Imagine a room with seven powerful amplifiers centralized through a state-of-the-art computer. Each one plays a different sound source. The computer is configured by default with a program that executes these commands randomly:

1. Devices 2 and 4: progressive activation of the volume up to its maximum intensity and immediate disconnection.
2. Devices 1, 3 and 5: constant emission at a low intensity, although annoying enough to become disturbing after a few moments.
3. Devices 6 and 7: intense and sudden activation.

We only know of one emergency mechanism (ON/OFF) to contain the overflow. Does it sound like torture? Can you imagine giving a master class on the Catholic Monarchs, the use of the semicolon or the calculation of the hypotenuse in this context? And incidentally, clarify doubts or propose some practice?

This is how teachers often feel in the classroom. Constant interruptions disrupt the normal development of a lesson. Spain is one of the OECD countries where teachers say they spend the highest percentage of their time in the classroom ( 17.6% ) on maintaining order. Teachers say that maintaining order in class is a source of stress.

Classroom chaos and teacher stress

Continuing with our analogy, we don’t know how to get the best performance from the seven-amp system because we have never been taught the most important thing: how to set it up correctly. This is the metaphorical description of what happens in many classrooms. The noise produces a level of stress that generates three types of response: flight, attack or freeze.

The figures support this, with an increase in sick leave due to depression among teachers, and 39.9% of teachers with less than 15 years of experience with symptoms of moderate to severe depression .

What causes chaos in classrooms?

There are several indicators to analyse the situation of students. Mental health has worsened, with a 47% increase in disorders following the pandemic. Since then, and based on the most recent data , suicides, attempts and ideation continue to increase.

The peculiarities of the younger generations make them a tough audience and difficult to win over without the right tools. We have to assume that they are “programmed” to obtain immediate satisfaction from their experiences. These must be of sufficient duration and interest to allow them to maintain an acceptable level of attention and concentration. Beyond that margin, they will become terribly frustrated or disconnect at best.

A non-authoritarian teacher in a more diverse classroom

Today, traditional instructional methods typical of industrial societies converge with competency-based approaches that seek to prepare citizens for a global and digitalized society. Teachers must learn ways to exercise their authority as guides in more autonomous learning, through active methodologies. Classrooms are diverse, with students who require greater personalization.

This adds another phenomenon of high impact in the classrooms: the progressive increase in the presence of students with specific needs for educational support , currently almost one million schoolchildren, 12% of the total. It is a desirable step that has been implemented without additional human support or specialized training.

Standardly trained teachers are faced alone with new situations such as caring for schoolchildren with autism spectrum disorders or hyperactivity.

A sustainable level

Do you remember the lesson about the Catholic Monarchs, the semicolon or the hypotenuse? They leave the stage frustrated and humiliated after a complete failure. Due to the tension, they made several false entrances, omitted key parts of the script, got stuck at the “best” moments…

This is the portrait of a “normal” classroom. There are infinite gradations, but the important thing is that the standard level is sustainable. Otherwise, the brain (both of the teacher and of the students) is in flight, attack or paralysis mode, remember. There is no room for the mechanisms involved in the learning processes. Optimal environmental conditions are needed for them to occur. These mechanisms need to be “programmed”.

Observation and reflection

The first commands that a teacher must execute before “programming” the group are two: observation and reflection. The success of any subject that he addresses will depend on the depth and quality of this exercise. “Observe” what the interests, customs and characteristics of the group are. “Reflect” sincerely on the “what”, the “why” and the “how”.

Why do they need to learn something about the Catholic Monarchs when they have everything at the click of a button? Even more so, why memorize? What does it add to their daily life? What connection does it have with our time and what could be so important that without it we would not be what we are? Why is it vital to learn it? To have culture? To train the brain? As long as questions continue to arise, we must remain in that phase until we find a good reason.

Create and feed the need to learn

The next step is the “how” to create the need, feed it and continue to subject it to a severe and honest judgment. With everything just a click away, what can surprise them or catch their attention? Paradoxically, the simplest things, the most emotional, are our best bet and those that capture attention and generate the climate we need.

Whatever helps them to disconnect from their problems, whatever is a challenge, whatever makes them discover and surprise themselves, whatever awakens their sense of humour… This is what they respond to. And they also respond if they detect a true intention from the teacher who wants them to develop their own mechanisms through which to grow and develop freely. There is affection, generosity, respect, compassion.

And if it doesn’t work, we must retrace our steps and rework the plan until we get it right through successive trials and errors without giving up. It is hard, but it stops the war, which is much more exhausting. In the meantime, until we find the “magic formula”, we will be building our own firm and efficient dynamic.

Emotional competence

The continuous references in the LOMLOE to emotional regulation place it at the main focus of pedagogical action and suggest it as a formula for “programming” the group. This means that it is necessary to regulate and control their energy and all the adjacent variables.

What we used to call “having psychology” is now called emotional intelligence , a key element of neuroeducation . It is a skill that may be an innate quality in the teacher. If not, it can be developed.

It was one of the many skills of Steve Jobs , who claimed that “it’s not what you say, but how you say it.” The time has come to systematically integrate it into education.

Author Bio: Sara Gonzalez Garcia is Professor of the Area of ​​Didactics of Musical Expression at the University of Malaga