpack or from the counselor that they've gotten or received, and so they can use those whenever they need them. And I have not had any issues with students using fidgets or things that they need. One time we used stickers that went on the desk that had a rough texture to them. And so the students, they could just sit there and touch it and feel that and it would soothe them.

Ashley Mengwasser: Yeah. The word is self-regulation, so we want them to do it themselves. What's your student's favorite?

Amy Beasley: Mine like fidgets also. I charge mine though.

Ashley Mengwasser: Oh.

Amy Beasley: Yes, we have a class economy, and they have to pay.

Ashley Mengwasser: There we go. That's right.

Amy Beasley: But they do get to keep it, so it is theirs. But they do love the affirmations too. And they love affirming their teachers.

Ashley Mengwasser: Is that right?

Amy Beasley: Yeah. They love affirming their teachers.

Ashley Mengwasser: What's your favorite affirmation you've received lately, Amy?

Amy Beasley: I love you. Yeah, I get that one a lot. I love you.

Ashley Mengwasser: Brings tears to your eyes. I see it over here. How do you build trust so that your students are comfortable sharing, I love you, or I need assistance? How do you start that trust building process with them?

Amy Beasley: Starting day one, I hug every student that comes in the classroom. So, at first some of them are like, "Ah, she's hugging." But it doesn't take long, by the end of week one, they're hugging. And I launch every lesson, so meaning after we close and everything before they go to the next class, I'll launch them with, "I love you and have a great day."

Ashley Mengwasser: That's really nice. Mary?

Amy Beasley: Yeah. I love that.

Mary Simmons: Yeah. Again, we just talk. I treat my students like they're members of my family. So they're not strangers and they know that I'm going to ask them questions like, "How was your day? What did you do yesterday? What are you doing this weekend?" And then they'll ask me the same questions. And so you just have to have that relatability back and forth. And I think a lot of times teachers, and I felt this way too a lot of times, is that you have the curriculum you have to teach. And the episode before was talking about that pacing that you have to have. But that relational piece to students is so important and that can just go so much further in your classroom too. Those are life skills that they need also.

Ashley Mengwasser: Absolutely. Can you each think of a time, a microcosm where this really worked? Where you saw a student or a collection of students positively progress with their self-regulation, a story, if you will?

Mary Simmons: I have lots of different examples that I could give, but my favorite is when you've had a student who really struggles but wants to regulate themselves. And maybe there's something going on that's out of their control that they really have a hard time with. Seeing them in a few years when they come back in the classroom and they give you a hug or they come in and they tell you and they catch up with you, that really is probably one of the best blessings that you can have because you know that you had a small part in helping this student be successful.

Ashley Mengwasser: That's right. Do you have a success story for us, Amy?

Amy Beasley: Mm-hmm. It actually happened the beginning of this year before I really got to know my current students so well. But I just started the year off positive like I always do. Like Mary said, it is important to know where your students are coming from. But I try not to focus so much on, "Oh, he's such a bad kid." You don't want to focus on that. So I was talking to a parent of one of my kids and I just sent out a simple note, "Your child made a 100 on the math quiz today." And that parent sent me a note back that said, "I'm so glad to hear this. I haven't heard anything good about my child since kindergarten."

Ashley Mengwasser: Since kindergarten.

Amy Beasley: Since kindergarten. And it was just a simple... I mean, at that point, I didn't really know this child, I didn't know the parent. Just a simple, quick note.

Ashley Mengwasser: Something great that happened though. Those things are worth noticing. Thank you for doing that. What would you say to teachers who might feel that they don't have time to teach self-regulation strategies to students? If they're worried, this is going to overpower the required teaching of the curriculum and the important stuff that kids are doing. What tips do you have for teachers as they approach this that can help them think about that time management piece for their instruction?

Mary Simmons: Again, I think that comes with organization-

Ashley Mengwasser: And preparation.

Mary Simmons: ... and planning and preparation and starting off your year with how you want your classroom. I always think about what's my end goal? I want these kids to be happy, healthy, and successful. What can I do to get them to where they need to be? And a part of that is it's me. I'm charge of that classroom and so what can I do to help them? And being organized from the beginning and learning your students. I'm sure people have heard this a lot, but taking that time upfront to really go in and know your students and set those boundaries and set those healthy expectations for them goes so far. And that will help you have a successful classroom. On the Georgia Home Classroom, there are different activities for breathing that students can do. Teachers can go in and practice those and then relate those to students.

Ashley Mengwasser: All right. Breathing exercises. And those are available at gpb.org/learn. Absolutely. What are your tips, Amy? Bring us home.

Amy Beasley: Write-ups and call homes and all that stuff that you're going to have to deal with. Behavior takes up way more time.

Ashley Mengwasser: Good point. Yes.

Amy Beasley: If you can just get that out of the way and just teach your students from the beginning what your procedures and what your expectations are and build that relationship and put in the fun work upfront, then they're ready to learn and they come in and they do what they have to do and you don't have to struggle with those things that take up more time and not so fun toward the end.

Ashley Mengwasser: Very good point. It's like an artist preparing your brushes for the day, right? That work up front is going to make all of the difference.

Amy Beasley: Yep.

Ashley Mengwasser: Thank you both Amy and Mary. I'm feeling very regulated right now. How about you guys?

Amy Beasley: Very regulated.

Mary Simmons: Yes.

Ashley Mengwasser: I told you it would be fun. Inspired by our self-regulation strategists, I've drafted this self-regulation quatrain in your honor. I'm no bard and luckily Amy's a math teacher, so she'll be gentler. Here we go. Try to soothe or distract, just don't react. By responding with thought, you don't get so hot. Don't flare glare or scare, but show yourself care. Once you've got it down pat, you've regulated that. You're a great teacher. Return here next week for more Classroom Conversations. We're just getting started with season five. I'm Ashley Mengwasser. Goodbye for now. Funding for Classroom Conversations is made possible through the School Climate Transformation Grant.