"I am Breathing!" - Reflections on Validating Student Concerns

Ryan Moorehead, Iowa Reading Corps
AmeriCorps Member

Blog post written by Ryan Moorehead, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Member at Oskaloosa Elementary.

I have always considered myself a fairly patient and mindful person. Growing up, I was the only child in my family who could enjoy a long afternoon of fishing, or a baseball game without having my attention stolen by a more exciting proposition. This sort of mindset combined with a little curiosity and hard work made school something to look forward to every day. I had always attributed my academic successes, at least in part, to some innate abilities and handful of other intangibles.

As I get older, I am slowly realizing that I often downplayed the importance of being mindful and patient. I was fortunate enough to have parents and teachers that not only spoke to the importance of these qualities, but also provided me with practical strategies to apply to any adversity I may encounter. After a while, these strategies so deeply ingrained as to almost seem automatic. 

At some point, a light bulb went off in my head and I realized that this was something I could easily incorporate into tutoring sessions when needed. For some of the students I work with, it seems inevitable that some unfortunate circumstance will find them throughout the course of any given day (e.g. Sally wasn’t sharing the soccer ball at recess or Billy breaking someone’s pencil during Art). This, in addition to potential stresses from home, could leave even the best of us without enough bandwidth to be engaged in our learning all of the time.

When a student arrives flustered it’s easy to reassure them with a “Calm down” or “Breathe.” Unsurprisingly, that is often met with an “I am breathing!” As I’ve learned, little minds full of emotion and anxiety are not on the ingredient list for a meaningful tutoring session. I have found that acknowledging each student’s concerns as valid to be an incredibly powerful tool. Everyone gets upset every once and a while – it’s part of life. The most important part of these experiences is how we respond and refocus our energy in a calm and positive manner.

I’ve found that small exercises grounded in these general principles to be of vital importance in my role as a tutor. They help create an environment that is not only conducive to learning, but is also fun. With a little practice, hopefully the students can come to draw on these strategies as second nature.