An Evolution of Classroom Expectations
I wish I could tell you that - in my 25 years of teaching - I have always made classroom management decisions with my kids in mind. When teachers first start, most are nervous and looking to survive. We make classroom rules on behalf of our kids based on maintaining order, forcing respect, and trying to look good when other teachers walk by our classrooms or pass us in the hallway. Once I had more confidence, I let the kids come up with their own classroom rules (still called ‘rules’) - and they came up with things like: never run, never chew gum, never yell. They were quick to come up with a lengthy list of things they knew they couldn’t do. It didn’t take long to realize that I had just facilitated a list of things that kids could do to push my (and their classmates’) buttons, and I posted right there on the wall for all to see.
I’ve learned a lot in 25 years. Now I focus on students brainstorming (in groups of four) what they need to be successful in our classroom. We use a specific structure - Jot Thoughts - to help make sure everyone participates in the brainstorming. After brainstorming, sometimes we list their ideas on the board and sometimes we go straight into each group sorting their ideas into categories. They choose the categories. Then we list the categories and have a whole group discussion about which of their ideas belong in which categories. We focus on things we can “always” do, instead of things we can “never” do. Don’t panic if the process takes more than one or two days - that’s a good thing. The results are different every year, but students know what they need to be successful better than anyone else. In the end, kids feel heard, valued, safe, and trusted - which is exactly how we get them to take risks within their learning, yes?
This evolution is kinda normal, I think. I want you to know that. As our experience grows, as we develop confidence, and as we start to trust our kids to make good decisions for themselves, we evolve.
—Andrew
I agree with everything Andrew said, especially the part about evolving. It would be weird if the thing that worked in our first year (or didn’t work) was the thing we were still clinging to. Those of you I have taught know I don’t love the word “rules.” I am partial to “values.” Even in Andrew’s example of letting the kids pick their own rules, they weren’t picking things that mattered to them. They were regurgitating things people had told them about how school works. The problem is we’ve now defined for them how we, as the teacher, will decide who in our class is good and who in our class is bad. Good kids follow the rules, and bad kids don’t. You may not ever say those actual words, but the kids know . . . ask their classmate’s parents. Kids love to report the news.
I truly believe that all kids are good inside and when we operate from that mindset, we need a way to set up classroom expectations that gives all kids the opportunity to succeed. Rules are things we can break, values on the other hand, are things we believe in. It’s so important for kids to understand that their behavior is not their identity. Making a bad decision, doesn’t make them a bad kid. The restorative part of the equation between you and the kid struggling to uphold the value, expectation, norm, rule, whatever you choose to call it, is SO SO important. The magic that happens when we change our mindset from kids being in trouble, to kids solving their own problems is not easy, but it is meaningful.
My husband doesn’t understand why I assign so much value to words.”What difference does it make, they mean the same thing.” It’s less important what you call your classroom expectations, and more important what kids understand the purpose behind them to be. Be intentional about how you want your classroom to operate, how you want kids to treat each other, and what you believe about how kids learn. Evolution is a process that ensures survival. Learn. Adapt. Evolve.
-MJ