Phone Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
1-800-933-ASCD (2723)
Address 1703 North Beauregard St. Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
Complete Customer Service Details
by Laura Erlauer
Table of Contents
Take a moment to recall your most memorable school experience. Typically when a group of adults is asked to do this half the crowd will tell a funny story while the other half will recount a negative, humiliating, or fearful experience. Whether positive or negative, all the memorable experiences shared will be filled with emotions. Our most powerful memories are laden with emotions. As you thought of your own school experience, those original emotions were perhaps rekindled, triggering a smile or frown on your face.
Because memories are so closely tied to emotions, teachers bear a heavy responsibility; every day they evoke emotions and mold memories in each of their students. The limbic area of the brain contains the amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus/hypothalamus. These structures are involved, at least partially, with emotions, memory, and control of physical responses to stress, respectively (Howard, 2000; Jensen, 2000). Long-term memory is permanent learning and is a process affected by physical and emotional components.
When new information enters the brain through any of the five senses, the thalamus and hypothalamus quickly determine whether the information needs immediate attention or even fight-or-flight action or whether more “normal” brain processing is appropriate. The thalamus then disperses the new information to the amygdala and to the cortex. The amygdala decides the amount of emotional relevance attached to the information, while the cortex, the thinking part of the brain, begins the process of sorting the information, making sense of it, and categorizing it for long-term memory. The whole process of sorting stimuli and sending them into short-term or working memory usually occurs in less than 20 seconds (Wolfe, 2001).
The working memory can hold a small amount of information just long enough to determine if it is knowledge that is important or worthy of being remembered for a longer period of time. The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for memories of the immediate past and for eventually sending information to the cortex for long-term storage. The memory functions in the hippocampus are affected by the hormones and proteins released due to emotional responses. As the new information in the working memory begins to be recognized by the brain, new synapses occur or old ones are strengthened. A synapse is the process whereby dendrites from one neuron, or brain cell, attach to another neuron, making connections that cause learning to occur. Any emotional arousal, positive or negative, will spark the production of particular hormones and proteins. These proteins settle around the synapse, strengthening the connection (Howard, 2000). For students, this means emotionally important content learned in school is very likely to be permanently remembered.
The close tie between emotions and memory can be a double-edged sword for educators. As we've learned, permanent learning almost always has an emotional component. Teachers can use this knowledge productively by fostering positive emotions in their students while learning, thus strengthening the opportunity for remembering the academic concepts. Conversely, teachers who cause or allow stressful, threatening, or fearful occurrences in the classroom are building memories of those negative issues rather than important academic concepts. Because these students are under stress, their brains are operating in the limbic system rather than the higher-level neocortex, making learning much more difficult.
In addition to affecting our memory of concepts and events, emotions also drive our reactions and help us make decisions. Daniel Goleman, in his book Emotional Intelligence (1995), states that a person's emotional quotient (EQ) may be an even stronger predictor of happiness and success in life than his or her intelligence quotient (IQ). He describes a five-part model of emotional intelligence that was based on the studies of psychologist Peter Salovey of Harvard University:
We know, instinctually and now through brain research, that higher-level thinking and learning is more likely to occur in the brain of a student who is emotionally secure than in the brain of a student who is upset, stressed, or insecure. The first three components of Goleman's EQ model address these concepts. The last two components address the idea that the human brain can learn effectively through collaboration with others (Sousa, 1995).
In its entirety, the EQ model addresses people's abilities to monitor their own feelings, to be self-motivated, to recognize emotions in others and respond with empathy, and to act with social competence (Howard, 2000), all of which help to develop more satisfied people who are better prepared for learning and life.
Since the mid-1990s, educators and curriculum developers have been pushed to develop curricula to address these five major components of emotional intelligence. Some schools may address students' emotional intelligence through specific lessons, while others may weave it into everyday school experience. Regardless of the mode of delivery, these lessons help students understand their own emotions as well as those of others and foster an emotionally secure learning environment.
Purpose: To help students develop relationship skills.
Background: Ms. Cole, a school guidance counselor, understands that the academics taught in other classes may not be important to a child if his or her emotional state is frail. For example, a student will not put his heart and soul into completing a solar system project and subsequently presenting it to the class if he has no friends and is hurt and embarrassed by ridicule he receives from his peers. To improve students' emotional intelligence, Ms. Cole teaches specific lessons twice a month, based on at least one of the five components of the emotional intelligence model.
Lesson: To help students develop and manage relationships with their friends, Ms. Cole holds a frank discussion with the students about making and keeping friends. The students brainstorm ways to make friends, define what constitutes a good friend, and identify ways to keep friends. She presents a video that shows examples of several ideas the class has discussed. She asks several students to take turns role-playing friendship skills, such as asking someone to play, dealing with a conflict, and politely declining an invitation from a friend.
Purpose: To improve student behavior in individual classrooms and in the common areas of the school.
Reasoning: Immediate and logical consequences are usually the best way to deter students from repeating a negative behavior and the best way to induce students to repeat a positive behavior. Many classroom and school behavior-management programs rely heavily on consequences. An additionally helpful way to teach cause and effect, as well as the emotional intelligence elements of self-awareness, other-awareness, and self-management, is implementing the use of a “think sheet.”
Procedures: A variety of these forms are used in many schools and should be tailored to what the staff at a school deems important for the student to reflect upon. At Jackson School our “think sheet” is found on the back of a referral slip. Referral slips are filled out by staff members and sent to the principal following a severe offense or as the result of a third offense of the same negative behavior, when other consequences have not improved the student's behavior. The “think sheet” is completed by the student with the help of the teacher, principal, or, ideally, a parent. Its purpose is to spur the child who has done something wrong to contemplate his or her behavior, how it affected others, the consequences involved, and, most productively, to think about how to improve.
The way students deal with their emotions has implications for their social and emotional wellness both in school and out of school, so teaching students how to understand and deal with their own emotions is an important topic for teachers to address.
Your body might tense up just reading the word. The physical reactions caused by stress originate in the brain. The stimulation causes the front part of the hypothalamus to work on calming the emotions, while the back part of the hypothalamus initiates the secretion of stress hormones, prompting physical reactions in the body. The occurrence, or anticipation, of a stressful situation causes changes in bodily processes (see Figure 2.1) as it gears up for fight or flight (Brynie, 1998).
Physiological Change
Effect on Bodily Processes
Increased metabolism of fat and glucose
Fuels body for quick action
Dilation of pupils
Provides keen visual perception
Constriction of heart arteries
Increases amounts of blood pumped to the heart and other muscles
Relaxation of bronchial tube
Allows for deeper breathing
Modification of blood chemistry
Makes clotting easier in case of wounds
Slowed digestion
Augments the blood supply to muscles
A person facing a saber-toothed tiger ready to pounce will be thankful for these bodily changes. However, these physical reactions still occur in response to today's stressors. People do not need stronger muscles, keener vision, or faster-clotting blood to help with the stress they feel from job deadlines, financial strains, naughty children, divorce court, and speeding tickets. These same bodily processes that helped us survive long ago can cause actual risks to our health in today's world. Long-term stress can cause health problems, from relatively simple ailments such as headaches and skin rashes to chronic and dangerous disorders such as depression and heart disease.
Sadly, children also have to deal with stress in their lives. Some children live in homes or attend schools where physical threats are prevalent. Even the relatively simple or typical stressors for children or young adults, such as friendship problems, home issues, being teased, feeling unworthy, homework deadlines, and peer pressure, can cause physical problems if the stress is prolonged over time.
Stress certainly affects students and their learning. As described in Nature Neuroscience (1998) Sonya Lupien, professor at Montreal's McGill University, found that high levels of cortisol produced by long-term stress caused shrinkage of the hippocampus, resulting in memory impairment. It is easy to understand how a student might have trouble memorizing multiplication facts if he or she is worried about a violent home life. If a student sits staring at the clock, dreading recess time because of daily teasing, the teacher cannot expect to have that child's full attention on a lesson.
Teachers can help students deal with stress in several ways. First, a teacher can help the student gain control of stressful situations. Stress usually stems from fear. By fostering a student's sense of confidence and power, the teacher builds up the student's control over many situations, thus reducing stress. Although educators cannot necessarily eliminate the stressors in their students' lives, they can help students limit some of those stressors and their effects. Simply having a teacher who cares enough to listen can help some students deal with stress. Teachers can refer students to a guidance counselor or psychologist for assistance. Students can be taught relaxation or coping skills to deal with the emotional and physical reactions they have to stressful situations. In cases of abuse, teachers should report their suspicions to the police, the social service department, or the school administrator, as mandated by district policy or local or state law. Another way a teacher can help students deal with stress is to establish a truly safe environment in his or her classroom and school. Classroom environment is discussed later in this chapter.
Background: Terrence and Amanda are two 8th grade students who share the same teacher for language arts, social studies, and homeroom. Their teacher posts social studies unit test scores on a classroom wall, charts number of novels read each semester on a poster, and has students grade each other's weekly spelling tests and then read aloud the scores as she enters them in her grading book. Terrence is a straight A student. Amanda is a struggling student. They are both very stressed in this teacher's classes. Why?
Reasoning: Amanda is continuously embarrassed by her school performance and hates having the other 25 students know how poorly she is doing. Rather than working harder to do better to get to the top of the class, or even the middle, Amanda has essentially given up. Her attitude is “if you can't be the best, have fun being the worst.” Her class clown behaviors kick in, and she enjoys the attention she receives laughing about her low grades, trying to prove it is funny to be at the very bottom of the bunch. Terrence, on the other hand, is under immense pressure to remain at the top of the class. He is a perfectionist who becomes a nervous wreck if another student happens to pass him up on one of the score charts. Remaining at the top doesn't make him feel much better though, because he is dubbed “the brain” and resented by many of his peers.
Issue: Some teachers believe that posting academic or behavioral achievement is motivating for a class. While it may motivate some, it is an ego-cruncher and a fear-builder for the majority of the students. Grades and other academic performance ratings are private and should be kept that way to help ensure a secure, safe environment in the classroom. Imagine sitting in a room of 25 peers and having some private information, such as your weight, being reported aloud. A bit unnerving, I would say. We don't need to put students through this unnecessary stress and infringement of privacy. In fact, in July 2000 the Tenth Circuit Court in Falvo v. Owassa Independent School District ruled that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is violated by the practice of peer grading and having students call out the grades to teachers. Furthermore, posting a student's grade under his or her name or an identifying number, such as a social security number, also is in violation of FERPA unless a parent gives prior written consent (Bell, 2001). Although this court's decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court during its 2001–2002 term, it does give educators something to carefully consider about their grading and posting practices (Education Week, 2002).
Preferred State: Even the most kind, respectful teacher may use a behavior or procedure that causes undue stress for students. Teachers cannot prevent all negative, stressful feelings for students but can anticipate stressors for students and work to avoid them as often as possible. Be cognizant of teacher behaviors that decrease and increase stress for students (see Figure 2.2).
To decrease stress for students
To increase stress for students
Students spend a large portion of their waking moments in schools. Therefore, they deserve to have safe and happy schools. Safety in schools has become a major issue in the United States in recent years. We may be entering an era where having metal detectors in school entryways becomes the norm, which may or may not be a bad thing. Debate does exist on whether there is actually more violence in schools than 10 years ago, or if there is simply more publicity now of the events that do occur. In either case, there may be a silver lining. School personnel seem to be learning and implementing more preventive safety measures in their buildings, including identifying and providing assistance to potentially violent, disturbed students. For the purposes of this book, however, I will be discussing emotional safety rather than physical safety.
When thinking about the environment of a classroom, the following quote exemplifies how influential a teacher can be:
I've come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized (Ginott, 1975).
Self-esteem and emotional wellness are necessary to reach one's potential as a student and as a person in general. It is the teacher who develops a safe, happy classroom environment to nurture those two traits. To cultivate and maintain such an environment is an individual, personal process for each teacher. What works well for one teacher may not work well or feel appropriate for another. But somehow or some way, every teacher needs to establish an emotionally secure classroom setting because brain research tells us that is the best climate for learning. The following general categories should be attended to in some fashion in order to develop a comfortable learning environment:
The examples provided may or may not fit a particular teacher's style but are intended to foster thought and new implementation ideas.
To help students feel good about themselves and secure in their environments, maintaining a sense of community is fundamentally important both in the individual classroom and in the school as a whole. The development of teamwork and mutual respect among students, among staff members, and between students and staff members results in a sense of community. This sense of community will foster acceptance, self-esteem, and collaboration, and will ultimately become a learning tool.
Students should be guided to understand that they may not all like each other or be best buddies, but they should treat each other with respect and kindness. A class should function as a family of sorts; classmates, like siblings, may not always agree or feel close, but when push comes to shove, they feel bonded and stand up for each other. Developing this rapport among peers does not happen overnight, nor does it take place without leadership from an adult. The teacher must teach social skills and model respectful behaviors consistently, even creating role-playing situations in the classroom to address potential situations and conflicts that may arise. The teacher needs to get to know the students individually and allow classmates to get to know each other individually as well. When students feel a part of a group, accepted for who they are, and connected to adults in the school, their self-esteem, effort, and participation is strengthened (Sergiovanni, 1992).
Purpose: To facilitate productive positive relationships and teamwork through grouping practices.
Reasoning: Arranging desks to seat groups of four to six students and then rotating the students in and out of those groups every few weeks helps to promote rapport and teamwork among the classmates. Students may end up sitting next to other people they don't like. That is okay; they need to work it out, just as in real-world situations. The teacher may need to guide these students through anger management or conflict resolution strategies. And, as in the real world, these students may have to end up separated from each other after all. Students may also end up sitting next to a best friend and chatting too much. That is okay too; they will have some natural consequences to cope with, just like in the real world. Listening to the teacher and following directions are typically classroom rules that these students are required to follow, just like everyone else in the class.
Procedures: Grouping students for lessons or project work can be done very deliberately by the teacher according to ability levels, learning styles, or peer relationships. Or groupings can be randomly assigned using a variety of methods. Both styles of groupings are very valuable, both for completing the academic task at hand and for learning how to relate to and cooperate with others.
Sample Strategy: Mrs. Rintelman, a 3rd grade teacher, uses a quick and easy way of randomly partnering up students for academic tasks. At the beginning of the school year, each student is given a sheet of paper displaying a clock with name lines next to each hour (12:00 with a line next to it, 1:00 with a line next to it, etc.). The kids walk around the room signing other's clocks. For example, if Katie signed Brian's 5:00 line, then Brian had to sign Katie's 5:00 line. Each student ends up with 12 names (designated partners) on his or her sheet.
During lessons, Mrs. Rintelman no longer has to tell her students to find a partner to work with, a practice that can take too much time and cause hurt feelings for the loners. Instead, Mrs. Rintelman simply tells the class to work with their 6:00 partner, for example. The students know to quickly check that clock-sheet to determine which classmate will be their partner, find that person in the room, and begin the work. If a teacher wants more partner assignment opportunities, the sheet can have two lines by each hour. The teacher can then tell the class to work with their 6:00 a.m. partners or 10:00 p.m. partners.
Beyond the four walls of a classroom, the students of the entire school also benefit from a sense of school community and teamwork. A school's colors, mascot, and school song help build a sense of camaraderie and pride in that community. A community service project completed by a school provides a common purpose where teamwork and pride are also fostered. Many schools promote collaboration through cross-grade-level projects or activities in which older students may help younger students. Here are a few ideas:
Will a school ever be completely free from older kids teasing younger kids or stronger kids ridiculing weaker kids? Maybe not. However, if the school staff works hard to create an attitude of mutual respect and solidarity, students will feel a greater sense of community in a safe and happy environment.
Purpose: To promote community service and responsibility in students.
Background: One of the most worthwhile yet simple community service projects I have seen is the collection of winter hats and mittens for less fortunate families. This program benefited both the needy recipients and the students gathering the hats and mittens, who felt satisfaction from helping others through a schoolwide service program.
Procedures: In mid-November, each of the schools in the school district displays one or two imitation Christmas trees in the lobby areas. Notes are sent out to parents requesting that a new pair of mittens or a new hat be sent to school with one of their children. Most parents are very willing to purchase an extra one of these items as they do winter shopping for their own children. Before long, the trees are decorated with warm, colorful hats and mittens. One of the schools located near a senior citizen center/ nursing home established an additional side project with that center. The children made holiday cookies and homemade books to share with the residents, and some of the senior citizens donated hand-knit mittens and hats for the school's tree. On the last day before the winter vacation periods the hats and mittens were counted in order to inform the students how many needy children they helped by their generosity. All the donations were then taken to a local low-income assistance distribution center.
Purpose: To build cross-grade-level relationships that help children learn and also help foster positive self-esteem and social behaviors.
Reasoning: Ideas for cross-grade-level projects are as numerous as the benefits the students gain from the activities, from older and younger students reading books to each other to older and younger students working collaboratively to create a mural on a school wall. Cross-grade-level projects can even occur across several schools. However and wherever they occur, these working relationships can improve student academic achievement, social behaviors, and self-esteem.
Lesson: A kindergarten teacher and a 7th grade teacher from schools across town from each other implemented a writing project between the two grade levels. The kindergarten teacher had her students write letters to Santa. They worked hard on these letters using their immature knowledge of wording, sentence structure, and spelling. As you can imagine, the letters were filled with creative, naive questions and wishes for Santa expressed in their darling, inexperienced penmanship. The teacher often deciphered the letter on the back of the paper so it could be read. These letters were sent to “Santa's Workshop in the North Pole,” which was actually a 7th grade classroom on the north end of town.
Each 7th grade student in the class received one of the letters to answer. Rather than having each student answer as if he or she were Santa, producing many different styles of handwriting, the teacher had each student pretend he or she was an elf writing on behalf of the busy Santa Claus. The students had a ball coming up with elflike names for themselves and writing responses to the letters. The assignment was tied to a lesson dealing with descriptive writing, and was graded accordingly. The vivid descriptions in the letters, detailing all that Santa and the elves were busy doing at the North Pole, were exciting for the kindergartners and their teacher. Even the local newspaper thought it was an original, delightful project and printed some of the kindergartners' letters and the 7th graders' responses for the townspeople to enjoy.
In classrooms where some students may be uncomfortable writing to Santa (for religious reasons) it might be best to try an alternative cross-grade project. Older students could write children's books for younger students to illustrate, or vice versa.
Purpose: To foster positive school climate and pride in learning accomplishments.
Background: One of the most stimulating changes for me in moving from a teaching position to an elementary school principal position is the opportunity to frequently visit a wide variety of classrooms. These visits give me a global, schoolwide perspective of what each grade level is learning and the assortment of lessons, activities, and projects students complete in each unit. Other staff members and students, to a large extent, miss out on knowing about the exciting learning happening in different areas of the school. To remedy this, our school now has Celebration Assemblies at the end of each quarter of the school year. Celebration Assemblies are whole-school gatherings that have the feel of a pep rally. However, rather than celebrating a school sports team's success, we celebrate learning.
Procedures: The teachers bring their classes into the gymnasium as the song “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang blares through the room. When everyone is seated and the music ends, I enthusiastically welcome everyone and explain that we are meeting to celebrate their hard work. The students first learn the results (for the quarter) of our schoolwide behavior incentive program (which will be described in a later section in this chapter). We then celebrate reading as the librarian gives out numerous student awards for particular quantities of books read during the quarter. The last part of the assembly involves students and staff discovering what other grade levels have been learning.
Each grade level has about five minutes to share and celebrate their learning. This is done in a variety of ways. For instance, at one Celebration Assembly, a group of 3rd graders performed one of their trade books, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, with shadow puppets made with the art teacher's help. The kindergartners shared what they had learned in science by singing a song about the parts of a tree. A small group of 4th graders showed posters of the state's resources and explained their uses. Each quarter, each grade level shares some new learning in a unique, creative manner. The assembly ends with the students and staff leaving, some literally dancing out of the gym, to the “Celebration” song being played again.
Resulting Climate: The staff likes seeing what other classrooms have accomplished. Some of the older students enjoy seeing their younger siblings perform. And the younger students get very eager when they see this preview of “cool stuff” that they will learn in future grade levels. The sense of community sparked in these assemblies is obvious. The enthusiasm and pride for learning is fun, powerful, and invigorating.
Two tips for organizing your own Celebration Assembly or something similar:
Clear academic and behavioral expectations for students are a part of a safe environment both in the classroom and in the entire school. Knowing what to expect minimizes the threat and stress of the unknown. Imagine suffering a serious consequence for doing something that you didn't know was wrong. Or imagine being held accountable for new knowledge that you didn't know you were supposed to learn. Both situations seem unfair and cause stress for students. The human brain seeks pattern and desires daily events to be logical and predictable (Jensen, 1998). Teachers can provide a safer learning environment by establishing clear expectations and logical consequences for students.
Traditionally, coaches and teachers operate quite differently when working with groups of children. Coaches tend to teach for success. For example, suppose a coach is teaching the skill of dribbling a basketball. He or she first shows the children exactly what good, proper dribbling looks like. The demonstration may then be expanded by showing some exceptional, fancy-footwork-type dribbling that the kids may aspire to learn with extra effort. The coach shows common errors made when dribbling the basketball and clear-cut methods to correct bad dribbling habits. Coaches tend to continue modeling and giving pointers to the kids until the skill is learned.
The students are encouraged to help each other practice and learn the skill. Finally, when the dribbling is mastered, the coach displays pride in the students with words of praise and high-fives, and they may all celebrate together with a group hug and cheer.
Teachers, on the other hand, traditionally teach curriculum in a different fashion. The skill, such as writing a descriptive paragraph, is explained once. The teacher may or may not ever actually model a good descriptive paragraph. The advanced student, who may know the skill already, writes an exceptional paragraph and receives a high grade. This student's work is not shown as a model. In fact, if this student does show his or her work to others or tries to help classmates, it might be considered cheating. Then later, after not much practice or guidance from the teacher, the student is tested to determine if the skill has been mastered. If the skill has not been mastered, typically there is no continued practice or refinement, just a low score in the teacher's grade book. If the skill has been mastered, there are no high-fives and fanfare, just a high score quietly recorded in the grade book.
Thankfully, recent teaching practices have changed from the pop-quiz mentality of trying to catch students not learning concepts to a coaching-type attitude of being upfront in telling students just what is expected and helping them reach that goal. Using rubrics is one way a teacher can ensure that students know the expectations of an assignment. A rubric clearly delineates what work earns what score by modeling or explaining requirements. When a student knows exactly what work earns an A, what work earns a B, and so on, ownership in the learning has been given to that student. Additional benefits of using rubrics include assessing students' work in an objective manner and communicating expectations and scoring of assignments to parents; it is easy to explain to a parent why his or her child earned that D when the work can be directly compared to the expectations and models provided on the rubric.
Graphic Communications Career Assignment
After researching a Graphic Communications career, write and type a two- to three-page report with findings of your research. Also include a cover page with your report. Your typed report can have print no larger than 12 points, and must be double-spaced.
Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, you will be able to:
Procedure
You are to pick out a job or career related to some form of Graphic Communications and complete the following research:
165 total possible points
Possible Graphic Communications careers to choose from: Layout Artist, Graphic Arts Research Scientist, Platemaker, Quality Control, Press Operator, Bindery Supervisor, Graphic Design, Photographer, Customer Service, Estimator, Web Press Supervisor, Web Roll Tender, Cutter.
Classroom rules need to be established and clearly explained at the beginning of the school year for all ages of students. While one teacher's rules may differ from the rules of the teacher in the room right next door, some continuity of rules within a school is beneficial. There may be a few rules that everyone in a school community believes are crucially important to the school's successful operation or climate. The staff should collectively decide on a common term or phrase to be used in each classroom for these one or two common rules. For example, a staff decides that there is no tolerance of violence in their school, and each classroom will have a rule addressing this behavior. Rather than having one teacher say “No hitting,” while a different teacher says “Keep your hands to yourself,” one common phrase, such as “Keep hands, feet, and other objects to yourself,” should be used in each classroom. Using a common phrase eliminates confusion in the students' minds as to what is expected. Also, as they move up through the grade levels in that school, they will be held accountable for that same crucial rule by each teacher.
Many rules will and should vary from classroom to classroom due to differences in students' ages, expectations of each teacher, and particular procedures implemented in each classroom. Teachers usually find that students will be able to remember the rules best if there are no more than five of them. It is wise to keep the rules clearly posted in the classroom and to provide the parents and the principal a copy of the classrooms rules and the resulting positive and negative consequences for following or breaking those rules.
When establishing rules and consequences, it is useful to keep in mind that typically the goal is to have students be responsible for their own behaviors—this way they will learn the life skill of self-management. Therefore, students must understand the reasoning behind each rule and know the potential consequences if the rule is violated. The consequences should be logical and student-based—not labor intensive for the teacher. For example, if a parent is to be called about an infraction, make the child responsible for making that phone call and explaining his or her actions.
As a principal, it is very helpful to have each teacher's classroom discipline plan briefly but specifically outlined on one page. See sample in Figure 2.3.
I keep these in a readily accessible file so when a parent calls me to question a consequence his or her child has received I can explain, for example, that indeed the student is being kept in for three recesses because it is the established third-step consequence after the warning and conference with the teacher. The more important reason I require teachers to turn in a discipline plan is simply to ensure that each teacher has a carefully designed plan. Within acceptable parameters, it doesn't matter what terms individual teachers use for their behavior expectations (rules, guidelines, expectations, etc.) or specifically what they are, or the resulting consequences. It does matter that teachers consistently adhere to their plan because that is best for the students and most effective for classroom management. Regardless of what they are named, or how they are developed, clearly stated and enforced behavioral expectations give students a feeling of safety.
Purpose: To establish classroom rules that are understood and followed by students.
Reasoning: The initial development of classroom rules is done in a variety of ways. Some teachers have found a few rules that work best for them and use those same rules year after year. Other teachers find it useful to have students participate in establishing the rules so that they have more ownership of those guidelines. Either way, it is important that the students not only know the behavioral expectations but also why they are in place and what will happen when they are followed or not followed.
Sample 1: A 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Sloane, has her students help develop the rules through class discussion and debate. This ensures comprehension and ownership of the rules by the students. The class then writes up the rules as their class constitution, and each student signs the bottom of the page. This behavioral contract is permanently posted in the classroom.
Sample 2: Mr. Barnes, a 1st grade teacher, finds it most beneficial to use the term “choices” rather than “rules.” He likes the students to understand that, just like in the real world, every action is a choice with logical consequences; they can make good choices and earn positive rewards, or make bad choices and earn negative penalties.
Comparable to the discipline plan in an individual classroom, the schoolwide rules and consequences should be known by all members of the school community. Ideally, the staff members should have a hand in developing the rules and reviewing them to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate. The consequences for violating the rules, both negative and positive, should be logical and identified ahead of time whenever possible. Oftentimes, schoolwide behavior incentive programs operate competitively, pitting one student against another, one class against another, or one grade level against another. This does not establish a safe environment for students. Too often the result is that the “good” kids continue to behave well and earn the greatest number of rewards, while the “bad” kids give up trying to earn the rewards because they can never collect more than their peers.
Purpose: To promote favorable student behavior through a schoolwide program that fosters pride and teamwork.
Background: Jackson Elementary School implemented a new incentive program during the 2000–2001 school year with the following goal being developed by a representational group of staff members and then shared with students and parents:
Jaguar Superstar Incentive Program Goal: To increase our students' favorable behaviors, manners, effort, and achievement through positive feedback during a schoolwide incentive program. Additionally, this program will build teamwork and an attitude of school spirit due to the fact it is a cumulative schoolwide goal, not a competition between classrooms or grade levels.
Procedures: Individual students are awarded Superstar Awards (little slips of paper) for any desired behavior such as earning a high score, exhibiting strong effort, helping a friend, doing a favor for a teacher, lining up quietly after recess, and so on. The homeroom teacher saves his or her students' Superstar Awards for each quarter. Many teachers display them proudly in the classroom.
At the end of each quarter, each class counts how many Superstar Awards were earned and turns the number into the principal. Sometimes this counting is done in conjunction with a math lesson, such as making sets and counting by 10s. At the school's Celebration Assembly, I, as principal, reveal on an overhead projector six numbers. These are the quantities of awards earned in each of the six grade levels, kindergarten through 5th grades. I do not announce which grade earned which number. This removes any competition, keeping it purely a schoolwide goal to earn as many as possible. I add the numbers on the overhead projector to reveal the thousands of total awards earned in that quarter of the school year. A rocket ship is moved up a chart on the gym wall to show the year-to-date total. Our rocket ship is soaring toward a huge star with the year-end goal of 8,000 printed across it.
Reasoning: The important component of this incentive program is that the entire student body works toward the goal of earning 8,000 Superstar Awards during the course of the school year. There is no competition between students, classes, or grade levels to earn more than others; no teacher or grade level knows who earns how many awards. This promotes an incredible amount of teamwork among the students and a safe, fun environment in the school. It allows the students who do not typically earn many awards for good behavior or high grades an opportunity to put forth enough effort to perhaps earn only one award. However, just that one award can make the child feel good about his or her contribution toward the school goal without classmates knowing if he or she earned fewer or more than others.
Resulting Success: At the year-end Celebration Assembly, the students at Jackson School let out a deafening cheer when they learned they had earned 11,000 Superstar Awards! Because they reached the goal, I told the students they would receive three prizes. The first one was the feeling of pride, heard in their cheer, from setting a goal and working hard to achieve it. The second reward was an extra all-school recess for their superb teamwork. And the third was an individual reward (a star-covered bouncy ball) for their individual efforts throughout the school year. The students were excited when the next school year's goal was set for 10,000 Superstar Awards!
A common question asked teachers at a job interview is, “Is it important for your students to like you?” My answer used to be, “No. It is more important for my students to respect me, although I haven't had problems with my students not liking me.” After rethinking the issue, my answer would now be an emphatic, “Yes, it is important!” It is true that a teacher must remain the adult in the relationship, not a buddy to the students. However, when students truly like the teacher, they enjoy being at school and are more dedicated to the class and learning. When you think back to your own favorite grade level or the class where you learned the most, did you like the teacher? I bet so.
A common factor shared by at-risk students who are not motivated to learn is the lack of a connection with an adult at school. The adult need not be a teacher, but simply someone who makes that student feel valued. When a student does have good rapport and feels connected with his or her teacher, the potential is there for enthusiasm toward learning, interest and effort in the teacher's lessons, and on-task behaviors in the classroom.
Purpose: To establish and maintain a meaningful, positive rapport between teachers and students.
Background: As a teacher, I told my class at the beginning of the year that I had two favorite things in the world: children and learning, in that order. Then, I spent the rest of the year walking my talk. I showed the students how much I liked them just by doing little but oh-so-important things. I would genuinely listen when they talked to me. I was sure to learn each student's name by the end of the first day of school, and then address every child at least once every single day.
My goal was to make each student in the class feel like he or she was my very favorite student, even the one or two each year whom I found to be obnoxious. I would stand outside the classroom door with a smile on my face (even when I really didn't feel like smiling) and say things like, “Welcome to math.” I shared bits of personal information about myself, such as my hobbies or brief stories about my own three children. I would remember something personal about each student to ask them about later, like, “How was the big soccer match last night?” I used humor in the classroom frequently, even if I turned out to be the only one giggling at my silly jokes—it still meant I was smiling. And, maybe most important, I showed excitement toward what we were studying—even if I had to fake it sometimes. Usually, regardless of the grade level I was teaching, I would learn something new through research with the students so I could genuinely model interest and enthusiasm for my students. Being the “guide on the side” rather than the “sage on the stage” is a much more enjoyable form of instruction for both teacher and students.
Now in my role as principal, I still tell my staff and students that my two favorite things in the world are students and learning. And I still walk the talk. I make sure I'm in classrooms every day showing enthusiasm toward learning. I build personal relationships with the students, learning as many of their 480 names as I can, chatting with them at lunch and recess times, delivering birthday cards to each student, and so on.
Survey Procedures: As a principal, I see which teachers are really liked by the students and which ones are not considered favorites. I thought it would be interesting to find out what characteristics the students identified in the most popular teachers. In an informal survey of 18–20 students, I asked students to identify their favorite teacher and tell me why they liked him or her.
Survey Results: The overwhelming answer was because “Mr. or Mrs. ______ is so nice.”
When I probed to find out what made them “nice,” three common answers emerged: he or she is fun; he or she doesn't yell; and he/she is funny. When I probed further, asking what was considered “fun,” the answers revolved around making learning interesting, active, and enjoyable.
Teachers were not considered “nice” because they were overly lenient or gave away candy. In fact, the two or three teachers mentioned most often tend to be quite structured in their classroom management. They also tend not to have many discipline problems because their students are engaged in learning and don't have the time or the ambition to start problems in the classroom. I also believe their students are well behaved because they don't want to disappoint their favorite teacher and because the students care for him/her so much. Figure 2.4 defines some easy-to-implement teacher behaviors that promote a happy, caring classroom environment.
The adults in the building—the principal, teachers, and other staff members—set the climate of the school and the classroom. Understanding how emotions can be used to strengthen learning helps a teacher effectively and purposefully link the two together during instruction. Furthermore, understanding how stress, low self-esteem, and negative emotions can inhibit learning also helps a teacher work with students.
A teacher's mood and behaviors, as well as the expectations of students and the sense of community established in the classroom, are crucial to the attitude and success of the students. One of my goals as a teacher was to make every student think he or she was my absolute favorite. Quite honestly, for some, I really had to put strenuous effort into faking it. Yet at the same time, I learned the phrase: “fake it 'til you make it.” Sometimes it really worked in turning my inner feelings around about a student.
A safe, fun, nurturing environment is the best place for the human brain to develop and learn. Therefore, teachers' behaviors should reflect people who are respectful, caring, and enthusiastic about learning. When these behaviors are modeled, the result is students who are respectful, caring, and enthusiastic about learning.
Emotional Intelligence Tips
Stress Tips
Sense of Community Tips
Expectations for Students Tips
Teacher Behavior Tips
Subscribe to ASCD Express, our free email newsletter, to have practical, actionable strategies and information delivered to your email inbox twice a month.
ASCD respects intellectual property rights and adheres to the laws governing them. Learn more about our permissions policy and submit your request online.