Today I lost my voice. It is a common enough teachers' malady but one that has only affected me twice before in seventeen years of teaching. There were warning signs at the beginning of the day as I welcomed the children with a strangely falsetto voice. Then by morning break it was gone. I feel fine though. A little tireder than normal, but apart from the missing voice, fine. Definitely well enough to continue working, so no lazy sick days are on my horizon.
I think that being voiceless for a day or two is a good litmus test of the level of respect inherent in the classroom dynamics. I am pleased to report that the rest of the day continued smoothly. This really is a great bunch of students I have this year. Of course the results may not have been the same with a different cohort, or even with different things going on in my own life, as the dynamics of relationships in teaching and learning are affected by myriad matters. Still, this reminds me that teachers do have a tendency to overuse their voices. Exercising patience, stillness and non-verbal cues to direct the class makes for a calmer learning environment all round.
I think that being voiceless for a day or two is a good litmus test of the level of respect inherent in the classroom dynamics. I am pleased to report that the rest of the day continued smoothly. This really is a great bunch of students I have this year. Of course the results may not have been the same with a different cohort, or even with different things going on in my own life, as the dynamics of relationships in teaching and learning are affected by myriad matters. Still, this reminds me that teachers do have a tendency to overuse their voices. Exercising patience, stillness and non-verbal cues to direct the class makes for a calmer learning environment all round.
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