#105: Quick Win Challenge! Pick up the phone.

In this episode, I explore one of the simplest yet most powerful tools in your emotional piggybank investment toolkit: positive phone calls home. These small acts of connection can have a monumental impact!

IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:

• Why positive phone calls are a game-changer, including how they build trust and transform relationships with students and their families.
• The impact on students who display challenging behaviours, explaining why these children often miss out on positive recognition and how this small step can change their narrative.
• A simple action plan for making a positive call, with step-by-step guidance and a script to help you get started.
• The ripple effect of connection, describing how a single phone call can spark long-term behaviour change and stronger communication.

Your quick-win challenge this week:

Commit to just one positive call home. It doesn’t need to be elaborate or lengthy, just heartfelt. Use the script provided in this episode to introduce yourself, share specific positives, and open the door for future communication.

Connection is the cornerstone of teaching. Behaviour change will not happen overnight, but every small step matters. Start with one moment of connection, one positive call, and one narrative shift. You’ve got this, wonderful teacher!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to your weekly Classroom Management
Quick Win Challenge.
True classroom management isnot how we address behavior when
it pops up.
Instead, it is a compoundingeffect of many, many micro
decisions we make in ourteaching practice before the
behavior even pops up.
In these Quick Win episodes I'mhanding over one actionable,
small but mighty tool to helpyou move the needle every single

(00:24):
week to stop crowd controllingand to start calmly classroom
managing like a pro.
Let's dive into this week'sgame changing challenge.
Hello wonderful teachers,welcome back to your quick win
challenge for this week, andthis one, pretty simply put, is
pick up that phone and make asingle call this week.

(00:47):
Positive phone calls home arepure connection in action.
Not only do they foster thatpositive connection with the
student themselves, but thesephone calls also develop a
crucial relationship and open upmeaningful dialogue with
parents and carers, especiallyif that student has had a lot of
challenges in your class andyou've had to make some really
challenging phone calls homethat are a bit more awkward.

(01:08):
If you think about it, thosestudents who you're working with
, who display challengingbehaviors, rarely, if ever,
would get a phone call homethat's positive, and that phone
ringing to them would signalanother failure.
You know, like another teachercalling to say that something
went wrong and something's bad.
Like another teacher calling tosay that something went wrong
and something's bad.
Having that phone ring andhaving a teacher on the other

(01:32):
end saying something good andrecognizing them for more than
just the challenge or more thanjust the behavior and, oh my
gosh, took time out of their dayto celebrate them that is just
connection gold.
So here's what I want you to dothis week.
You don't have to overdo it.
Just commit to one call and seehow you feel.
Just make a call for a studentthat you've had a lot of
challenges with.

(01:52):
It might require you to catchthe positive, which means going
out of your way to really findsomething positive to make a
call about.
If that student has exhibited alot of challenges, go find a
positive, and here's a bit of ascript you can follow.
So introduce yourself.
Hey, ms Brown, I'm Claire James'English teacher, free for a
quick chat.
I know that James has had somechallenges this year, but I

(02:15):
really wanted to touch baseabout something that I noticed
today and that he can go andtalk about.
The positives you've caught.
You can say you know that thisyear's been a bit of a challenge
.
You know that getting work outof James has been really tough
and he does struggle to stay ontask.
But what I've seen of his work,the stuff that he did today, I

(02:36):
can see how creative he is.
I can see how insightful he isand I just can't wait to see
more of it.
You can do anything to catch thepositive.
Just say something positive tothat parent and then ask them to
let the child know that you'vemade contact.
Ask them to let that studentknow.
I would love it if you'd letJames know his English teacher
called.
I know that it would give him alittle bit boost.
I know that it'd be nice forhim to hear the good things that
I've communicated to you andthen open the lines of

(02:59):
communication for the future.
Do you have any questions forme?
I'm always available.
If you do, please feel free tocontact me, call me, email me.
This is going to be brilliantfor the relationship with that
parent and they're going to haveso much more buy-in and be so
much more on board when you haveto make a call.
That is not as nice, that's notas positive.
If you do take on any of thesechallenges, I would love to hear

(03:19):
about it.
Send me a message on Instagramat theunteachables, which is
where I hang out most.
So go and make the call.
It really should only takeabout three to five minutes, and
that one investment could makea huge impact on the student
that you're calling about.
And remember something that Isaid a few episodes back
behavior change doesn't happenovernight, but every single

(03:40):
small action you take, it addsup.
It has that compounding effect.
So all you need to do is startwith one positive thought, one
moment of connection and onestep toward changing the
narrative.
You can't control everything,but you can control those things
, and I just want you to go inthere and feel hopeful that
things can change.
Okay, enough on that.

(04:02):
This is supposed to be a reallyquick episode, so I'm going to
wrap it up and I will see younext week.
Take care, teachers.