School can be very frustrating.
Some children find school frustrating once in a while,
and others find school frustrating quite often.
Frustration happens often with math concepts, but it can happen in many areas of the curriculum as well in social issues. No matter what causes the frustration, here are a few things a teacher can do if a child becomes frustrated.
1. Show some empathy!
Seriously, we've all been there!
I'll bet you could easily name at least 5 things that you found frustrating in your past. Here are a few of mine: sports, (That should count as 5 by itself!) making friends, (I was painfully shy as a child.) teaching, (As much as I love it, we all know it has its frustrating moments!) parenting, (Who really knows all the answers?) and relationships! I often told students about how I was expected to play sports, but was horrible, no matter how I tried.
It's pretty tough for children to feel frustrated in school. It matters to them that we care. It might also help to remind them of times when they had successes after working hard on something!
2. Practice stress relief strategies!
When something is causing stress, the kiddos need to release that stress!
Here are some of my favorites for children:
-deep breathing
-exercise (Don't you love Go Noodle?)
-music
-a snack
-coloring
-laughter
3. Put it to the side.
If something is frustrating you, or a child, it's not always best to keep drilling that concept at that moment. The brain often works better by putting it aside.
If possible, leave it until the next day. A good night's sleep will give the brain the chance to process the information and make sense of it all. More often than not, a quick review will bring those favorite words of a teacher, "Oh, now I get it!"
The brain really does go to work when the body sleeps, and often works things out by the next day!
