Student-Created Posters Are More Powerful!!

How many times have you walked into a classroom, and it looks so nice and organized, with pre-made posters everywhere, telling students exactly what rules to follow, parts of speech to use, math processes, writing steps, behaviors to display, etc.   My room used to be full of these wonderful posters!  I would go to the teacher store and spend waaaaay too much money on these posters that would tell my students exactly what they needed to do for 1,000 different things!

What I discovered over the years is that the main thing my beautiful, colorful, neat posters did is....collect dust and occasionally give a student something to bat at if it was hanging from the ceiling.  :-(

Why is that, though?  These posters are so attractive and have lots of good stuff on them, so why don't more kids use them?  I always pointed out the information on the posters to my students and tried to remind them of the posters occasionally.  

My students likely didn't use them because they had no interest in them, nor did they have any ownership in them.  How many kids do you see pick up books on parts of speech to read for pleasure? 

The important part about any poster is the information on it.  So, how do we engage students more with that information?   We have them create it!  

In our room, when we teach the steps of the writing process, we make a poster about it that gets hung up in the room. 

When the students decide the expectations of the community members in our room, we write those down, and that becomes our poster.

When our students determine what independent reading should look and sound like, we take their ideas, write them on a poster, and hang it up.  

Independent Reading anchor chart created with students

Anytime we feel we need some type of poster hanging in the room to remind students of something, we do not run to that teacher store and search frantically for a pre-made poster that displays that information.  Instead, we pull our classroom community together and create the poster with them.  This will automatically engage the students more with the content of the poster, as they have to come up with everything that's on it!  It also gives them ownership of the poster, as it's their words up there, not the words of some stranger.  It's authentic!

So, when you're thinking about the information that you feel is necessary to display in your room, rethink how you want that to look!   Not only will student-created posters be more meaningful (therefore more useful) to your students, but they will be easier on your pocketbook as well!  :-)  It's a win-win situation!

Students: Behavior Problem Solvers!

So, one of the most frustrating things I personally feel about teaching is when you're trying to work with a group, or transition, or line up, or take care of anything that needs done, and you have Suzie who comes up to you saying something like, "Josie keeps calling me names, and I'm getting upset!"

Now, we know it is important to validate our students' feelings and be a good listener, but how much time does it take to pull Josie and Suzie together to get to the bottom of the problem and work on solving it?  Even if it takes three minutes, that's a lot of time if it happens several times a day!

Well, a couple of years ago, our brilliant students solved this problem for us, and we were two happy teachers!  During a Community Meeting, a student put an idea in our idea box that asked if she could form a Conflict Committee.  She explained that she thought it would be a good idea for a group of five or six students to be in charge of holding mini-tribes to help their peers solve problems when they arise.  After many questions and working out how many students would be involved and how much time they should dedicate to the mini-tribes to ensure not any one student is losing too much instructional time to being a member of the Conflict Committee, it was a go!

Holy cow!  What a brilliant idea it truly was because all of those frequent kid issues (like pencil theft, name calling, mean looks, girl drama, taking turns, etc.),  Ruth and I no longer had to deal with!  Typically, before I had to say anything to a student about needing to meet with the Conflict Committee, a member would intervene, telling the student their problem was a Conflict Committee issue!  It was GREAT!  

As we often know is the case, many times students will listen to their peers more than they will listen to the adults in their lives, so conflicts were resolved quicker and there was less down time in our day due to Ruth and I having to stop what we were doing to help solve these problems!  As I discussed in another post, we feel that discipline should be about learning and growing socially, so we were not into giving students punishments for interrupting us with their problems/concerns; therefore, that was not an option for us.  The Conflict Committee was a wonderful solution to our problem, and who thought of it?  A student!  That goes back to the benefits of incorporating student voice into your classroom.

The guidelines that our class came up with for the Conflict Committee were as follows:

• Students who were frequently involved in conflicts could not be part of the committee until they became more positive and were involved in less conflicts.
• The committee was made up of 10 members who would rotate meetings to ensure the same students were not always being pulled for the mini-tribes.
• It was decided that Ruth and I would choose the members based on who was infrequently in conflicts, who was staying caught up on their work, and who could be considered good problem solvers.  We liked this opportunity because we could choose interested students who weren't often in leadership roles!
• The mini-tribe meetings could only last 10 minutes, unless they justified why they needed longer.
• During the mini-tribe, each person involved in the conflict would give his side of the story, uninterrupted, and then no more time could be spent on the problem...the rest of the conversation had to only focus on problem solving.
• The committee members would develop different solutions, and the students in the conflict would agree on a solution and commit to it.
• Before a mini-tribe took place, it had to be approved by Ruth or I.  This generally took about 20 seconds for us to get a QUICK rundown of the problem and then to give them our blessing!

Now, could all conflicts go to the Conflict Committee?  Of course not.  There were times when Ruth and I felt it was a situation she and/or I needed to be directly involved in; however, 90% of the conflicts in the room could be handled by the committee!

If starting a Conflict Committee in your room is something you want to consider, I think I would still try to plant a seed and let the students come up with the idea.  That could involve saying something like, "Gosh, I don't know what I need to do...so much of my time is being taken to solve some of these little problems in our room everyday.  I know you guys could solve the problems, but you just keep coming to me instead.  Any ideas of what we can do about this?"  

Your kids may go directly into punishment mode..."Make them lose five minutes of their recess if they interrupt you with a problem!"  However, you then explain why you don't feel that is a good solution...you want them to truly solve their problems, not just avoid them by getting a punishment instead.  Not to mention, some problems that aren't solved escalate into something worse!

If they still don't come up with the idea, then perhaps on another day you can say something like, "I heard this one class has a group of students who do most of the problem solving for each other, not the teacher.  Isn't that cool?"  Then hopefully they will respond with wanting to do that themselves!  :-)  At that point, I would then have them hold a discussion with you to develop the guidelines.  

I'm clearly a big fan of the Conflict Committee, as it not only benefits me immensely, but it encourages student empowerment through handing over the wheel of decision making to them, it helps them build problem solving skills, it builds a sense of trust amongst them, and it is another opportunity for them to learn to respect each others opinions and perspectives.  Go, Conflict Committee!  :-)

Community Meetings

A sense of community in the classroom can be a great way to establish accountability amongst your students (to each other), as well as help students feel they are part of something bigger, beyond just themselves.  It is also a great way to encourage and validate students' voices and make them part of the decision making in the room.

Each week, our 50 4th and 5th graders move tables out of the way, and form a big circle for our Community Meeting.  It is important that we sit in a circle, so that the students can more easily talk WITH each other, face-to-face, versus looking at the backs of each others' heads! 

Ruth and I then grab our class's Idea Box, which is full of the topics that will lead our meeting.  The Idea Box is basically a decorated shoe box that sits on a table, with a stack of index cards and a pencil next to it.  If there is anything a student feels is important to discuss at our Community Meeting, (s)he will write it on the card and put it in the box.  Ruth and I also put cards in the box if there is something we want to talk about with the students.

Our Idea Box has contained things such as:

• The people playing basketball at recess are not treating each other kindly.
• Can we change our nightly homework so that one night a week we can write about our evening instead of doing a reading response?
• People are not cleaning up our classroom community at all!  They are leaving things all over the floor.
• There is a student who is not treating others respectfully...he talks mean to them.  
• Can we have a PJ Day?
• Can we have a Write-a-thon one day?
• We would like to start a Spanish Club at recess.

The list could go on and on.  If a student puts an idea in the box, (s)he then talks about it at the Community Meeting.  Other students then ask questions or make comments to help us solve any problems or make a decision about something.  We do things such as thumbs up/thumbs down or Fist of Five (5 = you LOVE the idea, 4 = you are good with it, 3 = you can live with it, 2 = you aren't thrilled with it, 1= you don't like it, a fist = you CANNOT live with it:  If there is ever a fist, we revisit the discussion) to make any final decisions.  

If a student wants to remain anonymous, (s)he must write that on the index card.  Ruth or I will then bring the idea up for them.

At the end of our Community Meeting, we then take time to go around the circle and give appreciations to each other.  This is such a positive way to end our meeting!!  The kids all have a right to pass if they have nothing to say, or they can give an appreciation.  Some appreciations have included:

• I appreciate Savanna for helping me with my math contract.
• I appreciate Mrs. Joseph (our tutor) for helping me understand fractions.
• I appreciate Logan for letting me take his place to play basketball when it was full.
• I appreciate my whole classroom family for being nice to me.

Their appreciations aren't always "deep," but their kind words to each other bring many smiles to many faces during this time of our meeting!

Our Community Meeting generally lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of topics, as well as the depth of the topics.  The insights and opinions of the students during this time is outstanding.  Many times, students resolve problems by talking to each other, without Ruth and I having to say a word!  It's wonderful!

Community Meetings are a great way to incorporate student voice, give your students an opportunity to learn how to respectfully listen to each others opinions, make decisions in the classroom, and to build that stronger sense of community!

Establish a Classroom Community

At the school where I teach, the climate and culture of our building is truly family-like.  Classes have either daily or weekly Community Meetings where ideas are shared, problems are discussed and solved, and appreciations are made.  We foster the idea that we are all one community or family, and we need to take care of each other.
We continually refer to this community idea throughout the day, whether when working through class-wide issues or when working through individual issues.  For example, when a child is loud or disruptive, one of the questions we may ask her individually is, "How do you think your actions may be affecting your community members?"  We want the students to move beyond just thinking about their individual needs and also think about the needs of the community. 

I had a student years ago who I frequently wanted to bound and gag.  BUT, this student also could make me laugh and laugh and laugh!  He had a hysterical personality!  I was sure he would grow up to be a comedian; however, he recently wrote me the sweetest letter as he was graduating high school and indicated he was going into college to be an accountant! Reeeeaaaaallly?  Wow!  Awesome stuff!

Anyway, this little guy would always get in trouble in gym, which would affect the score that the class received.  Every gym class, the class would get a score of 0 - 5, based on their collective, collaborative behavior.  When someone continually got in trouble, that score would go down.   At the time, I had a classroom marble jar, so if the students earned a four or five, they would get that many marbles in the jar.  When the jar was full, we earned a reward.  We did not put marbles in for a three or less, as it was not reflective of their personal best.

So, after weeks of students being frustrated, we called a Community Meeting to discuss the problem.  During the meeting, the students used "I statements" to let this little guy know how they felt about their continual low score in gym due to his behavior choices.   I heard things like:

"I feel frustrated when we all work hard, but our score goes down because you're goofing off."

"I feel sad that you don't seem to want to help us get a five at gym class."

"I feel confused because I know you can make better choices."

Keep in mind...these were 8-, 9-, and 10-year olds!   They were not allowed to say anything negative about him...just tell him how they felt.  He also had a chance to speak; although, he opted not to.  We then went around our circle, and everyone brainstormed ideas of how we could help him in gym.  We came up with a plan, he agreed to it, and wouldn't you know that his behavior in gym improved DRAMATICALLY!!  Rarely did he get in trouble.

He saw how he was affecting his community, as well as how supportive his community was being to him despite the fact they were frustrated with him.  He realized he was part of something bigger, and it wasn't just about himself, so he made a decision to make a change for the positive.

This past year, two students stole Sharpie markers and Highlighters from our classroom supply stash, and then went and sold them on the bus for $.25!!  (Good gravy!)  When we found out what was going on, Ruth (my teaching partner) and I didn't decide what consequence would happen to these two boys...our whole classroom community did!  Because the boys technically stole from their community members, they wanted to have a say in what should happen.  So, we had an emergency Community Meeting to discuss the issue.

Their collaborative consequences were so mature!  The class decided the boys needed to be away from their community in a timeout room for a minimum of three days, they needed to fill out a reflection about what happened, and if possible, they needed to think of a way to get some of the Sharpies and Highlighters returned.  They then actually helped us create the reflection the boys had to fill out, which consisted of questions such as:

1.  Why did you feel it was okay to steal from our community?

2.  How do you think we felt when we found out you stole from us?

3.  How do you feel about your decision to steal?

4.  What is something you could do if you ever felt like stealing again, either from us or from anyone?

5.  What do you think would be a good consequence for what you did?

The students also agreed that they would NOT hold this over the boys' heads when their consequences were finished, and they would definitely forgive them, as we all make mistakes.

Now think about how much more powerful that was, versus a traditional punishment such as the students serving a week of detentions!  They had to be accountable to 49 other students, they had to be reflective about their poor decision-making, and they had to be temporarily removed from their classroom community, where they were still responsible for doing school work! 

Establishing a Classroom Community can not only help prepare students to be strong, contributing community members when they are adults, but it can help them begin seeing beyond their "self" lense.  It can help build their understanding that they are part of something bigger, and their individual choices can impact others, both positively and negatively!

I'll post about how our Community Meetings run next!  ;-)

NO YELLING!

You had a bad night's sleep.  You have personal stress at home.  You're overwhelmed with work.  And what does Susy want to do?  Everything you ask her not to do!  What does Susy not want to do?  Everything you ask her to do!  So, what do you want to do?  Bite her head off and let her know how you feel!  Gosh, sometimes yelling can feel like such a relief.  It's as though all that pent up stress you've been feeling can just be released!

Unfortunately for me, though, if a student ever brings me to the point of raising my voice to a yell, I immediately feel complete frustration with myself for losing control.  I can honestly say I have not "yelled" at a student for years.  Until last year that is.   :-(  

We had a student who truly was unlike any student I've ever worked with.  (No, he wasn't the chair thrower/cusser I've mentioned in other posts...I could actually get through to chair thrower/cusser easier than to this kid!)  He had a wall of steel built around him and clearly had issues with women, as he was still struggling with his mom walking out on him when he was five.  On top of it, he was homeless for three months, and spent lots of time with dad's girlfriend and her kids while dad worked.  If we said sit, he wanted to stand.  If we said laugh, he wanted to cry.  If we said don't pick your nose, his finger would immediately dig in.  I have never, ever had a student so hard to get through to.  He challenged my self-efficacy everyday; however, I could not help but feel sorry for him and the circumstances life had thrown his way. 

Well, we are all lining up for lunch one day, waiting on him to join us, and after saying (in a very calm, nice voice), "Come on, kiddo.  We don't want to leave you here."  He yelled something like, "I TOLD YOU WOMAN, I'M NOT GOING."  This was probably the third or fourth time we had an encounter of some sort with him that day, so my patience were already faltering. 

Normally, I would have walked over to the student and had a one-on-one conversation with him, as I am not into public humiliation, even when a student makes his comments public.  I have to remember, he's 10...I'm 38.  HOWEVER, I did not handle it as I normally would.  I truly yelled, which is absolutely not my style.  I don't remember what I said, but it was something along the lines of..."IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR?!  YOU WANT ME TO YELL AT YOU AND DISRESPECT YOU IN FRONT OF EVERYONE LIKE YOU DO TO US?!  BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!"

As you can imagine, all 50 other students stared at me in disbelief, mouths dropped open.  The only time they ever heard me get that loud is when I was playing with them at recess, acting ridiculous.  Apparently, it got his attention as well, because he got in line without saying a word, but with his sweatshirt hoodie zipped up around his face.  (No, I didn't want him to trip and fall because he couldn't see...)

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt so disappointed in my reaction.  He won.  I am supposed to be a person for him who can model how you interact with people without being rude, disrespectful, and yelling, yet I didn't do that.  I'm sure every adult in his life yells at him based on conversations with his father, so I morphed into just another one of those people.  

If I was a yeller, he would not have gotten into line when I yelled at him, as it would have just been my normal behavior that he didn't need to respond to.  I think even he realized he pushed too far when he got that reaction, but that still doesn't make it okay in my book.  I did later apologize to him for how I reacted and shared with him that I do not treat people that way, so I was disappointed in myself.  He told me it was okay and actually gave a real quick, quiet "Sorry" to me, which he NEVER did.    He would rather eat rocks than apologize to someone, especially an adult!  

As educators, we are supposed to be role models to students; therefore, if we go around screaming at kids all day long, we're saying it's okay to talk to people that way.  That is not the message we want to send to our students.  Unfortunately, many kids already get that type of role modeling at home, and they certainly do not need it reinforced at school.  We need to supply them with tools they can use to be successful in life, and going around yelling at others when they upset you is not an effective tool to give them!

Reflect back on times when you've found yourself yelling at students, and how it made you feel, as well as the impact it had on the overall atmosphere in the classroom.   Again, we want to show students ways of dealing with frustration that doesn't involve screaming at someone and saying hurtful things.  Plus, when we are yelling, we appear to be out of control, and that is not an impression we want to give!

So, when students are pushing your buttons, stay in control and keep that voice calm and steady!  :-)

Relationships and Behavior

I was once asked if I felt it was important that my students love me.  My response, was no...what's important is that they know I love them.  I am a firm believer that we can get to students' heads through their hearts, which is why building relationships is a main goal of mine each and every year.

I am fortunate in that I teach in a multi-age school; therefore, I get to keep my students for two years.   On the first day of a typical year, I already know and have an established relationship with half of my students (and their families)!  During that second year, I often deepen the relationship and truly establish a sense of trust from the students.  

You certainly don't have to teach in a multi-age school in order to establish strong relationships with your students, though!  It really boils down to taking the time to get to know your students, and I don't just mean academically.  Learn about their families, interests, hobbies, fears, etc.  Take the time to initiate conversations with them to find out more about who they are as a person.  You can then use this to help work through discipline issues or change negative behavior.  When a child firmly believes that you are his advocate and truly only want what's best for him, he will likely be more cooperative, demonstrate more effort, and develop a trust in what you have to say to him.  

One particular student of mine comes from a background that I cannot even begin to relate to, including the belief that the only way to "right" a situation is to beat up whoever "wronged" him.   This 10-year old feels he has to take care of his mom and siblings and truly is mature beyond his years (too mature actually).  He is such a smart young man who puts forth so much effort in the classroom; however, if he continues down the path of beating people up when he gets mad at them, he is not going to be able to utilize his intelligence and strong work ethic because he will end up in JDC or jail!  Ruth, my teaching partner, and I were determined to establish a strong relationship with him, and do whatever we could to help him overcome the need to resort to violence when angry.   He had been in four physical fights the year before, so we knew we had some work to do.  From the minute the school year started, we spent lots of time talking with him, asking about things that are important to him, and just getting to know him.  He responded very well to this and was always willing to share and engage in conversations with us.  We even told him that we had a goal of helping him deal with anger in different ways, as he had too much to offer this world to end up in jail.  Most of his immediate family members were in jail or had been in jail, which he often talked to us about, so he almost expected himself to end up there one day, too.  :-(

After his first fight of the year, Ruth and I were in the principal's office with him, trying to talk to him about why he felt he had to resort to fighting and sharing with him how much his choice broke our hearts.  Now, you have to understand...when this kiddo was in his fighting mode, it was like another unknown evil little being came out of him!!  He was NOTHING like his normal self.  He refused to talk to us, which just killed us.  At one point, we are both sitting there with tears in our eyes (Okay, okay, the tears were actually streaming down our faces), as we could not understand this change in his behavior.  By the end of our time with him, he still was not talking to us, BUT he was actually crying!!  I've never been so happy to see a child cry, as that was a sign to me that he wasn't happy with his decision and felt sadness about it, too.

Well, I was so pleased with this emotional break through, but then a couple of months later, HE DID IT AGAIN!!  This time, I looked at him when he was in the office, told him I could not believe he did it again (Yes, with tears in my eyes, but they stayed there this time!), and said I couldn't even try to talk to him about it this time because I was too disappointed.  When I got home, however, I called his mom and asked if she would share with me his perspective of the whole situation.  She told me his version (I asked her to have him tell her while I was on the phone, so he knew I really wanted to hear his side), and I found out that he seriously did endure a lot of badgering from a new student before he finally blew.  He endured a lot more than he ever would have before.  That didn't make it right, but it did show growth.  The best thing I heard, though, was that he told his mom he was tired of fighting and making himself and his teachers feel so badly, so he was really going to try hard to stop.  

And stop he did.  We had no more incidents the rest of the year.  If he felt he was getting frustrated, he came to us to give us a heads up so we could help diffuse the situation.  This was enormous growth for him, and I do not think we would have been successful in helping him begin the process of changing this mind set of fighting if we did not have such a strong relationship with him.  We mattered to him; therefore, he did not want to be the one to cause us pain.

If students know they matter to you, you will likely  matter to them.  Taking the time to build relationships with your students is just critical.  We are working with young human beings everyday...not robots who are just moving through a factory.   They have thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes...just like us.  Take the time to get to know your students and even share with them things about you...let them know they matter to you personally and watch the difference it can make in their lives!

Make 'em Laugh!

A strategy that is simple, helps to hold students' attention, and can defuse a behavior situation before it gets out of hand is the use of humor!  Personally, humor is one way to better engage me as a listener, so I use humor in the classroom all the time!  When we use humor, the students can often better make connections to the content we're teaching; therefore, there is a better chance of them remembering it as well.

Studies indicate that the use of humor can motivate, can help to lessen stress and anxiety, and can improve one's self-esteem, as noted in the article, Why Use Humor in the Classroom?   Wouldn't we love to have a classroom of students who are motivated, do not feel stressed, and feel good about themselves?  Not to mention, if we're using humor, then we're feeling better, too!  Did you know that when you smile, it automatically has a direct effect on improving your mood? 

When using humor to defuse a discipline situation, we do sometimes have to be careful, as there are times when it may not be appropriate.  For example, when a student is throwing chairs and cussing (as I mentioned in another post), I may not want to crack a joke with him!  I could then be the target of one of those chairs!  

If, however, Alexis comes up and says that Mary said she was dumb, I may respond, "Oh my gosh!  Alexis, I had no idea!  Are you seriously dumb?"   She is likely then going to giggle with you at your unexpected response, which opens up the door for a more relaxed discussion about the situation.  As I've talked about before, I'm a firm believer that it's best to talk with students about discipline situations to help them learn and grow from them, so defusing some of that frustration and anger before the discussion makes it much more productive.  

It's important that you know your students before taking the humor approach in regards to discipline, as there are some kids who may not respond well to that humor approach, especially our students who are very literal.  Obviously, we need to build relationships with our students in order to know them and what approach best meets their needs and make a professional decision accordingly based on the situation! 

In terms of instruction, though, using humor is generally a win-win situation!

So, every time you have the chance, laugh with your students and watch it positively affect their experience in the classroom!  :-)