🌱 When Calm Walks In: Why Teacher Energy Shapes the Classroom

🔑 The Atmosphere You Bring

You’ve tried everything: stricter rules, more consequences, written reminders, even stars on the board. But still, the atmosphere feels heavy and the learning environment is a struggle. Students resist group work. They snap at each other during assignments instead of supporting and learning from one another.

What if the change you’re looking for didn’t come from another rule, but from something quieter, something you did simply by walking into the room?

🪑 A Story from Saudi Arabia

I was asked to spend time with a class of twenty-eight students in Saudi Arabia. The teacher explained that group work had become nearly impossible. Students weren’t just distracted, they were frustrated with one another, and peer activities ended in conflict more often than collaboration.

We tried something different. We moved the desks aside and sat together in a circle. I invited students to share how they were feeling and how a supportive friend might act.

Then we played a simple game called “Pass the Feeling.”

One by one, students tapped a classmate’s hand and offered a wish:

• “I want you to feel encouraged today.”

• “I hope you feel happy today.”

  
  

Three feelings kept coming up again and again. We paused and talked about what it would look like if classmates actually helped each other feel those things during lessons.

When I was reflecting with the teacher about how the classroom had adjusted following circle integration, she described the atmosphere as lighter, kinder, and more supportive.

But here’s the key: the students were able to make that shift because I first entered with calm teacher energy myself. By slowing down, inviting them into a circle, and modeling a different rhythm, I created the space where they could bring calm too.

It was a living reminder of the truth: teacher energy sets the tone, and students will follow.

🌱 Why Calm Fuels Learning

Finnish research shows us that calm isn’t a bonus, it’s part of the foundation for learning. Pasi Sahlberg describes this as “less is more”: shorter days, frequent breaks, protected joy. Those rhythms lower stress and free space for focus and

collaboration.

But here’s the reality: most teachers globally don’t have the freedom to add breaks or step outside whenever the class gets restless. Whether you’re teaching in Kenya’s CBC, the U.S., the U.K., or elsewhere, timetables are tight, class sizes are large, and the pressure is real.

That’s why calm has to be built inside the lesson. Here’s how to do it:

1. Plan for short resets. Choose 2–3 micro-breaks you can use anytime (stretch, riddle, partner share).

2. Agree on a signal. Work with students to pick a calm signal (clap rhythm, bell, hand raise). Make it consistent so everyone knows what it means.

3. Share the responsibility. Assign a “calm leader” each day who helps guide one of the resets.

   
   

   These don’t take extra time, but they give the class a rhythm of pause and reset that keeps learning possible.

   
   

✨ 5 Quick Calm Resets

1. Breath at the Door

Pause for one slow breath before stepping in. Invite your class to join. Ten seconds can shift the tone for the whole lesson.

2. Pass the Feeling (Circle Game)

When tension is high, try the same circle activity I used in Saudi Arabia. In large classes, break into small groups. It takes 5 minutes but creates empathy that lasts.

3. Calm Signals

Agree on a signal together: a rhythm clap, a hand raise, or a bell. Use it consistently to mean pause, breathe, reset.

4. In-Class Micro-Breaks

If you can’t go outside, pause for a stretch, a partner share, or a quick riddle. These 2-minute breaks restore focus without breaking timetable rules.

5. Student-Led Transitions

Let students rotate leading a warm-up, song, or reflection. They love the responsibility, and it gives you space to reset too.

🌍 Calm is Contagious

One strategy I love for shifting responsibility to students is the Ripple Effect Game.

Here’s how it works step by step:

1. Quietly pull aside 1–2 students before class or during a transition.

2. Ask them to start a “ripple” when they feel the class needs calm.

   • The ripple could be a clap rhythm, a stretch, or even a calming word.

3. When those students start, the rest of the class joins in.

4. Rotate who gets to start the ripple each day so everyone has a turn to lead.

This simple game trains students to notice the classroom atmosphere and act on it. Instead of you always carrying the weight of control, students share the responsibility. Calm spreads and it spreads faster because it starts from within the group.

👉 Something to try this week:

Choose one reset; a breath at the door, a circle moment, or the ripple effect. Watch how the energy shifts when calm walks in through you and your students.

🌱 Reflection Question: What one reset will you try this week to let calm walk into your classroom?

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✨ And if you’d like structured tools, the Calm Classroom Toolkit in the Rekla Store includes:

• Reflection cards for circle time

• Adaptation tips for large CBC classes

• Student-led calm signals and routines