I was "Mad" too. How tearing paper saved a lesson from 4,000 miles away. šøš®āļøšŗšø
- Gabrielle G.
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Distance learning for a strong-willed, active 7-year-old is hard.
Doing it across continents? Even harder.
Last week, my student in Slovenia was having a day. Arms crossed. Scowling. A firm "NO" to every prompt. His mom was trying to encourage him to look at the screen, but the more she pushed, the more he retreated.
Iāve worked with this boy for monthsāfirst in person during his family's U.S. visit, and now online. I know his heart, I know his "strong will," and I know he finds a certain joy in being a little bit "destructive."
Instead of fighting the "No," I joined it.
The Mirror: I didn't tell him to calm down. I crossed my arms, made a dramatic "mad face," and shouted: "I AM MAD TOO! WHY ARE WE MAD?!"
The Hook: He peeked. He wanted to see what "Teacher being mad" looked like. The power dynamic shifted instantly from Authority vs. Student to Two People Sharing a Feeling.
The Pivot: I grabbed a piece of paper. I shook it dramatically. I shredded it on camera saying, "I AM SO MAD I JUST WANT TO RIP THIS INTO TINY PIECES SO I CAN....."
The Release: "...THROW IT INTO THE CAMERA LIKE CONFETTI TO MAKE ME SMILE!" throwing the pieces like confetti at the camera. "LOOK! IT WORKED! I AM SMILING!"
The Result? Pure laughter. The "wall" vanished.
I told him to grab his own paper. Together, we "tore up our problems" and threw them at our cameras. We laughed, we "cleaned up" the old problems, jokingly getting mad at each piece as we threw them away together, and thenāwith a regulated nervous system and a smileāhe was ready to learn.
Why did this work?
In the "factory model" of education, this child might have been labeled "defiant" or "disruptive." But by using Whole Child tactics, we realized:
Connection > Curriculum: You can't teach a brain that doesn't feel safe or seen.
Sensory Redirection: For active kids, "shredding" is a productive outlet for big energy.
Co-Regulation: I used my energy to help him shift his.
His mom sat there in amazement, but the secret wasn't magicāit was meeting the human exactly where he was. ā¤ļø ā®ļø
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