New Bern teacher shares how to teach students to overcome fear

When my district supervisor called to say I’d been invited to fly with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels over nearby Marine Corps Base Cherry Point, I told her I’d have to think about it. I don’t like roller coasters, I’m prone to motion sickness, and flying an F/A-18 terrified me.

But then I talked to my family and realized I had to say yes. I always tell my students that they can do hard things. Will my children still believe me if I say “no” to a flight offer with Blue Angels?

This haunted me, so a few weeks ago I found myself pulling a G with Blue Angel #7, Lt. Conner O’Donnell, over the North Carolina coast. I am so happy to have had this trip of a lifetime. But the best feeling came when I returned to class and heard, “Ms. Routten, you did it!”

I admitted that I was a little scared, something we adults don’t often admit. But it’s so important for children to see us face our fears and overcome them. The impact of saying yes on my students was obvious.

A few days after my flight, a student came up to me with a huge smile and said, “Mrs. Routten, I took a chance last night. I was at a baseball game and the travel ball coach wants me to be on his All-Star team. I didn’t think I was someone who could do it, but then I remembered what we talked about. If you can ride with the Blue Angels, I can try to do it.

Facing your fears doesn’t have to mean getting into a fighter plane or trying to work on a highly competitive team; this could mean doing something as simple as reading aloud in class or explaining to a partner how you solved a math problem. Or maybe it means telling your partner that you don’t understand the problem.

I have noticed great progress in my students when it comes to naming their fears and overcoming them. This year, for example, we participated in the “Battle of the Books,” where students had to read a list of books in seven months. At first, many said they didn’t want to do it because the books seemed too difficult. Well, at the end of the competition, my class had the highest percentage of participating students, and 100% of my participating students had read every book on the list.

Speaking and presenting is also a core part of what we do. I had one student this year who was more shy than any other student I have had in my 26 years of teaching. At the beginning of the year, she simply could not present to the class what she had learned. But I worked with her and halfway through the year, she agreed to present a slide presentation with a partner on animal adaptations. At the end of the year, she led a discussion and presentation on how to stay safe around electricity.

Here are some strategies that have worked for me for teachers working with students to overcome fears, deal with difficult content, and develop a growth mindset.

Tell them a story.

Even before I flew with the Blue Angels, my students knew I would overcome other fears to achieve my goal. For example, I am a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Report Card, and several of my students asked what I did at board meetings. I explained that I met with governors, legislators, business leaders, and others to discuss education issues. Several wanted to know if I was afraid to speak in front of such people. At first I told them yes, but then I realized that they were people like me and valued what I had to say.

Look for lessons in books.

I routinely assign or read aloud books that contain stories about characters overcoming their fears. Here are some examples:

• “Fish in a Tree” by Linda Mullaly Hunt is about a girl with dyslexia who learns to overcome her fear of being seen as different and of asking for help.
• “Chest of Hope” by Karen Schwabach tells the story of a girl who sets out to find her missing sister and along the way joins the fight for women’s voting rights.
• “Through My Eyes” by Ruby Bridges. Ruby was the first black child to attend an all-white school in Louisiana. It’s a great story that teaches perseverance, courage, and overcoming obstacles (including fear).

Small steps can lead to big changes.

As a shy child, I can relate to students who have trouble speaking in front of the class. Strategies I have used to help students include pairing children, allowing students to present from their desks, or allowing them to present while they are at my desk. Each of these provides a safe and familiar space where students can share their thoughts and ideas. The goal is for them to eventually stand alone in front of the class, but these strategies can work along the way.

Allow yourself to make mistakes.

Many kids are afraid of making mistakes in school. One of my favorite short videos to show my kids is of Michael Jordan explaining that all the times he missed a shot or made a mistake on the court were learning opportunities. Here in North Carolina, what Jordan says really resonates with us!

I’ve found this idea of ​​normalizing and even celebrating mistakes to be especially important in math, a subject that strikes fear into too many students. Math is the foundation and the concepts build on each other. So, if you miss a step or an idea, it can have a snowball effect, which can be scary. I try to remedy this by making sure my students have a deep understanding of math concepts rather than just relying on memorization. For example, we use mathematical objects or manipulatives to understand topics such as fractions in a concrete way. This helps children approach problems with confidence. When my students make mistakes, you may even notice them high-fiving each other if it leads to rich discussion and deeper understanding.

When I packed up my classroom for the summer break, I grabbed a signed Blue Angels painting. I was going to take it home, but I thought, “Why not leave it at school to display in my classroom on the first day of the 2024-2025 school year?” I hope it will be a catalyst for many conversations about taking risks and overcoming fear.