Classroom Rules and Expectations

Because I plan on starting the school year with a fairly high level of control with my students, I want to begin the year with three classroom rules:

1. Respect/Take care of yourself
2. Respect/Take care of others
3. Respect/Take care of your environment

The difference between the stating “respect” and stating “take care of” falls to the comprehension-level of the students. In early primary grades, like first and second grade, asking students to respect their environment might lead to confusion if they aren’t familiar with the concept of respecting things. By asking younger students to “take care of” themselves, others and their environment, I will be able to talk at their level of understanding, without devolving into the idea of metaphors, personification or other concepts they are not ready for yet.
On the first day of class, I will discuss the three main rules. I will ask what they mean to the students, and what they mean to me. I want to make sure to have plenty of time, because I expect that some specific questions and concerns will arise.

What the rules mean to me

Take care of yourself:

• make sure that you come to school every day ready to make the most of your time with me.
• Have your homework done, double checked and ready to be turned in or reviewed in a group.
• Be neat and comfortable, without a lot of distracting jewelry, gadgets or toys that might be confiscated.
• Know what is in your desk. Make sure there is always room for all of your books, and if there isn’t, figure out why: is there crumpled up paper in the back? Are unnecessary or older assignments taking up space? Do you have too many non-school related books?
• Have enough sharpened pencils that a broken or lost one won’t disrupt your work.
• Keep your desk-space clean, making sure nothing is on the floor or desk surface that shouldn’t be.
• Hang up your coat and backpack in a neat and orderly fashion, after checking you have everything you need out of them for the day.

Take care of others:

• Treat everyone like a friend. The success of every person in this class is shared. I will introduce my students to the concept of a community, and what a community does, and how a community works together to create something wonderful. Our classroom, I will explain, is a community that needs to work together to get the best success of all of the students. This means being polite all the time, being quiet when our classmates are speaking and listening to everyone’s questions, so that time isn’t taken away from a lesson to repeat something. This also means that we won’t be mean or rude. We won’t bully our classmates in order to make ourselves feel better, or get something we want. If there is a disagreement, it can be discussed with me, in a calm, respectful way, and we will abide by the resolution.

Take care of the environment:

• It is important to me that the students don’t only have strong lessons, they have a carefully crafted space that encourages learning. The room might be full, but everything will have it’s place, and the students are expected to make sure it stays there. If someone picks out a book to read, they will return it to the same place. If glue and scissors are used, they will be put back in the proper spot. Trash will be properly disposed of, not put in desks or pushed into corners, and if there is a spill, it will be cleaned up quickly and thoroughly.
• Taking care of the environment also means taking care of our personal materials and space. Books and homework should not be shoved into desks and backpacks, and ripped, messy papers will not be accepted (though what qualifies as messy will be determined on a student-by- student basis. I am aware that children come into their own as writers at different rates, and that messy, borderline illegible handwriting is sometimes the best a student is capable of producing). We won’t write in books, nor will we intentionally bend or rip pages, without permission.
• We will make sure every part of the classroom is accounted for, and kept orderly so as to promote good learning without distractions.

These three rules are important to me, and I will emphasize that they do not only apply to the classroom community, but also the entire school. Just because they are in the lunchroom or music room doesn’t mean they can disregard the rules, nor does having a substitute teacher. It is important to have a group discussion about this, because I feel that creating a harmonious community is one of the most important things I can do in my first week.

The School's rules are another thing I will discuss with the class. Sometimes there are rules that won't apply to my classroom, but will apply in other places they visit throughout the day. I want to make sure the my class know there is no running in the halls or sharing of lunches. I want them to be familiar with the playground rules, and help them understand that they are there to prevent people from getting hurt.

I will also make sure to acknowledge students who point out (or tattle) about their classmates breaking the rules. Children often tattle to get their peers in trouble, or when they feel there has been a slight against them (like name-calling and other general bullying), but they also point these indiscretions out to test teachers. My students want to know that I know the rules as well as they do, and when they point out an infraction, brushing it off or ignoring it might hurt my students' trust in me. When a student points out a broken rule, like sharing lunches, or talking out of turn, I will make sure to acknowledge that the rule has been broken, and let the student know I appreciate his or her attention to the rules.
I never want a student to be afraid to speak up in class, especially when it comes to their own understanding of rules and procedures, and I must remember that even though it might seem like tattling, it might be something much more critical.

Consequences for breaking the rules

It is important to me that my class is not only familiar with the rules of the classroom and the school, but also the consequences they face when the rules are broken. My plan for discipline is nothing concrete, but will be a guideline based on my discretion.
At the same time, my students should know what to expect when rules are broken or behavior warrants reaction. And realize that I play no favorites when it comes to discipline.

Minor acts of improper behavior: This would focus on problems such as repeatedly not finishing or submitting homework, goofing off in class, talking or running in the halls, being disrespectful to classmates and other similar actions. Responses to this behavior might be having applause points revoked, or having to do extra work to make up for what wasn't completed.

Moderate acts of improper behavior: This would focus on behavior that repeatedly disrupts the class, such as getting up and walking around without invitation to do so, being rude to me or other adults. If minor acts build up, they might also be dealt with via more severe discipline. This would involve having to sit alone at lunch, or miss recess. I might also switch a student's desk, so he isn't sitting near classmates who bring out disruptive behavior, or move her desk entirely, so she isn't sitting near anyone. While I would prefer not to isolate any student, I do recognize that sometimes that is the most effective form of discipline for a particular student, and will yield the best results.

Major acts of improper behavior: If serious rules are broken that hurt the student or his/her classmates, then I will contact his or her parents. This includes not only verbal altercations or obvious bullying, but also repeated delinquency on turning in assignments, or classroom misbehavior that doesn't improve with earlier discipline. If this level of behavior is reached, I will not only make a call to the student's parents, I will also suggest a meeting, in person, to discuss reasons why this behavior is occurring and how we can work to end it.

Severe acts of improper behavior: This would be anything that I thought put the student or his/her classmates or teachers in danger. Fighting, specific threats, and talk of suicide would fall under this category, though it would also include behavior that didn't change after meeting with a student's parents. If this happened, I would contact not only the student's parents, but the school principal, and set into motion a plan to help this child and, if necessary, remove him from the environment that brings out this behavior. If it came to this, I would make sure to stay as involved as I'm allowed to be in figuring out the next steps for this student's education. If it got to a point that I had to make the administration aware of the behavior, then I would want to make certain that I could do whatever possible to make sure he or she is given the proper guidance to overcome his or her severe behavior.

While I don't like the idea of disciplining any of my students, I do understand that teaching consequences to bad behavior is an important part of learning and something they will need to understand as they travel through school, and into the real world.