Funny or Strange Situations..

From a Quora Question: How do you handle amusing or strange situations in the classroom without losing control?

Is it funny or strange?

1. There is no reason to not let students know that you are amused. It’s fine and healthy to laugh with them. This is part of being “real” and enjoying your students and your job.

   
   

2. A “strange” situation would be different. This depends on what you mean by “strange.” If something seems off then be aware of that and address this appropriately. Here are a few examples from my classroom experience:

   
   

   1. A student from the classroom next door entered my room through the adjoining chemistry storeroom (not permitted) and wound his way through the student’s tables bent over (apparently trying not to disturb my class) and came to me to ask me a question. He was wearing a long black trench coat and acting “off.” This was definitely not o.k. so I explained to him why this was not acceptable and alerted the teacher next door to the situation.

   2. A student came up to me trying to speak but her jaws were moving quickly with no discernible words coming out. She was pale and her lips were blue. I immediately alerted the nurse and eventually heard the word Tylenol from her. She had tried to take her own life by overdosing on Tylenol and then regretted her decision. An ambulance was dispatched immediately and she survived. This was a strange situation because it is fortunately out of the norm. It is important to pay attention to any situation that does not feel right.

      
      

3. Losing control. After 27 years in the classroom I am happy to say that I never lost control. Were there times when my students were happily louder than I like because they were having fun with a learning game? Yes! If you are the calm authority in the room from Day 1 and do your best to remain calm, then losing control should not happen. The closest I got to that is when there was a fight right outside our class windows. Students ran to the windows to see what was happening. I understood their concern. The class was not “out of control.” I wanted to see what was happening as well, out of concern for the students involved. Once the situation outside was handled (security was already arriving) the students and I got back to work.

   
   

Final Thought: Enjoy your students and your teaching! It’s totally fine to be amused.