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One way to describe an ideal classroom environment is one that is cool; in other words, the emotions of the people in the room — both the teacher and the students — are not inflamed in any way. No one is preoccupied with any kind of anger, hurt feelings, anxiety, or fear, and they can therefore concentrate on the academic tasks of the day, free and clear, emotionally unfettered. This kind of nirvana is hard to achieve in classrooms, because we all bring our outside lives with us, and teachers can’t control that. What we can control are the things we say — specifically, how we say them — in order to bring the atmosphere down to a cooler level, or at least, avoid making it hotter and more intense. 

One way to do that is through neutral language. By choosing words that are less judgy and more neutral, we keep things professional, calm, and cool. 

Here’s an example: Suppose a group of students turns in an assignment on paper, and two of the papers have no names on them. Now you could say something snarky like, “OK, which of you geniuses forgot to put your names on your papers?” This might get a laugh, yes, but for some kids on some days, depending on the kind of emotional stuff they happen to be carrying around with them, it could really rub them the wrong way and be just one small turn in a sequence of events that eventually leads to a bigger behavior incident later on. Instead of going with the “genius” comment, you could simply hold up the two sheets and say, “I have two papers without names.” The same information is conveyed, but without judgement. It just describes the problem. You don’t get the laugh, but you also keep things cool.

Here are some other examples. 

Instead of: “Apparently no one wants to listen today.”
Describe the problem and prompt a solution: “I’m noticing a lot of side conversations. Let’s refocus.”

Instead of: “You’re making a huge mess!”
Describe the problem and prompt a solution: “There are paper cuttings on the floor. Can you please throw them away?”

It’s also important to note that your tone of voice and body language should be neutral as well. Like in the last example, if I say the neutral thing with an attitude, it’s not going to have the cooling effect it could otherwise have.

This also works when you’re talking about academic things. For example, if I say, “This next unit is going to be really difficult,” that will likely stress some students out. But if I get more neutral and descriptive and say, “This next unit covers some advanced concepts, so we’re going to need to focus,” that feels a lot more positive and achievable.

So the next time you’re feeling some kind of way about a situation, and you’re about to say something, do a quick check to see if there’s any judgy language that can be swapped out for something a little more neutral.

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