MsCoffeeLover
01-13-2008, 08:09 AM
Okay, y'all, I am more lenient and easy going in the classroom, but there are certain things in which I am a stickler: Behavior outside of the classroom like in the hallway and at performances and the like.
My students are told all the time how they represent themselves, their parents, their school, and myself at all times. We have also had the discussion of being the "model" and not the "example" Those are nice things to say and do, but I will admit to putting a little more weight on this issue. Having previously worked at a military school, it is hard to let that go. That helps with a few things, but I am not at a military school anymore. My kids, however, walk inside the line closest to the wall, and their left foot can not go outside the line. Outside classroom behavior is just as important as inside classroom behavior, and there are consequences as such.
If a student is caught acting like a "heathen" in the hallway, they are most certainly going to get in trouble. The hallways are chaotic enough. Whenever we leave the cafeteria, the 8th graders bombard the hallways on both sides. You can't get through, and there are no 8th grade teachers out in the hallways to do anything about it.
Occasionally, we will see another class not acting the best, and I remind my kids not to EVER let me catch them acting like that. Other times, the kids will point out another class and call them the "example" and they can see it the differences in behavior.
Some of the things I do is create a line order because all the friends will get together and talk the entire time. They no longer walk in a relatively straight line but in sets of twos and threes taking up the entire hallway. We have to walk from a trailer to the inside of the building. There are nice lines in the parking lot, and we have practiced in the heat and cold (at the beginning of the year). They walk in a pretty straight line then.
What are some more positive things I can do about this? Recently, one of the 8th grade teachers complimented my kids and said we were the role model--which is the recognition we all need. She also asked if I would give the kids one of "star" rewards. The kids are going to get it, and that was a very positive thing.
Still, I want to be more positive about this and let a few things go because that certainly is the cause of much of my tension. I am in a good mood most of the time, but outside the classroom behavior will certainly change my mood. Something needs to be done.
We also got another compliment from another teacher in the trailer. Told the kids about the compliment and asked them why we had such a nice line order. They said things like line order or placement of boy/girl.
You know what I told the teacher and the kids: That I had a pretty good group of kids.
My students are told all the time how they represent themselves, their parents, their school, and myself at all times. We have also had the discussion of being the "model" and not the "example" Those are nice things to say and do, but I will admit to putting a little more weight on this issue. Having previously worked at a military school, it is hard to let that go. That helps with a few things, but I am not at a military school anymore. My kids, however, walk inside the line closest to the wall, and their left foot can not go outside the line. Outside classroom behavior is just as important as inside classroom behavior, and there are consequences as such.
If a student is caught acting like a "heathen" in the hallway, they are most certainly going to get in trouble. The hallways are chaotic enough. Whenever we leave the cafeteria, the 8th graders bombard the hallways on both sides. You can't get through, and there are no 8th grade teachers out in the hallways to do anything about it.
Occasionally, we will see another class not acting the best, and I remind my kids not to EVER let me catch them acting like that. Other times, the kids will point out another class and call them the "example" and they can see it the differences in behavior.
Some of the things I do is create a line order because all the friends will get together and talk the entire time. They no longer walk in a relatively straight line but in sets of twos and threes taking up the entire hallway. We have to walk from a trailer to the inside of the building. There are nice lines in the parking lot, and we have practiced in the heat and cold (at the beginning of the year). They walk in a pretty straight line then.
What are some more positive things I can do about this? Recently, one of the 8th grade teachers complimented my kids and said we were the role model--which is the recognition we all need. She also asked if I would give the kids one of "star" rewards. The kids are going to get it, and that was a very positive thing.
Still, I want to be more positive about this and let a few things go because that certainly is the cause of much of my tension. I am in a good mood most of the time, but outside the classroom behavior will certainly change my mood. Something needs to be done.
We also got another compliment from another teacher in the trailer. Told the kids about the compliment and asked them why we had such a nice line order. They said things like line order or placement of boy/girl.
You know what I told the teacher and the kids: That I had a pretty good group of kids.