What She Said....

I recently read this post from Germantown Avenue Parents' blog. Those behavior management tools - like the mentioned stoplight? Do they really help kids get behaviors on track?In my school, we are required to hang a pocket chart. Each child has an assigned number and flips cards through a series of colors - green to yellow to blue to purple to indicate the kind of day they are having.Who are we kidding with the numbered pockets?  It takes kids about an hour to know who is who.While I agree with giving students a visual reminder of their behavior accountability, I dislike having behaviors displayed publicly. Besides taking up valuable bulletin board space, it seems self-defeating.  And disrespectful.  Would you want YOUR bad day posted for all to see? Me either.What's a solution to this dilemma? I have a small, portable pocket chart that served the same purpose as the bulletin board display, but in a less public way. For my more challenging students, I maintain a periodic behavior chart which gets reviewed daily (or hourly sometimes). And for the status of the class - we can still hang out our class sign indicating our classroom community is having a 'great day', 'not-so-great day', or 'wish we could do-over' day.We can still help students get behaviors back on track. We just don't need to do it publicly.

The Beginnings, Again

This past Thursday - our last day of school with students - was bump up day.  And once again, for about the 28th time in my life, I started building a community with a group of 8-year olds.They look like an interesting group. Definitely some wigglers, some barometer kids, as the Sisters call them.  I've seen some of their second grade assessment data already and heard from a couple of their now-former teachers about social and learning issues to be aware of.Yet for the half-hour that we were together, I can see the possibilities of the community of learners that will become 3-207 starting August 28th.One of the best aspects of teaching is this cycle, this changeover and chance to do things again - with luck, even better this time around. I know I never get tired of the excitement of a fresh beginning, of the serendipitous opportunities that will lie ahead.This week we started a new building cycle again. Our future together is a gigantic unknown - exciting to think about and a bit scary at the same time.We begin. Again.