3 Words and Phrases Every Educator Can Use to Speak Life and Encouragement
As an educator, you have an opportunity both inside of the classroom and outside of it, to operate from the places of both formal and informal influence. Here are 3 words and phrases you can carry with you into any situation to speak life and encouragement:
1. I Hear You
This does much for you and for those you interact with. For you, it can help you to slow down and remind you to listen, especially if the conversation has lasted a while or has started to shift or take an unfamiliar shape. For them, even if they’re engaging from a place of being upset, sometimes that feeling of being upset comes from a feeling of being unheard or a sense of a lack of agency. Your stopping to let them know that you hear them can mean more than you know.
I can think of a couple of experiences back when I worked a short stint in tech support, working with phones. Callers would call in, upset about something that was going wrong. Something that helped to de-escalate those calls was taking the time to let the person on the other end of the line know that they were heard. I’d do this through apologizing for the difficulty, taking the time to gain a better understanding of the problem they were experiencing, and showing interest in who they were and why the problem mattered to them. This allowed them to vent and to understand that we were on the same team in solving the problem ahead of us. This same kind of posture means a lot for approaching educational environments because people are people, and this desire to be heard and known is universal.
People are people, and this desire to be heard and known is universal.
2. Grace
This is another one of those words that makes a difference on both sides of the equation. One thing that you might forget as you serve others is that it’s important for you to have grace for yourself. You will make mistakes. Having grace for yourself will help you to have grace for others. Understanding that there’s grace for you will help you to have more understanding in your interaction with others. Grace for others helps them to feel more like they have a place in the conversation with you and builds trust that also expands into your future interactions with them.
3. You’re not alone.
While “I hear you” helps with feelings of anger, “You’re not alone” can help more with navigating feelings of fear. It also communicates an openness to partnership. This helps with networking, but it can also help you in your interactions with those you have the ability to influence through formal and informal influence. A student who feels like they’re alone or unheard may likely withdraw. This withdrawal might also come with academic disengagement and a failure to achieve academic outcomes. An attitude and actions that communicate clearly “you’re not alone”, will help to fight that disengagement. Some practical actions you can take in a classroom setting include inviting students or mentees to share their experiences as they relate to educational material, incorporating group conversations and projects into the flow of the educational environment, and taking the time to meet one-on-one with students who appear to be taking those first steps toward disengagement.
What does it mean for an educator to operate from informal influence?
Informal influence happens outside the official role of teacher or instructor. It’s the influence you carry in conversations, how you respond to someone who’s upset, and in the way you show up for people in real and tangible ways. Learn more with this read about informal mentorship!
How can saying "I hear you" help with a disruptive or upset student?
Being upset can sometimes come from either a feeling of being unheard or from a place where someone feels like they don’t have any agency. Taking the time to let someone know they’re heard allows them to vent and to understand that working through challenges is a team effort. Understanding that you view it this way means a lot in educational environments. Ways you can communicate this include apologizing for difficulty, asking questions and seeking out information to gain clarity of the problem being experienced, and showing interest in who your student is and why the problem they’re facing matters to them. Love is at the heart of every effective mentor relationship. Learn more with this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast!
Why is grace important for educators, not just students?
Educators make mistakes, too. Having grace for yourself is what makes it possible to extend grace to others. When you understand that there’s grace available for you, it changes how you interact with the people you serve and builds the kind of trust that carries into future interactions.
How does hearing "you're not alone" help prevent academic disengagement?
A student who feels isolated is more likely to withdraw, and that withdrawal often leads to academic disengagement. Communicating clearly to a student that they are not alone helps fight that pull toward disconnection before it takes hold. Consistency in both words and actions is key to this communication.
What are some practical classroom actions that help students feel less alone?
Inviting students to connect their own experiences to learning material, incorporating group conversations and projects, and making time for one-on-one check-ins with students who appear to be pulling away are all practical ways to build a classroom environment where students feel like they belong.