Today’s focus was on our voice and why it is important to use it wisely when becoming a teacher. For teacher’s, their voice is the biggest tool they can use, this is why we must take care of it and protect it.
There are numerous strategies that can be used to protect the voice. It was made clear to us, that teachers get a sore throat from constantly raising our voice or speaking in a loud tone all day. Instead, teachers can gain a child’s attention by simply speaking in a softer, more quiet tone as this requires the children to pay more attention in order to hear the instructions. Furthermore, teachers can use the clapping technique to gain a class’ attention. This ensures that the teacher is not putting any strain on their voice. During my placement, I witnessed a very modern technique of gaining the attention of the class. The young teacher, when the class became too noisy, would simply say ‘mannequin challenge’ and the whole class would freeze. This was a fun and engaging technique as the children could relate to that phrase.
There are several ways in which you can protect your voice from home, such as drinking plenty of water, to avoiding spicy food. This input has highlighted the importance of taking care of your voice and also preparing your voice for the day ahead. On the way to work you can create facial expressions or sing a few songs to prepare your voice for the teaching day.
