The Busy Educator

September is 3 weeks away.

And right now there are two types of teachers.

The ones who are hoping September feels different this year.

And the ones who are doing something about it.

After 29 years I learned that hope is not a classroom management strategy.

Calm is.

Scripts for the moments that catch you off guard. Routines that run themselves from day one. Nervous system tools that keep YOU regulated under pressure. A de-escalation ladder for every level of defiance. Parent communication scripts that protect you professionally.

All of it field tested over 29 years.

All of it waiting for you right now. 💛

“Marjan, you are making a difference in the lives of students and in the world.” — Harry Wong

👉 https://marjanwave.gumroad.com/l/ceqjx

Single Teacher — $47

What’s the one thing you most want to feel calm about this September?

Dear Teacher,

August has a way of stirring emotions—wherever you are in the world.

For many of you in the **Northern Hemisphere**, the thoughts have already started.

*"I should organize my classroom."*

*"I wonder who will be in my class."*

*"Am I ready?"*

Even if school doesn't begin for several weeks, your teacher brain has quietly switched back on.

For our **Southern Hemisphere teachers**, you've reached the second half of the school year. The excitement of a new class has long since faded, winter has settled in, and maintaining energy can become its own challenge.

Different calendars—but the same reminder:

**You set the tone.**

Not the curriculum.

Not the calendar.

Not even the students.

One of the most important lessons I learned over 29 years in the classroom was this:

The calmest classrooms don't happen because teachers have perfect lesson plans.

They happen because teachers decide, long before the first lesson begins, what kind of classroom they want to create.

A calm classroom isn't silent.

It isn't rigid.

And it certainly isn't perfect.

It's a place where expectations are clear, relationships are strong, and both teachers and students know what to do when things don't go as planned.

That kind of calm doesn't happen by accident.

It's built—one routine, one conversation, and one day at a time.

---

# # # 🌟 August Teacher Tip of the Month

**Decide how you want your classroom to feel before you decide what you'll teach.**

Ask yourself:

* How do I want students to feel when they walk through the door?
* What kind of teacher do I want to be on difficult days?
* What routines will help create that atmosphere?

The answers to those questions will shape your year far more than any lesson plan ever will.

---

# # # A reminder for this month

There will always be things you can't control.

A challenging class.

Unexpected changes.

Students who arrive carrying burdens you'll never fully see.

But you can control the climate you create.

Your calm is contagious.

Your consistency builds trust.

And your presence often says more than your words ever could.

---

Over the past several months, I've been quietly working on something that's very close to my heart.

It's grown from nearly three decades in the classroom and from conversations with teachers who all seem to be asking the same question:

*"How can I create a classroom that feels calmer—for my students and for me?"*

I'm excited about where it's heading, and I look forward to sharing more with you very soon.

I think it's going to be worth the wait.

---

As you move through August, remember this:

Don't strive for a perfect classroom.

Create one where students feel safe to learn, where mistakes become opportunities, and where you finish most days with enough energy left for yourself.

That kind of classroom changes lives—including your own.

Wishing you a peaceful, confident August.

Warmly,

Marjan

In 29 years I never met a teacher who burned out because they didn’t care enough.
I only ever met teachers who burned out because nobody gave them the right tools for what the job had become.
Classroom management advice from 20 years ago wasn’t built for today’s students.
Today’s students carry more trauma, more anxiety and more unmet needs than any previous generation.
Which means today’s teachers need deeper tools.
Not stricter rules.
Not more consequences.
A calm, regulated approach that works with the nervous system — not against it.
That’s what I built the Calm Classroom System for.
Field tested over 29 years. Built for the classroom of today. 💛
👉 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/the-busy-educator
What’s the classroom management advice you wish someone had given you on day one?

Something shifted in teaching about 15 years ago.
And most people outside the profession still haven’t noticed.
It used to be that a teacher’s job was to teach.
Now a teacher’s job is to teach — and also absorb everything that every other system in society has failed to address.
Mental health. Trauma. Poverty. Social skills. Emotional regulation.
None of these arrived in the job description.
They just arrived at the classroom door.
And because teachers love kids they absorbed it all.
Quietly. Without complaint. Without extra pay. Without extra training.
The profession didn’t get weaker.
The job got heavier.
And the teachers still showing up every day deserve to be seen for what they’re actually carrying.
What’s the biggest shift you’ve noticed in teaching over the last decade? 💛

Every September I watched the same thing happen.
Teachers who rested all summer walked in calm, prepared and ready.
Teachers who planned all summer walked in exhausted before day one.
But there was a third group.
The ones who rested AND spent a small amount of time putting the right systems in place.
Not more lesson plans.
Not more resources.
A calm classroom system.
Scripts for the moments that catch you off guard.
Routines that run themselves.
Tools that protect your energy from day one.
After 29 years I built exactly that.
If you want September to feel different this year — not just planned, but genuinely calm —
The Calm Classroom System is waiting for you. 💛
👉 https://marjanwave.gumroad.com/l/ceqjx
What’s the one thing you wish you’d had on day one of every school year?

The teachers who burn out in October aren’t the ones who had a bad September.
They’re the ones who never actually rested in July.
I made this mistake in my first years of teaching.
I spent every summer preparing. Planning. Improving.
By September I was already running on empty before the first student walked through the door.
It took me years to understand that rest isn’t a reward for finishing the work.
Rest is part of the work.
The nervous system doesn’t reset overnight. It needs weeks — not days — to come down from 10 months of chronic stress.
So if you’re a teacher reading this in July and you feel guilty for not preparing yet —
Stop.
The best thing you can do for your students right now is nothing.
Rest first. September will take care of itself.
What does genuine rest look like for you this summer? 💛

After 29 years here are the 3 things I wish someone had told me on day one:
1. You will not reach every student. That is not failure. That is reality.
2. Your calm is more powerful than any consequence you will ever give.
3. The days that break you are also the days that build you — if you have the right support around you.
What do you wish someone had told YOU on day one? 👇💛

After 29 years I never met a teacher who wasn’t doing all of this every single day. 💛
Tag a teacher who needs to hear this today 👇

Teaching is the only profession where you’re expected to:
🔲 Educate
🔲 Counsel
🔲 Mediate
🔲 Administer
🔲 Document
🔲 Communicate
🔲 Regulate 30 nervous systems simultaneously
And still somehow have energy left for yourself at the end of the day.
The fact that teachers show up anyway says everything about who they are.
Tag a teacher who needs to hear this today 💛

The simplest relationship strategy I never used. 2 minutes. 10 days. One completely changed classroom dynamic. 💛
Have you ever tried this? What happened? 👇

Spend 2 minutes every day for 10 days having a personal conversation with her most challenging student.
About anything except behaviour.
Sports. Food. Weekend plans. Anything.
By day 10 the behaviour had shifted more than it had in 3 months of consequences.
That’s not magic. That’s neuroscience.
Have you ever tried this? What happened? 👇💛

Connection before correction.
Three words that took me years to truly understand.
You cannot correct your way to a calm classroom.
You cannot consequence your way to student trust.
But one genuine moment of connection can change the entire dynamic of a classroom relationship.
What’s your go-to way to connect with a difficult student? 👇💛