7/9/2022 0 Comments Class Values: RevisitedMaybe you're like me, and you tweak and update everything, all the time? This fall marks my 20th year teaching. I'll be at a new high school, with different students, colleagues, admin-- and expectations. I've always been lucky to have great students in my classroom, and I think part of that is because I take time at the start of every school year to teach expectations. I learned early on that too many detailed rules just invite students to find a loophole. That is why I lean toward a few (3--4) classroom values, and general rules that correspond with them. I took some time this summer to update my expectations and wanted to share them with you here! Maybe your district is also like mine, and after COVID quarantine, your students came back to school a little...unruly? wild? disrespectful? disengaged? Fill in the blank with your frustration-of-choice. Our district decided that consistency and communication of expectations would help improve student behavior and teacher satisfaction. So we are all going through behavior training from Safe and Civil Schools, specifically their STOIC framework and their CHAMPS expectations. But the most useful part of this, for me, was solidifying my values and rules once again. Heading into the unknown of a new school, I wanted to make sure I was clear in my expectations for the classroom. If I were to pick only ONE classroom value, it would be respect. The ONE rule that would go with this? Be kind. Unfortunately, I've found that doesn't always cover all the nuances of the classroom. So this year I focused in on these four values: Safety, Honesty, Respect, and Success. I like my classroom to be clean and inviting. I hate being lied to, and I hate when students cheat. I preach respect and strive to model it in every interaction I have. And finally, I want my students to be successful humans who can communicate: read, write, speak, and listen. These four core values create a well-rounded high school ELA classroom that I want to come teach in every day. Underneath each of these values, we were guided through creating rules. Now these rules should be stated positively: what you WANT students to do, not what you don't want them to do. For example, I used to teach freshmen. They have the habit of being a little "handsy" with each other. Instead of saying "Stop touching each other!" my positive rule states: "Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself." This is clear, and creates a safe environment in my classroom for personal space. Instead of "Don't cheat," my rule is "Do your own work." Respect looks like this: "Allow for everyone's voice to be heard" or "value other people's opinions." Then, when something inevitably comes up in class, I can simply remind a student- "You're not making respectful choices right now when you use that kind of language." They can't really argue their way out of that one. Something that comes with moving buildings is...redecorating a new room! While I'm excited to have a new space (with windows!) I promised myself I wouldn't step foot in the room to start decorating until August. But I did make the giant bulletin board of my values and rules, since our district is expecting us to have them posted and explicitly teach them at the start of this year. My room is going to be grey and white, with accents of goldenrod yellow and black. I also love anything polka dot. I don't have a lot of choices around my area for bulletin board letters either, so I just made my own. There is something so soothing about cutting and pasting ;) Then, I put everything together into a resource for my TPT store, so that others can maybe use what I'm doing to set up their class expectations! If you end up purchasing and loving this, I'd love to hear your success stories in the comments! Whether this is your first year in the classroom or your 20th, I hope you find what works for you with your expectations. It is only fair to you and to the students that you are all on the same page with how to act in the classroom. Your students deserve a climate where they can all learn, and you deserve a climate that you are excited to come teach in every day. Best wishes for an amazing start to your school year!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
Archives
August 2023
Categories |