September - Relationships

At the beginning of the year, I always reflect - what worked really well and what didn't work from year to year. This definitely includes building relationships and it is by far the most important thing I'll do all year. When I took my undergrad classes, we used The First Days of School by Harry Wong. Routine, practice and more practice are the keys to having a classroom run smoothly. Students need to know what to expect. The students really need to know what those classroom expectations are from the start.

One of our first community meetings, we sat down together and shared behavior plan ideas, coverage of hallways and vowed to stay consistent. I can honestly say, a quarter in, we really have made our best effort to follow through on our plan.

The video Every Kid Needs A Champion should be shown every year at the teacher kick off. I have probably seen it five times and every time it reenergizes me. It is a fantastic reminder of so many things. In my classroom, I would say being honest is how I keep my students behaving. I don't know if I could explain it in a blog. I tell them how it is. I tell them if they want privileges from me, then they have to work for me. If they want to use the restroom, work in collaboration rooms, freedom to work on projects in common area, student choice, then they have to work when expected.  I'm not sure it is that simple. I'm just honest with them.