Class rules (long response)

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Class rules (long response)
By RebeccaK

About ten or so years ago I applied some ideas I'd learned in a "Quality School"-type conference in order to foster the sort of ownership you are referring to. At the time I had just finished a couple years of teaching primary
aged "severe behavior disorder" kids and was delighted to have an opportunity to try this with a class of less involved students.
It was very successful (until I was out for two months with back surgery - but that's another story LOL)
I approached this with a definite idea of what I wanted to be represented in the rules (safety, respect, that sort of thing) but - and this is

very important to me - I also did NOT want anything in there that was a policy and not a rule. For example, "raise your hand before speaking" is a policy as it is only applicable at certain times of the school day.

The class at first was very locked in to "be good" and "don't throw" types of ideas but with some guidance they gradually fine tuned it all into these three rules: 1. Be Safe. 2. Follow Directions. 3. Treat Yourself and Others Well. I've used these ever since (since then I've not had a classroom that could do what that long-ago class could!) Thus far nothing has ever happened that didn't fall under one of those rules. They are easy to remember, very clear (especially for younger kids or special needs kids) and they are not ambiguous or a "policy" that would be intermittently enforced.

As an aside, we also focused a lot on "Student Rights and Responsibilities." We have the right to a classroom where we can learn....We have the responsibility to act in a way that allows others to learn. That sort of thing. I have the whole list at school (along with the source) if you want it, it's pretty neat. The last one said "I have the right to all of these rights as long as I uphold all of my responsibilities." Might be too much though if you teach little ones.

Rebecca