My classroom is an extension of my home. It is a space in which I want all of my students to feel as comfortable and safe as possible, and to that end, I have a strict set of behavior rules by which I expect my students to abide. My classroom management style is two parts tough love, one part sarcasm. Luckily for me, I teach teenagers, and they seem to respond very well to this type of environment.
Classroom Rules:
1. Respect: Students may not say or do anything that is designed to make another student feel badly about themselves or their work. This rule is somewhat nebulous because it involves asking students to think about their intentions when they interact with each other. However, most fourteen-year-olds will be able to answer truthfully “yes” or “no” when you ask them if they are being respectful.
2. Safety: As an extension of rule 1, students are not allowed to say or do anything that will endanger the health or safety of themselves, each other, or the personal property of others. This includes but is not limited to physical contact of any kind, throwing objects through the air, or climbing on anything. (I have counters. Apparently they are tempting as jungle gyms.)
3. Language: There is a list of words that are not “swears” but that fall into a cultural gray area somewhere between right and wrong. These are words that are negative in nature, and I do not allow them to be used in my room. I have been asked by my students to post a list of these words so that they can avoid using them, but I have refused because I don’t want to look at them all day. Examples include (but are certainly not limited to) loser, freak, and “that’s so gay.” The kids catch on to this very quickly, and I don’t have much of a problem with it.
4. Don’t touch my stuff: ‘Nuff said.
5. iPad Etiquette: If I utter the words, “iPads in your docking stations,” students are to put their iPads, covers closed, in the top corner of their desks. They are not to touch them again until I give them permission. One of the challenges of 1:1 technology in the classroom is encouraging proper use of the devices while discouraging the use of Clash of Clans and Trivia Crack. By limiting their time and access during my lessons, I am able to keep the kids (at least marginally) more on task while they are using technology.
Geek-Teach Like a Boss 