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Thinking about Rules
The class of nine- to twelve-year-olds was having trouble organizing itself into neatly
lined up teams for the next activity. I had already given them flags denoting the names
of their teams and had written the team names on the board. When one team finally managed
to form a line, I burst out, "Look at the Orange team! What a nice line! You get a
point!" The chalk mark on the board riveted the attention of the other teams.
"And you're quiet. One more point!"
In seconds, the other two teams magically lined up and stood at attention like soldiers.
"Wow, look at the Purple and Green teams! Such straight lines. You all get one point!
And everyone is so quiet. One more point!" Everyone was energized and focused before
we even started the game.
On my way home that evening, I thought about why that response had been successful, and,
more importantly, how I could replicate that success in different situations, such as in a
non-game context where there were no points as motivation. The first step seemed to be that,
rather than making behavior I as teacher felt was most appropriate for the activity at that
time--in this case, standing in line and listening quietly to my instructions--subject to
mere commands of the moment, it would be more effective to make that behavior part of "the
rules". In this way, students were motivated to behave not only at the beginning, but
throughout the game. This, I realized, was the second step, which is how to ensure that the
rules are effective.
What I'd like to do in this article is to briefly examine the nature of rules within the
classroom, and then to discuss different strategies for making them effective. As a note, I
use the term 'rules,' but one might also use 'classroom policy' or other terms. Because the
strategies can be applied to both isolated activities like a game or to long-term policies
like no name-calling, I've decided to use one term for the sake of simplicity.
Communication through Rules
One way to look at rules is as a way of communication between the teacher and the class. In
setting and enforcing rules, a teacher can convey expectations and values, while students
communicate in turn through how they respond to the rules. The older and better able to
communicate in English the students are, the more the rules can be negotiated among teacher
and students. I've sometimes let the class decide what the punishment should be for a certain
'crime' by giving them a choice from three, generally silly punishments, such as doing a
dance, so that the experience bonds the class in humor while highlighting the rule, rather
than making the student who has misbehaved feel unjustly picked on and friendless.
Having rules is of little use, however, unless they are effective. Three things help ensure a
rule's effectiveness: clarity, consistency, and commitment.
1. Clarity
Students must understand what the rule is, that it is a rule (applicable to all and not just
you being grouchy or having a grudge against the student, for example), and that there will
be consequences if the rule is broken. Some concepts, such as cheating, may be difficult for
younger children to understand, whereas others, like doing "original" work and not
copying, may be culturally based. Sometimes a student may stop doing something because you
look angry and not because he/she understands that that behavior was unacceptable and why.
One year I had a student who kept hitting me out of a sense of play. I sternly told him not
to do it several times, but the problem seemed to be that he couldn't understand that it hurt.
"Do what I do," said a friend of mine. "Cry." I don't remember exactly if
I cried, but I do remember that his advice reminded me to communicate in a way that is
meaningful to the students at their age and level of development and in the context of a
foreign language classroom.
Another problem was conveying the idea of "doing you own work," especially during
craft activities such as making Halloween masks. I would bring an example of, say, a jack
o'lantern mask, show various pictures of skeletons, ghosts, and witches, and encourage the
students to make a mask based on their favorite creature. And then I'd end up with ten jack
o'lantern masks.
"What you need to do is to show them that there can be more than one kind of mask,"
advised a colleague. "Why not take in two or three different sample masks?" That
made me see the situation in a new light: it was not that my students were unable to be
original, but that they didn't know they had permission to. I might think I was saying,
"Let's make a mask like this jack o’lantern one," meaning any type of mask
fashioned like the jack o’lantern one, but perhaps they were hearing, "Let's make a
jack o'lantern mask."
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