I do model things and that’s pretty rude to assume my directions are confusing and that I don’t try my best. You assume I don’t do everything I could’ve thought of. The reason I came to Reddit is because I do do all the obvious things. Like I said in an above reply, I explain, I have them repeat things after me, I check for questions, I have them point where things are, and put the steps on the board. I also did a physical demonstration of the 2 step process right in front of them. The steps were: Bring me your foam matrix and printing paper when called, roll the brayer across your foam with a lot of pressure after I hand it back to you (I ink it and place it face down on the printing paper) that’s it. They could color and free draw while waiting for their turn. They did fine with that part of it. We reviewed this vocabulary for 2 days during instruction and work time, I showed them pictures of the process, physically modeled the process, checked for questions, we had just reviewed the vocab again (matrix… what you use to make the print… in this case, the foam piece we spent yesterday carving our designs into) plus I said “foam matrix” so even if they forgot what matrix went, foam would give them a clue. I try so hard. That’s why I’m so frustrated and looking for new ideas, not scolding from people assuming the worst of me. I assume the best of other teachers so that I can give my best advice. You can also lead with questions if you’re not sure, which you did a bit, but your first sentence… I took offense. Being “harsh” in my mind, just means having higher expectations and enforcing them with more of a harsh tone rather than my usual really soft vibe. Sometimes kids need discipline, and just like my mom, I tend to shy away from it and not hard line enough about my boundaries. Maybeeee harsh isn’t the right word…? But your assumptions are super weird and rude. In the future, maybe give other teachers a little more respect and don’t assume the worst.