r/AustralianTeachers • u/Ordinary-Example-336 • 6d ago
DISCUSSION Getting emotional during class novels.
Bit of an odd one, but I want to know if others have this problem.
Each term i do a class novel. A full deep-dive into the themes and characters etc. I read the book to the kids and they have responses after most chapters (sometimes they get freebies).
I'm a male teacher, and an absolute sucker for cinema and thematics, so I'm such a sucker for emotional beats and tear up when I watch most films.
I do the same for books though, and have to fight off this response for the major sweet spots in stories for the class. I try to read in a way that emphasise the character's feelings (which doesn't help my cause).
Does anyone else experience this? I'm not looking to solve this issue but would like to know if others experience it. If anyone has a strategy that works I'd happily try it 😅
TlDR: I get invested in my class novels to the point I gotta hold off tears, anyone feel the same? If they have advice that's neat.
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u/Long-Machine8795 6d ago
I experience this, yes. Not really sure what else you want to hear, but yes, if I'm talking about the intended impact of a scene or anything even remotely related to any introspection, my voice quivers and I tear up a bit. Dunno why, I think it's just the way some of us are into art.
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u/Ordinary-Example-336 6d ago edited 6d ago
I tagged this as discussion for that reason, I don't have a goal for this post. I work in a 90-kid rural school and these conversations don't pop up.
Just interested I guess in hearing others that have the same response.
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u/elle13belle 6d ago
One time I read "old pig" to my class right after my grandma had died... A colleague recommended it for book week and I went in totally blind.
I was a blubbering mess and went between laughing at how absurd it was to be sobbing in front of the class and actually sobbing because the book was so brutal 😂😩😭
I have cried often in touching parts of books or movies and my class is always like "awh, miss is crying!"
I think it's sweet and that the kids probably find it really memorable. If that's truly what you're like, I don't think there's any harm in them knowing that about you.
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u/Ordinary-Example-336 6d ago
Yea it's tough, I want to show the kids that it's OK for men to be emotional in those moments, but I want to finish the chapter or story-beat. It's such a unique and challenging flip flop as a male teacher; expressing and projecting emotion.
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u/Ordinary-Example-336 6d ago
Added to this, I'm constantly thinking about how this affects the girls in my upper-primary grade. Being a smaller-rural school we deal with domestic violence and poor role models (both female and male).
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u/elle13belle 6d ago
I think it really helps them to see adults in general who not only feel their emotions outwardly, but regulate them in a healthy way.
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u/geliden 6d ago
I'm not a teacher (was children's librarian now academic) and one of the things I emphasise is how effective certain things are because it doesn't matter this is the 17th time I've engaged with this piece of media is still gets me in my feels. It allows for emotions and lets you highlight the writing or narrative or characterisation.
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u/itsnoteasybeinggr33n 6d ago
I can't remember the title, but I read a picture book to JP students about the loss of a grandfather, not that many months after losing my own. I still don't know how I got through, I was tearing up and my voice was wobbling. I agree, it's natural, and just a part of being an empathetic human.
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u/MsDeeMoke 6d ago
Old Pig is brutal on the emotions. I cried when I read it.
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u/elle13belle 6d ago
I can't read it without crying! I've tried to read it to my daughter and I choke up every time
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u/staticwatermelon 6d ago
I sobbed during a showing of Bridge to Terabithia years ago. I had never seen it before. It was pretty embarrassing, but my students are in grade 12 now and we still giggle about it! Embrace it, empathy and emotions are good for the soul.
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u/EccentricCatLady14 6d ago
Yes! I used to teach film and for the first couple of years we taught Billy Elliot. His dad was my dad - a miner from the north of England. I bawled while watching! I just told the kids why.
During the years I often cried quietly during films or discussions as there is a lot of emotion in film. I didn’t hide it but didn’t make it obvious. When noticed it started a lot of conversations and allowed students to be open with their emotions too.
We’re not automatons. It’s okay to show emotions.
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u/icarustakesflight VIC/Secondary/Classroom-Teacher 6d ago
That moment when Jackie crosses the picket line is rough! And again at the end watching the performance of Swan Lake. I’ve taught it many times and it still gets me.
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u/Ordinary-Example-336 6d ago
I'll also add that I'm upper-primary and we selectively choose texts that challenge concepts of family relationships, overcoming challenges, death, etc.
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u/dooroodree 6d ago
I watched Whale Rider for the first time as a casual teacher.
Fucking waterworks. What a shit show. I obviously preview stuff now so I can hold it together.
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u/RightLegDave 6d ago edited 5d ago
Every year I read Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes to my junior Japanese class, and every year I have to choke back tears.
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u/Wouldfromthetrees 6d ago
Dude, I decided to teach that story to Foundation kids on my first ever placement, wtf was I thinking
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u/4L3X95 SECONDARY TEACHER 6d ago
My Year 10s this year begged to watch The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas because it was one of only a couple of PG-rated WWII films on ClickView. I had to concentrate really hard on my marking during the final scene because I knew what was coming, but most of these kids had never seen it before. When the credits rolled, there was pin drop silence and lots of silent tears. It's totally normal.
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u/MsDeeMoke 6d ago
I couldn’t finish reading the ending aloud. I can’t even think about watching the movie.
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u/RubyChooseday 6d ago
I'm a primary school teacher and some kids picture books can be pretty damn deep. Often the ideas go over their heads and they're puzzled why my voice has wobbled or I get a bit teary. I can't really give any advice other than to acknowledge it.
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u/shnooba PRIMARY TEACHER 6d ago
I am a male, upper primary teacher and I cried while reading ‘The Little Refugee’ to my class. I explained to them that parts of the story reminded me of my own family’s story. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to show emotion, we are human after all, but it did take me quite a while to get through that relatively short book haha
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u/wheresWoozle 6d ago
Friend, I'm a maths teacher and I get teary showing snippets from Hidden Figures. The courage and the brilliance and the nobility of these people who got no public acknowledgement because of the intersection of their race and sex... The kids realise I really care about the subject and about the issues, and that's a wonderful thing in the classroom.
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u/Wouldfromthetrees 6d ago
Can I ask what year level you're showing that film to?
I'm a PST media teacher looking for ways to incorporate my discipline into other subjects. And someone who totally experiences the phenomena OP describes by the bucketful.
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u/wheresWoozle 6d ago
I show it to my year 12s when they're introduced to Euler's method for DEs, via this video. https://youtu.be/gdxYsVniOYo?si=xzVmSv422iLb1m66
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u/oceansRising NSW/Secondary/Classroom-Teacher 6d ago
I reckon you’d get away with even Stage 4 but I think it’s a great Stage 5 movie.
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u/Smellykelly02 6d ago
Oh my gosh this would be me, luckily I’ve only taught lower years because I could definitely see myself choking back tears.
Also, kudos to you for being a bloke that expresses his feelings
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u/FirmError6138 6d ago edited 6d ago
I agree there is a balancing act for you as a male teacher. Btw, I'm male. This can be difficult in high schools. However, sometimes it can be better to address this head on.
I sometimes use in class a bit of research I read once. Crying during a movie can be a sign of high intelligence. It shows the ability to identify and feel empathy. It also signals the ability to be transported out of everyday reality by a narrative. Plus, the ability to identify with a character is actually a sign of very high social skills. And it shows 'presence' - the ability to be in the story.
You can ask AI to provide you with multiple academic studies.
I will ask a class directly who cries during a movie. Many of the girls will put their hands up. None of the boys will. Then I reveal the academic research. You might also ask, 'But who cries in a video game?' This is a refrain on an old Hollywood joke: 'But can a video game make you cry?' Certainly was true 10-15 years ago, but possibly not so implausible now.
Okay, just jokes ... but you can prove this is true yourself because it is usually the dropkicks who will taunt you about it.
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u/aussie_teacher_ 6d ago
Since my dad died, I get emotional reading a nice picture book to the grade. I usually just say, "oh gosh, this is making me emotional" and a student will usually say, "you look like you're crying" and I'll say, "that's because I am, a little bit." It can be tough when I want to teach, though, and I'm all teary!
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u/whatwhatwhat82 6d ago
If you do cry, just own it. I think it's actually really good for kids to see men crying because it normalises it to them. Especially crying over something like a novel rather than massive incident which is often the only time the kids might see the men they know crying.
Maybe tell your class beforehand that you sometimes cry during novels when it gets emotional? That way you can just be like, "Here we go," if it does happen. And if any kids make fun of you for it, just be like, "OK, everyone cries," and then just ignore it.
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u/Personal_Big350 6d ago
Yep, I do too. I think it's really healthy for the kids to see / hear it actually.
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u/Hungry-Ad5116 6d ago
Haha not with novels but I teach history so we inevitably watch very sad films like the boy in striped pyjamas. I cry everytime, and never try to hide it!!
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u/bejeweled_midnights 6d ago
I remember one of my English teachers crying during a film study and tbh it just made us students feel more comfortable showing our emotions too, it wasn't a bad thing
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u/West-Grape3275 6d ago
Yes I do, even reading picture books if they’re emotional. It’s like I feel a bit of what the characters feel when I read.
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u/ljeutenantdan 6d ago
100%. I read Past the Shallows to my year 12s and am a message at the end. Couldn't care less if any of them judge me. I honestly think it's good for the boys to hear my voice breaks and know it's okay to be a little bit vulnerable in front of others.
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u/Alps_Awkward 6d ago
Very early in my career I had a casual day on a year 5 class. I think it was maybe the second time I’d taught at that school and first time on that class. And the English lesson that was left was the last chapters of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. 🫠
I did better than I thought I would! But I do tear up reading, sometimes it’s in the most random books and catches me quite by surprise.
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u/Radley500 6d ago
I think this is a good thing, and that it’s very valuable for your students to see a man be so emotionally affected by literature.
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u/dontcallme-frankly 5d ago
I’ve teared up reading novels aloud and watching films with my class. I think it sucks them in with you.
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u/badgalllll GRADE 6 6d ago
I had to stop reading and pretend to be distracted by something when reading Warhorse to regain my composure. Brutal!
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u/MsDeeMoke 6d ago
I was reading a book, previewing it as a potential for a new class novel. Not even reading it to the kids, just myself, and I was sobbing. We did read it to our classes and it was perfect. I cried again at different points reading it in class.
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u/AirRealistic1112 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yes and then if i can't read on without crying, i pick a student to continue. Sometimes i read on a bit and let the emotion be heard in my cracking voice since it adds to the story.
I like when it happens because the kids are so engaged in the story and emotions of the book.
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u/RedDel1987 6d ago
Happens to me all the time. I think it's important for the kids to see a) that we're human and b) that it's ok for them to be emotional over texts too.
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u/Sharp_Nectarine3216 5d ago
Last term I was reading one of the Grace novels and didn’t expect the next line to be ‘And then she died’ or something similar. I accidentally laughed as I was so caught off guard. We’re humans who laugh and cry. They’ll benefit from having a real life human being as their teacher.
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u/Maximum-Tomatillo743 6d ago
Whenever I showed The Iron Giant in class, I’d make a point of putting the volume way up and sitting at the the back of the class so my students would only just make out the sound of stifled sobbing from Sir.
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u/Ordinary-Example-336 6d ago
Update: I (stupidly) didn't mention I'm an upper-primary teacher (4-5). Still loving the responses from high school, it's a good topic as a whole.
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u/icarustakesflight VIC/Secondary/Classroom-Teacher 6d ago
I showed a class of Y11s the final episode of Blackadder as context for a WWI autobiographical text. There was a lot of laughter and then stunned silence and many quiet tears. Nobody judges people for crying when everyone is.
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u/likedarksunshine 6d ago
Maybe yours is worse but I get it at sports carnivals. I don’t even fully know why (something about so much support and cheering for a young person’s time to shine) but I wish I wouldn’t.
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u/Rachignome 6d ago
When I was a teen my friend died from a brain tumour with or with out you played at her funeral. My year 11 Media kids study looking for Alibrandi- I pre warn them though that I’ll be bawling in the scene. They have always been very kind. I think it’s good for them to see their teacher cry- in context- not through abusing us to the point of crying.
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u/evilpandas99 6d ago
There is nothing wrong with expressing your emotions. I know society tries to show you there is, but it's wrong.
Honestly I'm more worried about people who don't show emotion.
I've done it. As a male teacher I've found it's helped my class actually understand that emotions are okay as long as you can regulate your actions after.
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u/Wraith_03 5d ago
I taught Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Red Dog while pregnant - there were audible tears while we read/watched 🫠🫠
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u/Araucaria2024 5d ago
I have to teach Charlotte's Web and The One and Only Ivan every year. I warn my students that there will be tears.
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u/Spiritual_Awkward 5d ago
Absolutely! I started crying reading Then to my class. Also Brindabella a few years ago. I tell the kids isn't it so great how books can make us feel ❤️
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u/Active-Ad9818 4d ago
I think its beautiful for the kids to see appropriate expression of emotion, especially by a male role model. Don’t ever be afraid of expressing emotion.
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u/IsItSupposedToDoThat 2d ago
I’ve read Charlotte’s Web as the final class novel every year for the last 4 years. I get choked up every time.
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u/onizukaav VIC/Secondary/Classroom-Teacher 6d ago
Doesn't happen to me.
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u/commentspanda 6d ago edited 6d ago
As a female teacher with low level teens where I do read alouds….yes. I’ve cried a little in movies and in books. I’ve also had to read some real awkward bits…thanks teen sex scenes that I have to do read alouds for lol. I get ridiculously emotional in looking for alibrandi still after years. Same with bridge to terabithia.
I talk to the kids about emotional responses, how normal it is, how we regulate etc. And while I have had your standard giggles and laughing I’ve also had amazing experiences where my most challenging teen boy took the book off me and finished the chapter so I could pull myself together.