School stuff
The big thing about teaching in an elementary school is having a behavior plan. This tells what rules are expected to be followed, and what consequences will result in what order if those rules are broken. The first one is usually a warning and the last one is a trip to the principal's office. I have a few behavior plans that I wrote for school and student teaching and I've been thinking about it for weeks now. This is what I've decided and I hope it doesn't blow up in my face:
If my first consequence is a warning, then every student can act up once a day every day and not have any consequences. I could spend my whole day issuing warnings. I decided I'm not giving warnings for first offenses. I'm also not following a set list of consequences. I will decide the consequence based on the action. I do not want to be constantly looking at some chart to see whether this action requires a detention or call home. I think this will work better with my personality. The other teachers will not have similiar plans so I hope it doesn't cause any problems.
The first week of school should be all about procedures. Before any lessons can begin, students need to know what the expectations are. I have been writing up procedures for anything I can think of, so I can explain these during the first week. Things like asking to use the rest room, or sharpening a pencil, or what parts of my desk are off limits to students. All the little details that people don't normally think about. Once I get this squared away then I can start working on my lesson plans. I am counting down the days until August 7th, when I can step into my classroom and take a look around and take a deep breath.
If my first consequence is a warning, then every student can act up once a day every day and not have any consequences. I could spend my whole day issuing warnings. I decided I'm not giving warnings for first offenses. I'm also not following a set list of consequences. I will decide the consequence based on the action. I do not want to be constantly looking at some chart to see whether this action requires a detention or call home. I think this will work better with my personality. The other teachers will not have similiar plans so I hope it doesn't cause any problems.
The first week of school should be all about procedures. Before any lessons can begin, students need to know what the expectations are. I have been writing up procedures for anything I can think of, so I can explain these during the first week. Things like asking to use the rest room, or sharpening a pencil, or what parts of my desk are off limits to students. All the little details that people don't normally think about. Once I get this squared away then I can start working on my lesson plans. I am counting down the days until August 7th, when I can step into my classroom and take a look around and take a deep breath.
posted by Mrs.B at 11:43 AM
3 Comments:
I hope that one of the things you will review with the kids is your policy of no warnings; I can't think of anything more stressful for a kid (or for me) than not having a clue what might set Teacher off.
I've always thought that students shouldn't get a warning (a freebie, actually) for breaking a known rule. After day one, they should know that you have to ask to get out of your desk, not chew gum, be prepared for class, whatever your rules are. You break one of the "class rules" and you get the 1st step of consequences. However, if a student does something that's not specifically covered in the rules, then I feel a warning is in order. The first time. If it becomes an everyday occurance, the warning goes away.
I agree with you both. I'm not doing away with warnings, I just want the flexibility to decide upon a consequence that fits the action.
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