I'm So Glad That Happened

I had just started sharing a picture book with 22 second graders in our teams meeting when I heard, “Mrs. Sabo, you’re frozen!”
“You’re frozen!”
“YOU’RE FROZEN!”

“Okay, friends,” I said. “I’ll just pop out and hop right back in, okay? See you in a few seconds.”

And then I couldn’t get back in.

My heart rate accelerated as I clicked and clicked, only to have nothing on the screen respond. My blood pressure rose as I realized I probably needed to reboot everything. I hit Restart and tried to calm myself down with some deep breathing while I waited for the screen to come back to life.

What should have taken a few seconds ended up taking more than two minutes. And what were my students doing on our first day back together after the long winter break?

I wish I could tell you they were quietly reading or drawing when I got back in, but they weren’t.
Many were yelling, “Where is she?”
“I don’t see her.”
“She isn’t here, you guys.”
“Mrs. Sabo! We don’t know where you are!”

Ugh.

I asked everyone to kindly mute themselves before uttering a phrase that has helped me throughout my career.

“Boys and girls, I am so glad that happened.”

“You are?” someone asked.

“I am. You didn’t know what to do, so let’s take a moment and talk about what your choices are if I ever get booted out of our meeting again.” Then I proceeded to teach what it would look like and sound like if there was ever a next time.

I’m so glad that happened is a small phrase that takes the sting out of many a mistake. I’ve used it in a variety of different scenarios: “Oh my goodness, I’m so glad that happened . . .”

“Let me show you something you can try that will help you check your thinking when doing a tricky math problem.”

“Let me tell you when you are allowed to sharpen your pencils so you aren’t tempted to do it during Read to Self.” Or

“Now you know that when you sit next to a friend, you might not read the whole time. It will be easy to make a better choice on our next round.”

However you are teaching right now, I know it is fraught with challenges. You might have an opportunity to try this phrase this week, too. If you do, I think you’ll find it helps alleviate frustration, provides insight into what needs to be taught, and leads to a relaxed and happy atmosphere where mistakes and hiccups are merely learning opportunities.