Lydia Stavropoulou is an English Language teacher from Greece, and she’s written a blog post all about her own experience of psychotherapy. Lydia explains how having an understanding of her own mind has had a really positive influence on her teaching.
I caught myself thinking: what makes teaching thrive? Is experience the key to efficient teaching, or is it something more than that? Is there a mystery to be solved? All these questions prompted me to turn to systemic psychotherapy. In this article, I’ll present my personal experience and how understanding my own mind had a positive influence on my teaching.
What is systemic psychotherapy?
Systemic psychotherapy is a procedure. In my case, it was a real vehicle for change. When I was on the path to understanding myself, I looked into my reactions to the school environment. I then applied my newfound knowledge to my teaching.
Boundaries
Children are in an environment with rules, because they enhance teaching and learning. It’s important to make sure they know this. School shouldn’t be a threatening experience. So, at the start of term, reassure your students of this, and refer to it as ‘the classroom circle of trust’. This technique really helps to establish the unwritten ‘classroom contract’.
Safety
Your behaviour as a teacher should be stable. This will help students feel calm, as they’ll know what to expect when they walk into the room. They won’t be resistant to coming into the classroom, and they’ll feel relaxed. It’s important that the process of the lesson remains the same throughout the whole year. This will help to eliminate anxiety and behavioural bursts. As a result, lesson time will flow more easily and the students will be more likely to participate.
Acceptance
You should establish an environment where all of your students’ characters are accepted. It’s important that non-acceptable behaviour or learning difficulties are differentiated from character and identity. Correcting someone and judging them are two very different things. By incorporating an element of acceptance into your lessons, you’ll encourage a more positive learning environment.
Commitment and Consistency
As a teacher, you should reassure your students that your role is to lead them through the subject being taught. Make sure you correct them with sufficient feedback, and always present information in as much detail as possible. It’s a student’s responsibility to study thoroughly and follow instructions. By encouraging this mentality, you’ll help them to achieve progress.
Thorough realisation of the self
If you’re fully aware of your own emotions, you can ensure that your fears and anxieties don’t impact on your students’ experience of the classroom. It’s important that we always consider how we interact with our class members and reflect on our relationship with them. This will turn teaching and learning into an experience that can be enjoyed by everyone!
If you’ve enjoyed this article, you might also like Jack Richard’s blog post about pedagogical reasoning skills.