Twenty Tips for Teachers

1. Expect that every class will have a wide range of biologically based temperaments and about 15 to 20 percent will be highly sensitive children (HSCs). As this book explains, HSCs are born with a nervous system that causes them to prefer to observe all the subtleties in a situation and to process all of this information deeply before acting. As a result, HSCs tend to be highly reflective, intuitive, and creative (having a strong sense of how things came to be how they are and what could happen next); conscientious and concerned about fairness and what others are feeling; and aware of subtle changes, details, or “what’s missing in this picture.” The trait also causes them to be more easily overwhelmed and hurt, both physically and emotionally; slower to warm up or join in; and sometimes quiet and unwilling to speak in class. Do not be misled by their holding back—they offer you an opportunity to develop unusual gifts.

2. Keep current on the findings about temperament differences and their effects on learning styles. Regarding HSCs, help parents and other teachers realize that an HSC’s genetically based behavioral variation cannot be altered, is perfectly normal (the same percentage with the trait is found in almost every species), and has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation.

3. Work closely with the parents of your HSCs. They often have useful insights and strategies for working with their children. They also need reassurance from you: At home they see a bright, competent, outgoing child and fear that at school you will see someone quite different.

4. If you run into problems with an HSC, consult the child’s previous teachers to learn what strategies worked in the past. Do not assume HSCs are being defiant or are seriously disturbed when they do not respond as you expect. With these children, a good fit between their temperament and their environment is everything. When they are older they will adapt to their world, but at first they need it to adapt to them.

5. Be creative with HSCs, because they are. Select curriculum for them from the visual and performing arts; offer creative writing exercises or clever problems to solve. Choose literature that deals with complex moral issues or emotional themes. Because HSCs often have rather adult minds, let them become involved with you at recess or lunchtime, helping you clean or set up class projects. Because HSCs often have close ties with nature, they may thrive with a project involving plants, gardening, or a class pet. And because they are good at grasping others’ intentions and nonverbal communications, they may be the best choices to assist students not yet proficient in English.

6. Watch the arousal level of your HSCs. Everyone feels and learns best when in their optimal level of arousal—neither over- or underexcited. HSCs are more easily overaroused and overstimulated than other children and need more calm around them and more down time to process their experiences. This is a factor in all of their school efforts. Because recovery from overarousal requires at least twenty minutes, when possible it is better to prevent overarousal in the first place. Further, once school is associated with acute or chronic states of overarousal, a student will dread attending and become overaroused simply by the thought of it.

7. Balance pushing and protecting. Studies find that for secure HSCs, small doses of overarousing situations at the start of the school year can leave them less prone to overarousal in the same situations later in the year. But HSCs already highly stressed will be hurt from such pushing. Try to sense when a child is ready to be pushed and when you need to back off. But try to avoid having to completely exempt HSCs from what is difficult for them (for example, oral presentations or taking a turn at bat). This will only discourage them about their future and make them feel flawed. Watch for the right time to ask them to perform; prepare them in stages (a presentation to one other child, then a few more, then reading to the class, etc.); or find an equivalent alternative (at first serving a volleyball may be easier than hitting a baseball). See that each step is successful enough and praised enough by you that they will be eager to try the next one.

8. Plan ways to prevent unnecessary overarousal in the classroom. For example, with younger children, switch to calmer activities, take the class for a walk, or offer free choices, encouraging the HSCs to do something quiet. With older HSCs, give them increasing responsibility for finding ways to soothe themselves and manage how they express their reactions. For example, agree ahead of time that in order to prevent overarousal, the HSC may retreat to the “quiet reading corner” (try to have one, set off by low bookshelves) or leave the room for a few minutes to get fresh air, a drink of water, or stand in the hall. If HSCs have trouble asking you questions in front of the class, give them a card to set on their desk to signal that your help is needed. Do not chastise HSCs for needing instructions privately repeated.

9. Allow HSCs to integrate at their own pace. In kindergarten and the start of middle school or junior high it may take weeks, months, or even a year for HSCs to adjust to the new environment. Especially when very young, if they don’t want to join in, let them take their time. They may simply need to observe for a while. Do not give them too much attention—this will only slow down the process. Do not label this behavior as shyness or fear. Being cautious does not lead to fear unless the caution proves justified. Remember, HSCs are conservative; they do not like to take risks until they feel safe, and to them their school day already seems full of risks.

10. When trying to promote class participation, again, keep the arousal low, the child relaxed. With older HSCs, invite them to speak up in class by reading out loud, if they read well, or first sharing in pairs. Make silences comfortable. Praise them for what they do say without commenting about any difficulty they had. Remain confident that when they feel secure, they will have a great deal to share. Indeed, they often become the most talkative, creative, lively students.

11. Be aware that sometimes your attention, although it is meant to be helpful, will only increase an HSC’s arousal. For example, it may help to look away rather than watch them when you address them. During times such as show-and-tell, do not put them on the spot with questions. Instead, share your own similar experiences (the name of your own dog, your own trip to the beach this year) and leave room for a response. In classroom discussions, invite HSCs to participate and give them a moment to respond; if they say nothing, then proceed as if nothing unusual has happened or offer a possible response, such as “Maybe you were thinking . . .” or “Would it be right to say that you think . . . ?”

12. Break tasks into small steps —with HSCs it will save you time in the long run. If an HSC is becoming anxious, back off and make the task smaller and easier. For example, when preparing a young HSC to go home (a big transition at a time when the child is already tired), the task can be made into many small parts. Do not ask HSCs to “get ready to go home,” but to “please find your jacket in the coat room.”

13. Adapt your evaluation procedures to temperaments, if possible, at least at first. During tests, evaluations, or recitals in class, keep HSCs relaxed if you wish to see their true abilities. By nature they have more information to process in every situation, and that takes time. So does retrieving that information. Deeply processed, complex information is difficult if not impossible to access in high states of arousal. When there is time pressure or too much attention focused on the student or the outcome, there is always high arousal. Especially at the outset, have a variety of ways for HSCs to demonstrate what they have learned (visual artwork, oral presentations, creative writing, essays, etc.). Start with what is easiest for them, then progress to quizzes for which they are well prepared, untimed tests, and finally timed exams. You want to gradually train them to tolerate more arousing evaluation procedures by making each increment as successful as possible.

14. Warn HSCs well in advance about changes in classroom routines or the approach of special trips or events. This way they will adapt easily, rather than creating problems.

15. Recognize when certain undesirable behaviors may be due to temporary or chronic overarousal. When overaroused, some HSCs withdraw and seem distracted, dull, forgetful, unmotivated, anxious, depressed, or timid; others will become overly emotional, perhaps teary or irritable; some will be hyperactive or distractable, as if having ADHD, or even quite aggressive. But in each case, when the stimulation is reduced they are fine. When attempting to stop a behavior, first acknowledge to the child the cause of it, perhaps saying “You must be feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.” Then suggest ways to handle the overarousal, such as “Perhaps you could use some time in the quiet reading area.” And at some point, perhaps later, suggest what to do next time: “When you feel overwhelmed, please tell me before you become so upset.”

16. Never use harsh discipline on HSCs. They tend to be extremely rule conscious and usually only require gentle, private reminders. For some, just knowing they made a mistake will reduce them to tears. If reprimanded, punished, or embarrassed, they are likely to recall the distress and associate it with you and the subject matter, but have little memory of the information you wanted them to learn.

17. Look at the classroom environment from an HSC’s perspective. If it is crowded, noisy, hot, cold, stuffy, dusty, glaringly lit, or cluttered, all of this will impact HSCs more. Make whatever improvements you can, because they are warning you of conditions that are affecting all of your students to some degree.

18. Help HSCs with any social difficulties they may have. Give them time to solve things on their own, but if an HSC seems to be suffering for several days or is consistently withdrawn, isolated, rejected, teased, or bullied, consider intervening and also warning parents and counselors. HSCs can be slower making friends and need some help (see the next tip). They also may act in ways that other children can misunderstand. Their tears, for example, can be seen as weakness; their need for personal space as fussiness; and their moments of overwhelming frustration as unreasonable anger. Further, they can be favorite targets for teasing or bullying because they are so easy to upset. But the latest thoughts on rejecting, teasing, and bullying are that adults need to create an atmosphere in which the underlying attitudes (differences should be ridiculed, more aggression should be directed toward the least aggressive class members) are replaced by acceptance and respect for everyone. Keep reminding your students that people simply come in different “flavors,” and these should not be automatically judged as either weaknesses or tickets to stardom.

19. Help your HSCs form close friendships. HSCs thrive in one-on-one relationships and usually need only one good friend for their social and emotional well-being, but that one is essential. Try to have their best friend from last year or from their neighborhood added to your class, seat HSCs together, pair them for tasks so they can get to know each other.

20. Older HSCs benefit greatly from adult mentoring and recognition of their sometimes exceptional abilities. Often they are ready quite early to move into adult levels in one or more areas, an important boost to their self-esteem. And they are frequently so inspired—by beauty, the need for social justice, their spiritual experiences, or simply their deep emotions—that they will suffer if they cannot find an outlet for self-expression. Encourage them to try different media until they find what suits them (poetry, dance, visual arts, acting, speaking, and writing—and do not forget writing for the school paper, or starting one if none exists).