Monday Motivator #2 2019-20

Karen Wunderlich Loewe

https://www.facebook.com/karen.loewe/posts/10151312837249949

This starts my 22nd year of teaching middle school. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the most impactful days I have ever had. 

I tried a new activity called “The Baggage Activity”. I asked the kids what it meant to have baggage and they mostly said it was hurtful stuff you carry around on your shoulders. 

I asked them to write down on a piece of paper what was bothering them, what was heavy on their heart, what was hurting them, etc. No names were to be on a paper. They wadded the paper up, and threw it across the room. 

They picked up a piece of paper and took turns reading out loud what their classmate wrote. After a student read a paper, I asked who wrote that, and if they cared to share. 

I’m here to tell you, I have never been so moved to tears as what these kids opened up and about and shared with the class. 

Things like suicide, parents in prison, drugs in their family, being left by their parents, death, cancer, losing pets (one said their gerbil died cause it was fat, we giggled😁) and on and on. 

The kids who read the papers would cry because what they were reading was tough. The person who shared (if they chose to tell us it was them) would cry sometimes too. It was an emotionally draining day, but I firmly believe my kids will judge a little less, love a little more, and forgive a little faster. 

This bag hangs by my door to remind them that we all have baggage. We will leave it at the door. As they left I told them, they are not alone, they are loved, and we have each other’s back. 

I am honored to be their teacher.

Monday Motivator #1 2019-20

How To Test Your Class Rules

June 29, 2019 by Michael Linsin

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2019/06/29/test-class-rules/

The purpose of class rules is to protect every student’s right to learn and enjoy school.

It’s to form an impenetrable boundary that keeps misbehavior out and the freedom to teach in.

Do your rules do that? Do they account for every possible disruption?

Because if they don’t, if there are openings in your hedgerow, then your students will find their way through.

In time, those openings will grow larger and larger and misbehavior will grow more frequent and more severe.

So how do you know? How can you be sure your rules are sufficient?

Well, several years ago, I came up with a simple way to test them. Here’s how it works:

Take out a sheet of paper and draw a square in the center.

Outside of the square, write down every misbehavior you can think of that you’ve witnessed in the past five years—or for as long as you’ve been teaching. Take your time with this step. It’s most important.

Inside the square represents a well-behaved class. It represents politeness, respect, listening, and learning. It’s sacred and thus must be safeguarded from anything and everything that threatens it.

Now, take out your current set of rules. Go back and read all the misbehaviors you wrote down and determine if you have a rule that addresses each one.

If you do, then write the number of the rule next to the misbehavior. If you don’t, or you’re unsure, then underline it.

The underlined behaviors are openings in your wall. They result in guaranteed confusion—for both you and your students—more misbehavior, and slower academic progress.

To close them, you need to decide whether these stray misbehaviors can perhaps fall under a current rule or you must create a new rule.

Sweet Clarity

The point of this exercise is to define for yourself in a very clear way which misbehavior triggers which rule.

This is critical because when you’re able to recognize rule-breaking when you see it—i.e. no gray areas—then being consistent in enforcing consequences becomes a lot easier.

You’re also prepared to teach, model, and define for your students what each rule means, so they too will know, without a doubt, what is and isn’t okay.

This way, you avoid arguments and misunderstandings.

You avoid appearing wishy-washy and losing respect and influence. You avoid the loopholes and frustration of seeing the same misbehavior repeated again and again.

And not knowing what to do about it.