During the first few days of school you go over routines for everything from how to line up to morning routines, from restroom routines to end-of-the-day routines, etc. Somewhere in the course of those few days you also go over behavior routines and expectations.
Before the first day of school I send out notes to my prospective students as well as separate letters to their parents. In the parent letter I outline my behavior expectations in accordance to our school-wide discipline program and my personal expectations. Our school-wide program has four basic rules: Be safe. Be prepared. Be respectful. Be responsible. The discipline committee, of which I was a part, figured these four commands would be the basics that pretty much covered everything.
My personal expectations stem from the fact that I am somewhat old-fashioned, raised in a household where we said "Yes, ma'am/sir" and "No ma'am/sir," and knew how to say "Please" and "Thank you." The words "Yeah," "Huh?" and "What?" were unacceptable. We didn't talk back to our elders; that was a sure way to a righteous butt-warming. We took care of our responsibilities or there were consequences. We were respectful to others. We were taught to leave an area a little better than we found it. We learned that personal business is personal.
As a parent, I am raising my children to follow these principles. As a teacher, I'm finding that more and more students are lacking in some of these things.
When I send home my parent letter, I explain to parents that I expect students to be respectful, hardworking, and responsible for their actions. I explain that I will hold students accountable for these things as well as their academics. I go further to say that if these expectations are unrealistic, I can be contacted for discussion. I've never had a parent contact me.
With all of that said, the first week of school is used not only to remind students of the school-wide plan, but what I will and will not accept as proper behavior in my room. Aside from the "Yes ma'am/sir" (They say "Yes.") and the "No ma'am/sir" (They say "No."), I hold them to the principles I learned as a child.
I do not yell at my students; in fact, I rarely raise my voice. I state the offense matter-of-factly and move on. I find that it's harder to argue with a tenet that is already in place.
Case in point, I had three children move their clips today for talking. I had already told the children to stop talking on two occasions. The third time was a strikeout, clip moved. I simply said, "_____, please move your clip to yellow. I've asked you twice today to stop talking." End of story. Done. No long tirades. No lecture. Fact stated; consequence given. And we moved on. Message received.
During the first two weeks I give my students two reminders before moving clips because I figure they are learning the routines the first week and the second week they may need reminders after the Labor Day holiday. Come the third week of school, there are no more reminders. I figure they should know by then.
When parents come for Parent Night, I reiterate my expectations. That way there is no confusion when little Johnny or Sally comes home with a note in his/her planner. (We use district-issued planners in my district. The students copy their homework and reminders into their planners. They also copy their behavior color for the day. (Each color is a different level of behavior. Green=a perfect day, Yellow=5 minutes off of recess, Red=10 minutes off of recess and a think sheet that must be signed by parents, and any color below (Pink, Blue, or Purple) equals no recess and varying levels of conferences between myself and parents and/or the principal.) Copying of the behavior color is not part of the school-wide plan, but I use it as an accountability tool for the students. I figure, if you did it, own up to it.
Now this is not to say that I'm a witch or a tyrant and that we don't have fun. On the contrary. Once the expectations are given an reinforced, we actually have more time to do the fun stuff.
Overall, I have a good bunch of children. There are a few that I will need to "sit" on because of talking or being very social. I have found over the years that being consistent in my expectations and consequences helps curb the unwanted behavior and we can get more accomplished.
What about you? What are your expectations for your students? How do you go about keeping an orderly room?
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