to each his own

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Home : 2004 : November : 8

to each his own
By ml

I really hate it when teachers tell you what the class is like behaviorwise, a lot of the time they are completely different and you end up being more on guard or edgy than you have to.

Start out with telling them what
your expectations are regarding behavior and rules, and tell them what they can expect from you if they are respectful to your needs (mention a couple of rewards they may receive like freetime, treats, or a nice letter to their teacher).
I use the stop watch method in the older grades, and immediately give them 15 mintues of free time for the end of the day. They like the fact that they

don't have to earn this time, and that I believe they are such a deserving class already. However they do have to work to keep these minutes.

During the course of the day when things are getting out of hand I press the stop watch, and it begins counting down, when things get quiet I stop the stopwatch. After a minute has gone by, I erase the fifteen minutes from the board and give them fourteen.

They are not allowed to win any of the minutes back once they are gone they're gone. It was a gift they were given and they have to respect it enough to take care of it. A whole minute can be lost immediately if they really get out of hand, or don't behave for another teacher, like music or PE.

During their free time they can do whatever they want as long as they are sitting and nothing is said above a whisper.

Remember the 3 f's flexible, firm, fair
Hope this helps for future groups of "heavenlies"