Stepping into the classroom on your first day as a new teacher can be overwhelming: and it’s totally normal to be worried about your hands shaking or your voice stuttering. But the last thing you want is the children in front of you to know you’re nervous.
Being confident in your role is so important: children will pick up on your confidence levels and this will alter how they respond to you.
Imagine you’re heading in for surgery but when the surgeon greets you, they seem a bit uncertain: “So, what operation are you having today? Oh, well, let me have a think, which instruments will I need?”
Obviously, you’d question the surgeon, as well as the team around them, and would flee from the operation room.
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So, how can you build genuine confidence in the classroom? And are there any good tricks you can try to give the impression of confidence even when you’re feeling a little unsure?
Creating a teacher persona
If you’re quite shy - and often avoid being the centre of attention - adopt a teacher persona.
I learnt this early on in my career: Andy is quiet and does not enjoy “holding court”. However Mr T needs to be able to stand tall and command the room.
Here’s how I stepped into my teacher persona.
1. Pick your spot carefully
Greet the pupils at the door where possible. If not, stand in the middle or right by the main thoroughfare in which children enter the room. This shows you feel you belong in the room.
2. Body language
Stand up straight, smile and keep your body language as open as possible. So often in situations where we lack confidence, we fold our arms or put our hands in our pockets.
When speaking to or greeting the children, keep your hands palm-side up and your arms open. When resting your hands, keep them at your waist and picture an “O for open” on your torso - frame it with your arms.
3. Eye contact
Many of us shy away from making eye contact with new people. It’s therefore easy to give an air of confidence if, when you greet and speak to the children, you meet their eye.
There is no need to stare them out or insist they keep eye contact with you but, by looking directly at them, you are showing your confidence.
4. Be confident in your subject knowledge
This is simple but so important. Anyone would feel daunted by the prospect of speaking about a topic they have very little knowledge of. Good preparation before the lesson will make you feel much more confident once you have the class in front of you.
Before entering the room, be clear in your mind about what you want from the lesson, and plan it in advance.
5. Have a script
Our biggest concern is often about what we should do if the class misbehave.
To pre-empt this, plan some simple scripts to use to avoid your voice suddenly leaping three octaves higher and panic setting in. For example, “No thank you ‘name’. That behaviour (or, better yet, name the behaviour) is not acceptable in our class”. Remember to keep your voice level and calm.
