What Great Teachers Do Before They Lose Their Cool
When classroom behavior escalates, teachers can feel trapped—and that pressure can make good decision-making much harder. In this podcast conversation, chemistry teacher Chris Mukiibi explains the neuroscience behind teacher stress, his “escape hatch” strategy, and why strong classroom systems can reduce burnout and prevent classroom situations from spiraling out of control.
8/22/2026
There is a moment almost every teacher has experienced.
A student challenges you. Another student starts talking. Someone across the room laughs. Thirty sets of eyes suddenly seem to be watching to see what you're going to do next.
And you can feel yourself getting frustrated.
The natural reaction is to respond immediately. But that may be exactly when we need to do something different.
I recently sat down with chemistry teacher Chris Mukiibi for an episode of The Classroom Management Guy Podcast, and he introduced an idea that really stuck with me:
🚪 Every teacher needs an escape hatch.
Chris looks at classroom management through the lens of neuroscience. He explained that when teachers become overwhelmed and feel trapped in a situation, our bodies can begin responding to what is happening as a threat.
That's when good classroom management decisions become harder.
Instead of calmly thinking through the situation, we react.
The student says something. We respond. They push a little harder. We push back.
Before long, something relatively small has become a full-blown power struggle.
That's where the escape hatch comes in.
An escape hatch is simply a predetermined action that allows you to temporarily interrupt that cycle.
For Chris, it's making tea.
When he feels himself reaching that point, he can stop, walk over to his tea set, and begin making tea. His students have actually learned what it means.
Other teachers have developed completely different escape hatches. One teacher Chris worked with uses prayer beads. Another grabs a granola bar and takes a moment to eat.
The specific action isn't the important part.
The pause is.
It gives the teacher enough time to consider two important questions:
🧠 What emotional state am I in?
🧠 What emotional state are my students in?
That small pause can prevent a teacher from turning a difficult moment into a much bigger problem.
But our conversation went even deeper.
Chris argues that teachers need systems throughout their classrooms so they aren't constantly making decisions under pressure.
🔁 A system for entering class
📋 A system for beginning work
💻 A system for getting materials
⚠️ A system for responding to disruptions
🚪 And yes—a system for when you feel yourself getting overwhelmed
The more decisions we make ahead of time, the fewer decisions we have to make when we're stressed.
That's why one statement from our conversation really stood out:
Stop asking who needs to be fixed and start asking what needs to be fixed.
Sometimes the answer isn't a tougher consequence.
Sometimes we need a better system.
And sometimes we simply need an escape hatch.
👉 Watch the full podcast episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYnSYewJjtY&list=UULFQOIbqNhb_gseSVU6bE3uUA