The one rules that comes to my mind which I've seen posted and having to be resolved when it was broken by a student is that of respecting other students. It's worded something like, 'I will be respectful to others.' During a homework period where students were able to work in teams or individuals without teacher's guidance I had one of the students come up to me as I was wandering around the class looking for kids to help. The student was crying and when I asked him what was wrong, he told me the kids were making fun of him because he had bad handwriting. Before I could offer any condolences the teacher stepped in and asked to speak with him. Apparently she had witnessed and heard the entire interchange between said student and three other students which involved a blatant show of disrespect and breaking of the respect rule. This crying student did have some bad handwriting and the 4 boy group he was working with told him they couldn't read his handwriting because it was so bad. Taking offense to this critique the boy lashed out at the other 3 boys, calling them "freaking idiot jerks". Obviously this showed a blatant disrespect for others and despite him being pushed to emotional tears he was still made responsible for this disrespect. He had his own side to the story which the teacher determined did not warrant the name calling of the other kids. And so he came out the worse for wear, being emotional pushed to the edge and getting a talking-to by the teacher. In this case the teachers verbal lashing was enough to enforce the rule and discipline of her disapproval was enough to shock all involved to respecting as evidenced by all parties having to issue apologies and explain their actions.
I have seen another class rule which states no recess if their homework has not been completed. In this case it's black and white. If their homework did not get turned in on time, their name goes on the board. When bell rings for recess the teacher reads out loud the names of all kids who are not allowed to go to recess. The kids know who they are even before the bell rings. Instead of recess they are required to stay in the classroom and work on their homework. Of course this isn't such a bad punishment if the weather is cold outside. But either way it's a set fast rule and quite easy to enforce and in the end has a great outcome. I imagine some children don't have the home environment (privacy, quiet time, overwhelming family responsibilities) where they can get any work done outside of school. In this case, this rule works to their favor.
- What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?
The most effective procedures I've seen the teachers use to make the classroom run smoothly are 1. Posted rules (clear expectations) 2. Consistent enforcement of those rules 3. Set schedule and routine 4. Utilizing the microphone when speaking to the class as a whole.
1. When the rules are posted around the room, the children are constantly reminded of what they can or cannot do without consequence.
2. When those rules are enforced consistently and without favoritism the children understand no one is above the rule of law and work to stay within that framework.
3. Children are creatures of habit and work best when they memorize and stick to a schedule. Routines, including classroom work and functions/procedures are followed and memorized thereby allowing students to stay "in-line" during the day.
Finally, the utilization of the microphone has allowed the teachers to create a culture of command presence with their voice, often previously only reserved for large male teachers. The booming microphone projects to teach students. Thus, not only the ones who are hard of hearing can hear and react but those who might otherwise be distracted by other students, can hear and remain guided by the higher volume of the speaker instructions.
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