“Education
is a shared commitment between dedicated teachers, motivated students and
enthusiastic parents with high expectations.”
Bob
Beauprez
By
Tommie Saylor
Kennedy
High School Principal
Habits,
be it for good or for ill, are easy to establish. For this reason, I
beseech you to develop your classroom rules and procedures, placing a
tremendous amount of though behind your reasons, purpose and expected outcomes
of each rule and procedure. Then, to ensure your expected outcomes are
achieved, make sure you specifically, in great detail and without ambiguity or
inference, present your expectations to your classes and then immediately check
for understanding.
When
this has been accomplished, and you are absolutely certain that everyone completely
understands what you expect, prepare yourself for the first challenge. I
am not saying that you need to “make an example” of someone, yet understand
that the first challenge will come, and your reaction to this challenge will
send a message to your students that will set the tone for the rest of the
trimester, and perhaps the rest of the school year. When this challenge
comes, immediately stop what you are doing, because the few minutes you spend correcting
the situation will pay dividends “down the road”, for if handled properly, the
number and magnitude of future challenges to your rules and procedures will be
minor and few in number.
So,
stop what you are doing, face the violator, and follow the procedures you
formally explained to your students without showing anger or frustration, yet
remaining positive, polite, and respectful.
If,
according to your rules and procedures, the violation warrants a detention,
then inform the students that he/she has violated the procedure and that you
will be turning into the office a Disciplinary Referral, as well as making a
phone call home; and then follow through.
It
does not matter who violates the rules first, be it an “A” student or an “E”
student, a well-behaved “good” kid or a misunderstood kid, your reaction must
be the same, swift, emotionless, consistent and immediate. You must
ensure that the students understand, see and observe that your rules apply the
same to everyone, and that everyone is equally accountable.
Everyone
evaluates early challenges to the system. Very student is watching what will
result from this first challenge, and the students in all your other classes
will soon hear of this incident. Simply, you are in a “must win”
situation, and must do so while leaving intact the student’s dignity and sense
of self-worth.
If you are able to do this through the first week of school, then the second,
then the third, you will have established an organized “rule of law” climate
within your classroom where students feel that the rules apply evenly and
fairly to everyone, paving the way for a culture of learning to permeate
throughout. Remember, regardless of what the students say, they feel safe
and secure behind a well-established web of rules and procedures; essentially,
students crave order, and want to know that the rules apply evenly and fairly
to all.
With
this, let’s not forget the building level rules/procedures that helps to
maintain order throughout the school. Do not be the weak link, do not be
the one that students say, “well so-and-so doesn’t do that” or “so-and-so lets
us.” Failure on your part to uphold our most basic procedures, to uphold
our Pass procedures, Hall Sweeps, ID Cards and the like makes life harder for
your colleagues, destroys the students sense of security within the rules, and
breeds chaos.
Simply,
taking the easy way out by ignoring violations of our very own rules/procedures
may seem like the most diligent path at the moment, yet it cheapens us all in
the long run. Stand strong and stay the course in all your efforts. It will
allow the habit of success to find you.
What
starts here, changes the world.
Making
Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence by design.
