How to create your own classroom oasis

There may well have been a hasty refreshing of CVs all over Scotland recently after an advertisement appeared for two Primary School Teachers to start work this month.

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The reason? The successful candidates would be heading off – flights paid for – to a small, private school on the Turks and Caicos, the beautiful tropical islands located southeast of the Bahamas.

Here there is a dry and sunny climate with relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year. Summertime temperatures rarely exceed 33°C, while winter night time temperatures rarely fall below 18°C.

What’s not to like?

Of course, we can’t all simply pack up and move to a tropical island. But there are ways to create our very own oasis amid what can often be a full-on and frenetic school environment. A feel-good classroom ambience does not just happen; a teacher creates it.

So pack your sunglasses and settle back into that hammock as we offer the s1jobs guide to creating classroom peace, tranquility and harmony.

Peace, perfect peace?

“If we are to teach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children.” No, not a Coca Cola slogan from the Seventies but Mahatma Gandhi. By all means begin with the children but remember to also use paint and even potatoes.

Yes, art is the heart of the matter when it comes to generating a peaceful environment. As any Primary School Teacher knows, offering art materials to young kids is the best way to focus minds, stimulate imaginations, engender creativity . . . and experience a calm and quiet atmosphere.

Of course, ask your young Gauguins to paint pictures of sea, sky and sand for a classroom display and you can also create your very own tropical island backdrop.

The chill-out beach vibe

A calm and positive classroom environment yields positive students who are better motivated to study.

Top tip to make this happen: smile. A vital part of creating calm and inspiring positivity is to make your students feel like you want them to be there.

So talk and teach like you mean it.

You’ll be amazed what a difference you can make to the classroom using your own body language, tone of voice and that welcoming smile.

Achieve the ‘beach vibe’ and not only will this assist studies and help boost the success of your students, it will also boost your own professional development as a Secondary School Teacher.

Who would have thought chilling out might one day land you a role as Headteacher?

Happy? Clap your hands!

Class control is never an issue when everyone is enjoying what they’re doing . . . and when they’re happy to show it.

While Music Teachers and Art Teachers already enjoy an environment where students are actively encouraged to express themselves through their chosen media, it’s also possible to motivate learning through expression in any other study.

Children, like adults, are inspired by the enthusiasm of others. So let your own love for your subject shine through: this is the single most effective way to inspire a desire to learn in your students.

As well as imparting knowledge you will be teaching an attitude: one that will not just see better exam results but help your charges achieve great things in all areas of their lives.

So, remember: the only time you need to clap your hands is when you’re happy and you know it!