Attention, Attention: Learning To Command It

I  have always been aware that I look young for my age. “You’ll be glad of that when you’re older” was always the response of those around me. Well, now I am older, and honestly, going into a teaching placement, I was nervous that I would not be able to exert sufficient authority, being that I look as if I belong in the sixth-form rather than the staff-room. This was a challenge that I faced throughout the placement. Commanding the attention of a room is a very desirable skill in employment, yet it is a difficult one to learn, and I struggled with it. Through the use of Boud’s reflective model, I am going to reflect on an experience in which I was challenged to develop this skill.

I have worked predominantly with the head of drama on my placement, and am always in awe at how effortlessly she can take control of a room. This is a skill that I found to be challenging, due to me doubting myself. However, I had to develop this when one day, she had to leave early due to a personal emergency.  Without any hesitation, she emailed the principal stating that I could cover her last two classes, and whilst this slightly terrified me, her confidence in me, partnered with my desire to impress, encouraged me to face this challenge head on.

(Camarote, 2015)

The ability to command a room directly enhances leadership power and influence.

Upon reflection, I have realised that the work I had been doing prior really prepared me to be able to lead classes successfully, and that the teacher had acknowledged this. A simple action that I had taken from the start, was taking notes on each of my classes. These notes allowed me to create structured lesson plans, which I then presented to the department’s other drama teacher, who provided me with feedback on the plan, giving me ideas on how to make it more efficient. I could have improved my plans by recognising opportunities to guide more, so I will look for these in future. This practice of taking notes alongside my work is one that I will continue in future employment, as in this time-sensitive challenge, it was fundamental to success.

Cool, calm and collected…?

I would be lying to say that I was completely calm and confident going into the first class; although I had worked with these pupils for weeks, I was worried that I would not be able to command their attention. I used some tips that I found on Edutopia to settle myself before the class, such as ‘Move, laugh, and breathe’ (Finley, 2017), which really helped me; I felt much more comfortable in my environment. I have previously used breathing techniques to calm nerves, but on reflection of this technique, I have learnt that I feel much more at ease by combining breathing exercises with movement and laughter, and this is something that I will continue to use, possibly for job interviews post-graduation.

However, whenever the first class came in, however, the nerves came back. It was an upper-sixth class, with the pupils only a few years younger than myself, and I immediately second-guessed myself. I became quiet, and sat timidly at the front of the room, facing the confused pupils before me. It was then that I remembered something that the subject lead had once said to me, ‘It’s about them, not us’, and I really focused on redirecting my energy from nerves to enthusiasm, for the benefit of the class. With this as my mantra, I found that taking charge of the room came a lot more naturally than I had expected, and I was able to set tasks with authority. From this I have learned that by getting out of my head, and focusing on the goal rather than the challenge, I become a lot more confident, demonstrated in that I was able to complete the task at hand. In future, I will aim not to doubt my abilities just because of nerves, but rather focus on the desired outcome and how to achieve it.

“Confidence is there somewhere – you’ve just got to release it.”

Patsy rodenburg, OBE
(Ros, 2020)

One thing that I did not expect was the principal coming to help. Something that I expected even less was for him to say ‘you know what you are doing better than me, so I will let you get on with it’. Hearing this comment from the principal, of all people, astounded me. I continued circulating around the groups, and at the end of the class, he commented on how interesting and productive the class had been. It was at this moment that I realised, the biggest challenge that I had feared in teaching, I had overcome. I had utilised the experience that I had already had in my placement and, eventually, trusted myself in my abilities enough to exert authority, successfully leading a class through commanding the attention of the room.  

Old Worries Become New Realisations

Boud’s model of reflection requires you to reflect on experience, but then also to identify the outcomes of this. As an outcome of this challenging experience I have learnt that I need to have confidence in my ability. It has been demonstrated that ‘self-confidence in teachers, […] can boost teacher efficacy’ (Dowd, 2022). I have also realised that commanding the attention of a room became less of a challenge once I had overcame my mindset of doubt. In this scenario, necessity meant that I had to face a fear, and learn a skill that I was lacking, not just for teaching, but in the workplace in general. I have also learnt that authority is not determined by how we appear, but rather by how we assert ourselves, and hence, I am no longer as worried about appearing young in the workplace.

---

By Chloe Patterson

---

Bibliography

Boud, David, “Reection Cycle – Boud Reective Model 1985 PNG Image: Transparent PNG Free Download on Seekpng.” SeekPNG.com,
https://www.seekpng.com/ipng/u2q8u2o0y3i1w7i1_reection-cycle-by-david-boud-boud-reective-model/.

Camarote, R. (2015) 9 tactics great leaders use to command a room | inc.com, Inc. Available at: https://www.inc.com/robin-camarote/9-tactics-great-leaders-use-to-command-a-room.html (Accessed: April 6, 2023).

Dowd, M. (2022) How to be a confident teacher, Work. Available at: https://work.chron.com/confident-teacher-1707.html (Accessed: April 6, 2023).

Finley, T. (2017) 9 tips for overcoming classroom stage fright, Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/overcoming-classroom-stage-fright-todd-finley (Accessed: April 6, 2023).

Ros (2020) How can I appear confident at interview without sounding boastful, Surrey Careers Blog. University of Surrey. Available at: https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/careers/2020/01/30/how-can-i-appear-confident-at-interview-without-sounding-boastful/ (Accessed: April 6, 2023).