Two Breaths

"It takes one fool to backtrack. It takes two fools to make a conversation out of it." --Fred Jones

Fred Jone's book "Tools for Teaching" has been one of my favorite education books ever since my student teaching supervisor gave it to me last December. I mean, I read it all the way through ... Voluntarily! He just has a way of saying things that make so much since ... And crack me up. Like pointing out that every time I dignify my kiddo's back talk with a response, I am being the fool that creates a conversation out of back talk. My bad!

He also has this brilliant idea that I have really been trying to focus on ... Take two, calming breaths. Before doing ... Well, anything! It gives you time to get your fight or flight reflex in check, calm yourself down, get a game plan .... You know, not be a fool and say something reactive. I have a somewhat ... Backtalk-y? Class. So it's kind of a big deal for me to not be reactive ... It simply fuels their fire.

But I think this idea of two deep breaths will help in lots of "not my 4th grade classroom" situations, too. Like when my husband and I disagree on something. Or another adult frustrates me. Or when Im not sure how to respond to a situation. Or when Im studying with someone and am not sure how to answer a question, or when I am tempted by something.

If you haven't studied the fight or flight reflex, you should ... It is interesting how much can be blamed on that primitive instinct! So, we have to learn to control it. And hey, two deep breaths is a great start.

=)

...random informative tidbit for you: running with shin splints is not advisable. Turns out, unlike muscle soreness you cannot really "work through them", but you CAN make the worse! So, now for a couple days of Advil to get through the day, ice at night, and no running... Book!