No Star for Joo!
At work, there are things I can put up with from my kiddos and then there are things I cannot ignore. I run a reward system in my class - those who follow my expectations get a "star" on their chart. When they get a certain number of stars, they can pick out of the prize box. For those few who either choose not to or cannot follow my rules, they do not get stars. Pretty simple system.
Behaviors that earn stars (as defined by my kiddos): being good, listening, keeping my feet still, 'specting friends (respecting friends), no arguing with speech (that's me). I always ask the kids what they think are good rules for the speech room and they usually give me a pretty detailed list. Some kids just say "being good". When I ask, "Well, what does that mean?", I usually get a blank look and a shrug in return. When that happens, that's when I help out with the rules. Occasionally, I get kiddos who are obnoxious to the point that I find myself creating special and very specific rules such as "Keep fingers out of nose" and "No licking hands and then putting hands on teacher". After the rules comes the discussion about how you can earn a star and what happens if I have to remind you. For older kids, I don't give them reminders, but for younger ones, I allow one or two.
As my years of work increase, there are some things I'm more lenient about. I don't always insist that a student sit in his or her chair. Some kids simply can't work when they're restricted and they usually don't have the luxury of moving around while doing their work in the regular classroom. I'm also okay if kids don't call me by my last name - some of the younger ones I let call me "Jen", which sometimes comes out as "Sen", "Den", or "En". Other things, I've gotten more hardass about - like nose picking, fingers in the mouth, spitting, burping, or passing gas. Any one of those behaviors from ANY student of mine, regardless of age, results in a "no star" for the day. Some people think that's really harsh, but when did the shift happen from teaching children manners to letting them do whatever they wanted without consequences? Isn't being a good communicator also not offending your communication partners? What a concept!
Behaviors that earn stars (as defined by my kiddos): being good, listening, keeping my feet still, 'specting friends (respecting friends), no arguing with speech (that's me). I always ask the kids what they think are good rules for the speech room and they usually give me a pretty detailed list. Some kids just say "being good". When I ask, "Well, what does that mean?", I usually get a blank look and a shrug in return. When that happens, that's when I help out with the rules. Occasionally, I get kiddos who are obnoxious to the point that I find myself creating special and very specific rules such as "Keep fingers out of nose" and "No licking hands and then putting hands on teacher". After the rules comes the discussion about how you can earn a star and what happens if I have to remind you. For older kids, I don't give them reminders, but for younger ones, I allow one or two.
As my years of work increase, there are some things I'm more lenient about. I don't always insist that a student sit in his or her chair. Some kids simply can't work when they're restricted and they usually don't have the luxury of moving around while doing their work in the regular classroom. I'm also okay if kids don't call me by my last name - some of the younger ones I let call me "Jen", which sometimes comes out as "Sen", "Den", or "En". Other things, I've gotten more hardass about - like nose picking, fingers in the mouth, spitting, burping, or passing gas. Any one of those behaviors from ANY student of mine, regardless of age, results in a "no star" for the day. Some people think that's really harsh, but when did the shift happen from teaching children manners to letting them do whatever they wanted without consequences? Isn't being a good communicator also not offending your communication partners? What a concept!
posted by Notta Wallflower at 4:55 PM
11 Comments:
I say bravo. You are doing these kids a great service by teaching them how to behave decently, and their parents and other teachers should be doing the same. In past generations children were admonished for fidgeting. And if the parent wasn't there, the older sibling corrected them. I read all about it in "Little House on the Prairie." A little restrictive, maybe, but these people CARED.
Nothing wrong with a little reinforcement. Do you get to discuss their behavior with their parents?
Tessence - I know that I was never allowed to behave the way kids are behaving now. "Little House" - you mean the same "Little House" that I grew up with?
Jason - If the kids' behavior is out of hand, I discuss it with the parents by calling home. Sometimes they are embarrassed, but I think they should know if their son or daughter's behavior is getting in the way of their learning... or others' learning.
nose picking, fingers in the mouth, spitting, burping, or passing gas.
Definitely no stars for the techies I work with. :(
ZS - you may think I'm joking, but it's just awful. And I swear they know how to burp and fart at will. It's something I'm glad I never learned...
BTW - when I'm driving to work in the morning or go for coffee, I see people pick their noses. They don't even try to be discreet. What's up with that?
Julia - I work with kindergarten through sixth grade.
I know what you're thinking Julia, but with regards to the gas, I'm talking about purposeful expulsion of air. :-P And yes, I can tell when it's purposeful.
Justice - I know several people who feel the way you do. At times, I wonder why I continue. Really though, I do enjoy working with kids... if it was just as easy as that (without all the other bs).
Julia - Yeah, you have to be careful with fifth and sixth graders. Unlike a few of my peers, I am very careful about how I dress and making sure my door is open so people can see what I'm doing with the kids. I've never had anyone question me, but there's always a first time. :-/
Storm - Thanks. I have to admit I'm reaching my burnout point. It's a big reason why I'm using this year to see what else I want to do. We'll see what comes up.
Good for you! I'm sure some of those students will remember you and respect you into adulthood.
Kari - We'll see. Right now, most of them are doing well to remember my name instead of just calling me "speech". :-P
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