Maintaining Composure

Adults maintain composure in times of stress, especially when responding to students’ challenging behavior or big feelings. Maintaining composure takes effort in the moment and is an ongoing practice throughout one’s life.

 
 
 

Adults who feel safe and cared for are better able to create spaces where children feel safe and cared for. See the Whole Child Approach to Adult Well-Being for further information about creating the adult climate.

light green leaf with a calm facial expression

Overall approach to maintaining composure:

  • Engage in personal wellness behaviors to establish a foundation of your emotional self-regulation.

  • Develop your awareness of the specific instances in which you are most likely to lose composure so that you can identify strategies to use during these moments.

  • Remember that this is an ongoing practice. We get better at maintaining composure through reflection, when we take time to check in with how we’re doing, re-ground in taking care of ourselves, and learn lessons from what’s not yet working in how we’re responding to stressful situations.

Why this works:

  • As much as students learn from what we say, they learn from what we do.

  • Emotional consistency proves to students that you are someone they can trust no matter the situation.