Teacher calmly disciplines a student with behavior issues — showing what ‘gentle parenting’ truly is

They say it takes a village to raise a kid, and it's quite true. Not just the parents, the entire family, and their friends, but the teacher too, have an equally influential role in a child's upbringing. Mr. John, who goes by @mrjonjon_ on TikTok, is one such gem of a teacher who doesn't just restrict himself to textbooks; rather, he goes above and beyond to guide, uplift, and encourage his students, showing what gentle parenting truly looks like. When one of his students, probably upset about something, screamed at him, Mr. John didn't respond with rage; instead, he made sure to calmly explain why such behavior wasn't acceptable.

"If you're going to be really disrespectful, then that means there's going to be consequences that you don't like," Mr. John said as he spoke to his young student about how being rude to anybody, especially a teacher, is never an option. Interestingly, throughout the conversation, Mr. John never really dismissed the boy's emotions, as he understood that his student was upset, but wanted him to politely talk about the issue rather than scream. "I am a teacher. Do you understand that? You need to show me respect," he said, setting clear boundaries. Moving on, Mr. John reminded the boy that he had never raised his voice at him, and in doing so, he conveyed that he, too, deserves the same respect in return. 

At one point, the boy who knew that he had crossed a line with his teacher started crying. But, instead of consoling, which could have possibly made the child think that crying was an easy option to escape, Mr. John continued and made sure that he understood what he was saying. Once the child was calm and ready for a real conversation, Mr. John called him back to help him think about alternative ways to control anger. Surprisingly, the student himself shared that he thinks "self-talk" could help to keep overflowing emotions in check. "That's a great idea," the teacher said, suggesting he take some deep breaths the next time he feels overpowered by strong feelings.  

"You know that's something that helps adults too, self-talk and deep breaths. That's not just because you're a kid. That's just a good skill to learn in your life," Mr. John said. Mr. John's video, revealing his calm and powerful lesson on respect, went viral on social media, and the internet couldn't stop praising him. For instance, a user who goes by @jayjayowl on the platform commented, "This is how I parent. Awesome job! You made the right choice as a teacher. These kids are going to look back and talk about how their teacher helped them through hard times and taught them to regulate their emotions. This is going to go a long way." Likewise, another user, @jewels, said, "I’m a pre-K teacher. This is perfect; firm, but still setting boundaries/expectations."

On the other hand, @adra wrote, "As someone who worked with children, some of them do need a firm talking to like this or they'll just run all over you." A person named @sam on TikTok commented, "This is a textbook example of how to discipline a child!" Crying is a natural reaction, and the check-in after is the MOST important part of teaching positive behavior/actions. Keep up the good work!"

You can follow Mr.Jon (@mrjonjon_) on Instagram for more such parenting content.