Can You Pass The Test

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It’s the first week of school. You are anxious to meet new students and spend the first days explaining rules, procedures and expectations. You devote time to reinforce, model, practice, and discuss your class rules and behaviors to establish a positive classroom culture. If you’re like me, you will give a test on Friday to ensure students understand all the expectations, consequences, and procedures.

However, if you want to sustain your established culture there’s one important test you will have to pass! Students will be prepared to test your boundaries. The question is…can you pass the test?

To prepare for your test, reframe how you approach teaching students your expectations. Think about your classroom culture from the vantage point of how you will ensure accountability. Are you prepared to hold students accountable for your expectations? What behaviors will you confront and which ones will you ignore?

Here are 4 tips to ensure you pass the test every time!

#1 Be consistent: When the test comes, reinforce and establish your behavior expectations regularly. Do this with consistency and students will realize they cannot push the limits because the consequences are always the same. If you have rules, but are inconsistent in enforcing them, students will learn they can test the boundaries with no consequences. You may have heard the adage, “People will consistently do exactly what you allow them to do.” When you permit students to break the class rules with no consequences, this behavior will be repetitive.

#2 Reflect: Monitor your own behavior and how you are modeling what you expect from students. I can remember very precise times when I allowed frustrations to impact my level of respect for students. I wasn’t modeling the behavior I expected from students. Will you let irritations and prior adverse situations with students’ impact future experiences? Will you be ready to admit mistakes, hold yourself accountable, and apologize when you’re wrong?

#3 Hold ALL students accountable: Make sure you have the same expectations regardless of a students’ social status, academic or athletic abilities, gender, race, religion or time of day you teach them. If you don’t hold everyone accountable, students will pick up on this. I’ve made the mistakes of failing to hold students in different class periods to the same level of accountability. This comes back to cost you instructional time and frustration in the end.

#4 Differentiate: Learn what works for individual students through building relationships. Make your expectations clear and set them high, but understand that every consequence will not suffice for every student. An effective consequence for some students may be a phone call home. For other students, there may be no working number to call. Eliminating an activity or a privilege for one child might be useful; however, it may not impact another student at all. It will take creativity to understand what works to hold all students accountable.

If you pass the test, students will learn how to respect you and each other. Your classroom culture will be a safe space for students to learn and grow. Students like structured environments and knowing exactly what to expect in your classroom. This year your students will make mistakes and test the boundaries. However, if you pass the test and hold them accountable through consistent expectations and consequences students will feel more secure, confident, and engaged in learning.

4 Ways To Make This First Assignment Last All Year

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August is when teachers everywhere begin to think about lesson ideas for those first days of school. We plan our rules, procedures, and first assignments.

SURPRISE… this year I have planned your first assignment for you with few rules or restrictions!

This first assignment allows students to be creative. There is no rubric or specific guidelines. Simply, assign each student a person on the #perseverance list. Instruct students to design a poster (any size) and a (2-minute) presentation that demonstrates how the individual persevered through adversity. For many students, this is an excellent opportunity to introduce or review what “adversity” and “perseverance” mean. Once students have an understanding of the expectations, allow them to go forth and be creative!

This assignment serves many purposes.

First, you may have noticed the hashtag #PERSEVERANCE is on the assignment. You can allow students to create a #hashtag about their individual. It could be something that represents the person, what he or she would say, or a way to remember the person today. Direct students to include their #hashtags on their poster. Once all students have presented, the class can vote for their favorite #hashtags. This could be your class motto for the year and help create your classroom culture and community.

Second, this is an excellent formative assessment to understand student research, writing, and communication skills at the beginning of the year. It will encourage creativity and enable students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understandings. Also, you can examine how students conduct research, their communication and presentation skills, as well as their proficiency with technology, etc.

This first assignment will help you assess each child’s proficiencies and areas of improvement.

Third, this is a great character lesson for students at the beginning of the year. It’s an excellent method of teaching students how they can overcome difficulties and be successful. It’s possible that students may have faced tremendous hardships over the summer. This assignment could be what they need to give them hope. Students also need to understand that assignments and tasks this upcoming year will be challenging. There will be days that may test their patience and dedication. At times they may feel like giving up. During these moments, students can remember the lessons of bravery, courage, and strength from this assignment and apply them to their own lives, despite their circumstances. They can persevere through difficult assignments, challenging situations, and the circumstances that life may bring them.

Fourth, use this assignment to encourage yourself, students, and the class as a whole throughout the year. Come back to the #hashtags and life lessons these individuals have taught us. Keep the students’ posters around the room throughout the year. When students face difficulties, use the teachable moments of #perseverance as encouragement.

I have another surprise for you, but you will have to wait. At the end of this year, I’ll share the follow-up with you on my blog!

If you try this assignment in your class, please share it with me. Send me pictures of the posters, #hashtags and the class mottos. If students are age appropriate, have them share it on social media using their #hashtags. Can we start a #perseverance movement in classrooms?

I think students and teachers could all use a little more encouragement right now!

Why Our Students Need More Hummingbirds This Year

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Are you a bird watcher?

Do you ever take the time to watch birds and what they eat and how they take care of each other? Have you ever seen a group of vultures swarming over a road or field?

Vultures prey on dead things and have a very keen sight. They can spot dead animals from miles away.

In contrast, if you have ever noticed a hummingbird, they fly over landscapes with flowers and seek out the sweet things in life. In their travels, over a variety of landscapes, both vultures and hummingbirds fly over thriving and deceased plants and animals. However, they seek out exactly what they are looking for.

As humans, we are no different. There are hummingbird type of people and there are vulture type of people. Some constantly gravitate to the negative. Others consistently see the positive side of life. If you have a negative mindset, then depressing things are exactly what you will find. On the other hand, if you seek the positive and believe good things will happen, they will automatically come to you.

Every time my seven year has an attitude or becomes angry; I simply ask him, “Are you going to be a hummingbird or a vulture today?” He often doesn’t respond, but usually, the anger subsides. I ask him to reflect on his perspectives when certain resistances surface.

I now make this a consistent question, even for myself to reflect upon daily. I too, need to make an intentional effort to be the hummingbird. We could all take time to evaluate our thoughts daily and ask this simple question: “Am I being a vulture or a hummingbird?”

As educators across the country are returning to school this month, you must be keenly aware of your mindset toward your school, students, and communities you serve. A new school years mean new changes, new transitions, new students and new beginnings.

It’s during this time of transition, that you can find yourself drawn to the negative. You may expect the behavioral student to act the same as the previous year. Then there are staff meetings. You know, the ones at the beginning of the year you expect to be boring and long. It’s easy to anticipate the lack of time granted to decorate your classroom before open house. It’s easy to develop a vulture-like mindset during the beginning of school because change and transition are often scary for teachers. Teaching is a complex process and no day is ever the same, but your perspective is up to you. No matter the time of year, your administration, schedule changes that may arise, or who you have in your class……..take time to reflect on your attitude.

There are obstacles and opportunities every single day. As you walk back into your classroom for a new year, I ask you to reflect on your perspective. How will you choose to approach the staff meetings, the days before Christmas break, your attitude toward challenging students, the parent conferences, losing your planning period to fill in as a sub, testing and list goes on?

I challenge you this year to reflect on what it is you’re looking for each day. Choose this year to be the hummingbird! Look for the good, focus on the positive, and you just might find something sweeter than you ever imagined!

~Justyn Knox is the founder of Bringing Learning to Life. For more information visit www.bringinglearningtolife.com