>
> Anyway, I have been very dismayed at my school's discipline
> system, which is heavy on teacher and administrative
> detentions. I view these as a) a punishment for BOTH
> teacher and student b) a complete waste of time and c)
> ineffective. Students don't seem to take them seriously
> and it doesn't seem to diminish the bad behavior. If
> anything, it makes them LESS likely to try harder in
> school...
>
Exactly. But that kind of enlightened analysis is sadly rare in
schools - I Welcome career changers as teachers. They often
bring the kind of "Hey, the emperor has on no clothes"
thinking. In short,you're right - there is NO study that shows
detention reduces bad behavior in a school population so -
what's the point?

A lot of what we do in schools doesn't have a real point...
schools are a lot of process and mostly just talk about outcome.
I'm coming in late on this discussion and don't know what grade
you're teaching - inner city kids are pretty strong. I'm not
sure I'd do the brainstorm into groups and have them determine
what is bad behavior though in general I like the idea and the
reality of a more democratic classroom. But even more I like
the idea that I'm the guide - I've got a lot of experience in
life - and tell them that and I tell them there's one rule and
it comes from Common Sense, not from me. What we do needs to be
safe. We don't come to school each day to not be safe. Your
parents send you here to be safe - even before learning (!!)
That usually gets the ears up - even before learning??

You can't learn if you're not safe - when we're not safe, we're
worried, not learning. So what we need to do in here is to keep
ourselves doing the things that help us all to be safe. Like of
course no running indoors - that's not safe, of course no
hitting - let's not even talk about that and we need to be
emotionally safe too. No hurt feelings. We're here to grow and
no one - including me the teacher - should make you feel
smaller. I want you to be proud of yourselves.

So I don't 'talk mean' to you - and of course you don't 'talk
mean' to each other. It's not what we do here. Oh, I know it's
done out there (dramatic wave of the hand in the general area
toward the door of the room) but not in here. In here is
somewhere different. And I want it to be something special.

I want you all to look forward to coming to school each day. I
do. I like being here - I really like being with all of you. I
want you to be happy to come to school each day and to leave
here each day looking forward to coming back the next day. I
will do everything I can to make this room, our home in school,
a special place where we're all safe and happy.

I can't do it alone though. I need your help. I don't need to
give you a list of things that aren't safe - you're smart. You
already know.

Let's get started on our great, safe school year.

That's my 'Harry Wong' type first day thing.

On the names - I tell them that's my first test. Help me to do
well like I'll help you to do well on your tests ( and I do but
that's another story) Please be patient with me just as I'll
always be patient with you.

Then make up name cards and every morning, just before lunch
and end of the day hold the cards in your hand. First time,
call the names, they raise their hand and you put the card on
their desk. Then - walk around, try not to look at the cards
but if you have to then certainly do and pick up each card from
each child's desk as you walk around. Next time, look at the
cards and see if you can place any without raised hands. Keep
count of how many and write the 'count' on the board each time.
It's very cool for the kids to see you in a learning task -
some times you'll remember a name and the next time you might
forget a name you think you already knew.

The cards help a lot. It also helps - me - to ask a child -
tell me the first letter of your first name. And I tell them
that until I learn their names they'll hear me saying
"sweetheart" to the girls a lot (and with the boys get happily
restless) but 'buddy' to the boys. And "If I start to call all
the boys 'sweetheart' and all the girls 'buddy" that means I
need a vacation but that's never happened and it won't this
year either."

That's my name thing.
>
> 1
>
> 3) Name game: You mentioned in a post that you play a
> name-game with them to learn their names. I had a devil of
> a time learning my kids names - I need a good way to come
> up to speed quickly on this....
>
> Thanks in advance for you help, and for all your helpful
> posts thus far.
>
> - J

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