Law of Attraction in the Classroom

My client wrote this blog post anonymously to protect the identities of her students. Some background information: As a teacher, she experiences such a high level of success. Her life is as close to perfect as it can be in that arena. So we have pulled her patterns from the successful areas and worked on replicating them in other areas of her life.

A challenge recently came up for her in teaching where she had very good clean energy. As she turned the corner from a place of strength in this area, it has spilled over into other areas of her life and she is gaining mastery over all areas of her life by using the Law of Attraction as a core self leadership skill.

Here goes……

Hello all,

Iyabo, my fabulous coach, asked me to share my law of attraction success story with you. So here goes!

First, a quick bit of background. I am in my fourth year of teaching kindergarten. Over the summer, I swapped school districts and moved into an at-risk school. Even though my heart was telling me this was the right move, I had many people warn me about the kind of students I would encounter. I knew I had to get my vibe right in order to prove them wrong. All summer long, with the help of Iyabo, I envisioned my perfect classroom. Kind, well-behaved students. Friendly, helpful parents. A colorful, well-funded classroom. When August rolled around, I found myself living my vision. Everything was perfect.

My co-workers were experiencing the exact opposite. Their students were (can I say this?) nightmares. In the hallways, my students followed behind me like perfect little ducklings. The other teachers looked like they were trying to herd chickens whose heads had been chopped off. (In fact, when I found myself low on caffeine, I may have visualized chopping off a few of their heads myself.) On the playground, my students played cooperative games while the other teachers’ students cooperatively tortured one another. One child in particular really drove everyone nuts.  He had been diagnosed with ADHD, and his mother made the decision not to treat it.

This kid made the other kids look like the baby Jesus. He was aggressive, violent, angry and compulsive. My first experience with C went something like this- He broke a rule. I asked him to “take a break.” He apparently heard me wrong and tried to break my leg. He punched me, spit at me, and rattled off some words I will be kind enough not to repeat here.

I went home thanking God that this kid wasn’t in my class.

On Friday, November 7th, I was notified by my principal that he was being moved into my room. I then began visualizing chopping off her head.

Over the weekend, I calmed down a bit. I had a coaching call with Iyabo that really turned things around. She reminded me that a five-year-old can’t really be evil. We got to work turning my vibe around so that this kid wouldn’t be met Monday morning with my negative energy. I began to visualize him fitting right in with the rest of my wonderful ones, paying attention, using polite words, learning to problem-solve. I went to bed early Sunday night (if I am sleep-deprived, my best intentions fly out the window). On my way to work on Monday, I prayed.

I told God that I truly believed this child was His, and that I knew God wasn’t looking down at this little boy thinking, “Man, what a brat.” I was. So I asked God to help me see C through His eyes. I then started affirming that we were going to have a great day. I pictured each part of the day, and I saw this little boy enjoying himself while following the rules.

Before he came over from the other class, I talked to my class. I told him how much I believed C would be successful in our class. I told them that he might need some help, and that we might need to be patient while he learned all of the rules and routines. (I also gave them permission to remind me to be patient if I needed it!) When he walked into my class, I greeted him enthusiastically with a genuine smile. Throughout the day, I explained to him what would happen next and what would be expected of him. I said things like, “I’m excited to see you walk down the hall quietly.” “Remind me what it will look like when I am talking and you are being a respectful listener.”

One of our biggest issues with C had been getting him to line up with the other kids when recess was over. I told him on the way outside, “I trust that you will line up when the whistle blows.” Well, when I blew the whistle, C (stuck in his role of the “bad” kid) would not line up. This did not fit in with my vision of what I wanted, so I ignored it completely. I lined my kids up, went inside, and buzzed the office. I let them know that he was outside, and they brought him back to my class. I went right into the lesson like nothing ever happened.

When the second recess rolled around, I took his hand and walked him to the pre-k playground, a much-smaller, “uncool” version of our playground. He was quite surprised. I told him calmly that until he earned my trust, he would have to play on the small playground. He wasn’t too happy, but he eventually played and when recess was over, we held hands while we walked into the building. I said, “C, next time I blow that whistle, what will you do?” His answer? “RUN FOR IT!” And that is exactly what he has done every time since.

It hasn’t been perfect, but I am telling you, this is amazing stuff. All throughout the day, I keep picturing him being successful. When he makes a mistake, I put all of my energy into the solution instead of the problem. I ignore the “bad” and seek out the good. And I am telling you, this kid’s energy has shifted to match mine. He has not been aggressive once. He is laughing, smiling, and learning.

My co-workers give me curious looks, looks that probably mean they are questioning what I’m putting in his Kool-aid. I just smile. Maybe one day soon I will tell them about the law of attraction and how I used it to turn this situation around. In the meantime, I’m just enjoying my little ducklings.

-L

P.S. Here is a list of the strategies I’m using with ALL of my kids, both regular ed. and special services, to get them out of the role of “the problem kid” and into “star student.”

1. Lots of smiles, winks, high-fives, and hugs.
2. At the beginning of each day, every child is greeted by another student with eye contact and a smile. We then play a community-building game in which there are no winners and losers. For greeting and game ideas, go to http://www.originsonline.org and go to Activity Central. You can sort by grade level.
3. At the end of each day, we name one thing we saw each child do that helped make our classroom community better- being a good listener, sharing, using words to solve a problem, drawing a picture for a friend, etc. We then do a little cheer.
4. Every child has an important job. I try to give kids jobs that get them out of their “bad identity.” For example, the kid who is known as being irresponsible might be given the job of taking messages to different parts of the school. (I might let the office know ahead of time to expect them!) The child who seems to only care about himself would be given the job of caregiver- getting an ice pack or a band-aid for a hurt child.
5. My students know that they can put themselves into “Take a Break.” I put myself in the break chair when I feel myself getting frustrated. I model taking deep breaths and getting back in control before rejoining the group. I’m amazed that five-year-olds can do this, but they all do!
6. We move- a lot! Five-year-olds may need to physically get their feelings out before they can concentrate, so we take a lot of mini dance breaks. If the weather is nice, we walk around the outside of the school once or twice before settling in for a math lesson.
7. I randomly send postcards to my kids’ homes, telling them about something great I have noticed in them.
8. If a child is having a particularly rough day, I will find a moment when they are doing something good (it may be very small and seemingly insignificant) and pull them over to tell them I notice. Then I will sing them a song (A You’re Adorable is a favorite) or read them the book of their choice.
9. If I notice several students starting to get off track during a particular time of day, I call a class meeting. Recently we had a meeting because they were starting to play instead of listen to directions. We made a chart showing what a good listener “looks like, feels like, and sounds like.”
10. I have two signs up in my room that keep me going. The first says, “Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.” (Totally LOA!) The other says “All children want to be good.”
11. Biggest, most important one- I am learning to stay in my business and take care of my energy first. I have to be emitting good vibes in order for my kids to do the same.

Isabel Allende and Passion

I loved this description of passion and the insight into this wonderful and prolific writer. She is passionate about the depth of character of women she has encountered. I love that. I love how true she is to herself.Truly, this is my definition of authentic living – such depth!

Isabel Allende