It's the first day of the school year. The students march into your classroom, some with looks of expectation on their faces, others appear more apathetic. You have high expectations for this year. And it all starts with the emotional bank account.
On that first day of school, you're prepared with class rosters totalling 180 students. Now it is time to open up 180 emotional "bank accounts." Each one of these students represents one bank account. Throughout the next few weeks, it is essential to start making deposits to each account. You must make these deposits before making any withdrawals, as much like would happen if you did this with a bank account dealing with money, for fear of being overdrawn. Overdrawn emotional bank accounts, same as with real bank accounts, are never good.
The emotional bank account idea comes from Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." In the book, Covey describes [...]
As a teacher, the emtional bank account idea works very well. Especially in the cases of underserved, ill-prepared students coming from low-income communities. For many of these students, their whole lives could be described as a consistent pattern of withdrawals from emotional bank accounts- abuse, poverty, malnourishment and ineffective parenting. It is important to build up a strong emotional bank account in the classroom. You have the ability to do this.
The emotional bank account works like this: deposits include praise, a home visit or time spent after school tutoring, a solid A or B on a quiz, personal notes from the teacher at the top of homework assignments, compassionate adjustments during class. Merely showing respect can be one of the largest deposits a teacher can make. Home visits, as long as they are generally positive, represent large deposits. All of these are important to build a significant emotional balance between the two parties doing business: the teacher-student relationship. A large emotional balance makes a great path to significant gains in achievement.
It is also helpful to understand when withdrawals are made. As with a money bank account, emotional bank accounts require withdrawals from time to time, but a large positive balance is the goal. So be careful when making these withdrawals: scolding in front of the class, making comments to a student which may be perceived as disrespectful, apathy when a student has lost motivation, low grades on a quiz or test, and not being available for students before or after school.
Here's why a positive balance is so important. Consequences are a necessary element of an effective learning environment. When a student is consistently talking in your class, showing up late, or not turning in homework, consequences must follow. In the student's eyes, these consequences are withdrawals. Only when the teacher has built up a large enough emotional bank account are they able to leverage this balance to effectively administer consequences.
Awareness of these emotional bank accounts will make you a more effective teacher. Knowing that you need to make a significant number of deposits before making any withdrawals is something the beginning teacher should understand and follow. I won't go so far to say it is the only way to make achievement gains, but it is by far the best. If you're an experienced teacher already making gains with your students, congratulations. Consider your methods and resources in terms of deposits and withdrawals to an emotional bank account. Chances are your strategies fit very nicely with the emotional bank account concept.
Tags: emotional intelligence professional development classroom management seven habits |
