Teacher A: "Every time there is noise in the hallway, we need to gather the students, leave the building and walk back in again in silence."Normally, I'll jump in on these debates; in fact, both of these valued colleagues have heard my opinion on using results-only learning strategies to solve the behavior problems that continue to plague them. This time, though, I said nothing.
Teacher B: "Back in my day, we used to take one kid and put him in front of the others and. . . ." (You can complete the sentence with whatever horrible, demeaning act that comes to mind.)
Teacher A: "We can't do anything too extreme now, but I'm telling you, if you make them do something over and over, until they say, 'Enough already,' things will change."
Teacher B: "I just don't know. . ."
I only pondered the conversation, wondering how long the traditionalists will continue to struggle.
I wanted to comment on the doing-it-over-and-over approach. I think it really matters what your intentions are. My 5th grade class was a bear in the hallway. So, we talked about why it was important to be mostly quiet in the hallway. I agreed that whispering shouldn't be a problem, and the students could see why I thought clogging the hall up with a huge bunch of people might not be safe at all times. I expressed my desire to be respectful of the learning going on in the other classrooms, and they thought of ways to appear respectful (and I agreed with them that we don't actually have to respect the other classes as long as we act as though we do).
ReplyDeleteAS A CLASS, they agreed with me that sometimes we forget how to behave and that practice isn't always a bad thing. By December, if we had a really loud, obnoxious walk through the halls they'd ASK for a redo. Since we also had several students with emotional development issues, practice helped them get themselves under control.
So, I agree that using repetition as punishment is a bad idea. But I think that using it to reinforce things we've agreed on as a group can be a helpful way to remind all of us what we're supposed to be doing. And I do call for a redo if they call me out on my own behavior. I don't have the quietest voice in the world, unfortunately!
P.W., I think you totally get the results-only approach. I'm completely on board with how you have handled your 5th graders. I think it's wonderful that they ask for a redo. There's nothing wrong with reinforcing what you and the students have agreed is the best way to behave.
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