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.

Your wants: What would that feel like, sound like, taste like, look like, be like? .#3

Having both what I want and the feelings behind what I want would feel empowering.

I would feel that I was a masterful creator. It would sound like harmonious music and taste delicious. It would look like a person in control of her life and it would be a happy life. It would feel high energy yet peaceful and loving.

Going fully into the experience of what you want is a surefire way to gravitate towards it in a powerful way.

The next step becomes manifestation.

These first three questions are closely related and are tied into one another. I encourage you to talk the time to journal out these three questions and begin to observe that you are indeed a masterful creator.

Affirmation: I already have want I want and it feels great!

Your wants: What do I really, really want? .#2

For me personally, this question speaks to what is behind what I want. What I truly want to feel on a daily basis in my life is peace of mind, passion, freedom, enjoyment, laughter, growth, love, security, connection with God and some degree of predictability.

Really, it is that simple.

The real question is what is behind the feelings of the things you want? Sometimes, this may be difficult to decipher as we may not trust our feelings or we have been conditioned into wanting things because we think it is a status symbol. Nothing is wrong with that but if you want something because it is a status symbol then really, really, you are looking for feelings of acceptance and security. Do you get the picture?

Spend time examining your feelings behind the things that you want. You want more money? Or is it really financial freedom that you want? Pay attention to the feelings and then be in the moment of that feeling. Be financially free and enjoy that feeling. Tap back into that feeling as many times a day as you can. Write about it in your journal. The more familiar you become with the feeling, the more aligned you are with it and the quicker the goods that deliver the feeling will manifest in your life.

Affirmation: I honor, embrace and trust my feelings and they guide me effortlessly to what I want.

Your wants: What do I want? .#1

Great question to begin with.

I want good things. I want to be in great shape and perfect health. I want to have my children. I want to enjoy and fully love being a mommy. I want more time to do the things that I want to do. I want more financial stability. I want more financial abundance. I want to read more books and learn more new things.

I want a 150 gallon reef tank. I want to travel to Hawaii and Fiji. I want to learn to swim properly. I want my great marriage to be even better. I want to have more capacity to be intimate. I want to have more love, hugs and kisses in my life. I want to believe more in myself. I want to trust my instincts more. I want more and more of what I want that is good. I want to be more creative and I want more energy.

I want to experience more support in my life. I want to learn how to cook a variety of foods. I want to eat more veggies and enjoy them. I want all my relationships to be uplifting and good. I want to see the best in everyone else. I want to feel very intimate with God. I want a very successful and fulfilling coaching career.

I want to grow and develop through my coaching practice and I want to really help others through it. I want to have ten thousand subscribers. I want to understand brain science more. I want to be a powerful and effective coach and speaker.

What we want is part of what identifies us. We are so different from one another and there is nothing wrong with wanting what you want. Listening to your internal voice about what you want tells you more about yourself.

For instance as I wrote this out, unplanned and free styling it, I did not realize that one of the things that I want to do is learn how to swim properly. I do not think I have ever had that thought pop up in my head but obviously it is part of the desires of my heart.

So I am now grateful to this blog that my desires are out here and I now know myself better from just writing this post.

Notice that I did not write what I do not want. That is the point of this particular question. As humans, we tend to focus on what we do not want instead of what we want. For instance, I wanted to write that I do not want to be so dependent on caffeine. That is why I wrote that I want more energy. I first wrote that I want to lose weight and then I changed that to I want to be in great shape and perfect health because that is more true. I do not want to just lose five pounds and not be in a healthy body.

So, now that I have put all this out here, I cannot just leave it hanging out there so being the powerful and deliberate self leader that that I am, I add my intention to my desires. Then I chose to believe that I have them already. I bask in it. I enjoy it as if it is already. I smile as think of all these things already as part of my identity and in my life. It really is that simple.

Next step for me: Thank you, thank you, thank you God. I am grateful for all these things and more. Thank you.

How exciting!

Affirmation: I know what I want. What I want is good and I have what I want.

We were created to want and receive what we want.

Now, to you, what do you want?