By starting home phone calls so quickly, she generally has only positive comments to make––usually kids are on their best behavior on the first days of school!  This gets her off on the right foot with the parents of these kids.  Not only does she gain insight from the parent’s perspective regarding each child, this first phone call puts the parents in a positive frame of mind toward the teacher. Many parents have never received such a phone call or ever been asked how their child feels about coming to school. They immediately feel connected to a teacher who is showing interest in the parent’s viewpoint.  Often, the parents themselves will then bring up behavior concerns they have at home which easily opens the doorway for future productive communication about what is happening at school.

By keeping in close contact and phoning about only positive things very early in the year, she establishes strong relationships with these families.  The parents know that she likes their child. Then, when that inevitable problem comes, she’s already established that she’s interested in the welfare of the child.  Parents see her as an ally, not an enemy. She gets incredible support. She can be honest and frank but the parents know that she wants the very best for their child.

Another thing she began to do last year––and I followed suit because I saw it brought such great benefits in creating a positive relationship with parents––is phoning each time a child goes up a reading level after a leveled book test. Often we phone at noon and simply leave a message if the parent isn’t home:  ”Just phoning with some good news.  Johnny had a little reading test and went up a level today. Thanks for your help at home. It’s really paying off for Johnny!”

Now we routinely make these “reading phone calls” because:

1. Not only do we have purely positive news to share each time we phone (the child is moving forward in reading.)

2. But we also are able to help the parent become a better reading coach for their child. We pass on a little tip or two during the conversation that will help the parent support the child in some small way. For instance, we might remind them that following the reading of a book, they might ask their child to retell the story or answer a few comprehension questions. Or we might explain that we’ve pointed out to the child how to read with expression when a word is printed in italics or bold font. The kids become better readers when both parent and teacher focus on the same skills. Even parents who didn’t initially read with their children on a consistent basis began to do so after getting one or two of these phone calls!  The phone calls not only motivated the children to make progress in reading, it motivated the parents to make reading with their child a nightly habit!

These phone calls take time but I’m certainly convinced that they’re worth the effort. Like I said, when the parents then are faced with hearing about a behavior problem, they are more interested in working with us because they trust us from past experience. I don’t think I would ever consider writing or emailing home about problems.  Written words don’t always convey the teacher’s genuine concern for the child. We come across as more “human” on the phone!  In my experience phone calls get better results than writing.

Here’s the gist of his ideas regarding good intentions:

As adults we should actively look for times when a child is displaying or expressing good intentions––and then we should nurture those intentions.  Despite the fact that the young person may NOT be able to carry out their good intentions, and that the situation may actually turn out negatively in some sense, we can applaud their initial desire to do the right thing.  By pointing out that the intention was good, we can encourage the child to keep aiming in the right direction––the direction of following their conscience to do the right thing.

Of course this sounds like a sensible approach to working with people but it’s often the opposite of what we teachers actually do!

Often we discount good intentions if a child doesn’t follow through on them––and so lose the opportunity to influence and encourage a child to continue to AIM in the right direction.  Gordon points out that if a person isn’t AIMING in the right direction, he’ll never get to where he’s going.  So what could be more important than AIMING?  AIMING is a critical part of getting somewhere!

Regardless of how the immediate situation actually works out, it’s the AIMING that we should take care to nurture.  Over time, we will have an impact.  If we can convince a student to continue to AIM in the right direction, then one day––when they have developed the maturity that will enable them to follow through successfully on their good intentions––they’ll more often achieve the results we all hope for by actually DOING the right thing.  Gordon teaches that when a child displays good intentions, it’s our job to focus on those intentions and highlight the importance of them.

I found these ideas regarding good intentions to give me a lot of relief.  Before I understood these ideas, I always felt that as a good adult, it was my job to more or less berate a child who goofed up!  I hope you understand what I mean by this.  I felt that if a child said that they had really wanted to do something the right way, it was my job to point out that that didn’t count if the end result was that they had goofed up.

Since receiving the ideas I’ve shared above, I feel free to take on a much more positive approach to situations in which a child has goofed up.  That’s a great relief.  I can see that my job is not to berate or correct them in any way but to empathize with them and believe in them, thus encouraging them to try again.  I can reinforce my belief in them––that one day they will be able act appropriately in certain situations.  As Neufeld says,  I can keep encouraging them “to aim.”  I can put myself in the position of the coach who will cheer for them and help them as they move closer to their goals.  I don’t have to approve of their behavior but at the same time, I don’t have to dwell on their failures or try to teach them what to do better.  They already know what they need to do.  I simply have to encourage them to aim, thus nurturing their good intentions.

I can give you an example of how these understandings helped me with one student currently in our grade one class.  We have a little fellow this year who can only be described as a little monkey!  Surely, you know the type!  (Well, my principal actually calls him a little turkey but he means the same thing!!)  He’s quite a charming little fellow but he’s always pushing the limits and getting into trouble.

Early in the year, some older children taught him a few choice words which he used liberally out on the playground.  Of course, news of this kind of talk always spreads fast and he ended up in our principal’s office.  I took him over myself!  On the way over, we discussed inappropriate Level B behavior and he told me that he had not wanted to say these words in the first place, that he thought he was simply saying them in his head and didn’t realize that other people could hear him. He said he planned never to say these words again!

That was my opportunity to preserve the relationship and nurture his good intentions (as I had learned from Gordon) by saying that I believed him and that although he had goofed up and I couldn’t expose other children to the possibility of this particular kind of language at the moment, we could get past this event.  Then, rather than focusing on how he had goofed up and coming up with negative consequences, I simply felt free to encourage him to aim again.

I reinforced my belief in him by saying that I thought he certainly could live up to his good intentions by not letting those words come out of his mouth again.  I expressed that I was sure he could hold to that good intention.  Then I simply gave him a little hug and explained that whatever happened in the office, we could get past it and he’d be welcome back in the classroom to take another shot at talking appropriately with others.

Ever since becoming acquainted with DWS, I have felt that although students need to be aware of Level A and B, the key is really for the teacher to put the greatest energy and focus on Level C and D and the difference between these two acceptable levels.  This summer, the understandings I received from Gordon Neufeld really helped me understand why this is so. He gave me a way to respond to certain situations of misbehavior with positivity––another crucial part of Discipline without Stress.

For the month of June Darlene and I decided to work with our grade one class to create a musical circus performance for our school.  We knew it was a crazy time of year to do a major production but earlier in the year we’d promised the kids that we would make a circus in May.  When various school-wide plans interfered with that timing, we felt we had to keep our promise and do the circus show in June.

We gathered all the costumes and circus music we could find.  Kids signed up for at least two parts each.  We had a lion, a tiger and an elephant (and of course, their trainers!)  We had a troupe of four dogs and their master, Heidi!  We had two ticket sellers, a tightrope walker, six clowns, seven acrobats, five beautiful bareback (hobbyhorse!) riders etc. etc. You get the idea!  Along with all the other year-end duties in June such as report cards and classroom clean up, a Tea for Parent helpers etc., a circus added to our to-do list was a bit much.  Just organizing the costume and make-up changes was a nightmare alone!  We were tired!

One thing that took a lot of time was creating the props and decorations for the show. We invented a way to make plates twirl on a pole for the “Shanghai Plate Twirlers,” sewed a tutu and made a miniature flowered umbrella for Tina, the tightrope walker.  We turned a puppet theater into a ticket booth and decorated the gym by having the students paint life-size clowns and a “Welcome to the Circus” mural.  We found out that it’s a lot of work to run a circus when there are only two roustabouts!

Although we did have a lot of fun and our students were very excited about our upcoming circus, in the days leading up to the real shows, Darlene and I were no longer tired––we were exhausted.  Needless to say, we were just barely holding it together.  One of the major frustrations was that most of our homemade props were quite fragile.  After we’d re-glued and re-hammered the “twirling plates” on to the doweling many days in a row, the whole idea of plate twirling and circus-making was quickly losing its appeal for us!

One afternoon in the last week, we were having a final rehearsal in the gym.  The kids who weren’t actually performing at any one time were seated at different heights around the floor space.  We had a variety of stools, boxes, short stepladders etc. for them to sit on to make the backdrop of the circus more visually interesting.  On this day, one of our cutest, youngest and most playful “dogs” was seated on the highest two-level box.  Of course, he couldn’t manage to sit still and over he went, off the box, onto the floor, landing on the strongman’s most fragile (and most difficult to repair!) set of 1000 kg dumbbells––snapping the pretend weight off on one end!

Immediately, our little dog ran over to tell us what he had done and in looking in the direction in which he indicated, I immediately saw a problem that would result in yet another repair job.  In frustration, I let out an audible groan and sigh, which I instantly regretted as I saw his little dog eyes fill up with little dog tears!   With only the slightest of pauses––in which I could tell she was deliberately searching for something positive to say––Darlene pointed out,  “Well, thank you for doing the right thing.  You came right over to tell us when you broke something.”  Immediately, the tears were gone.  Relief and a happy look returned to his little dog face as off he went to climb back up on to his post to sit quietly for the next act.  All I could think of was how lucky I was to have a quick-witted partner who could jump in to to save the situation and make everything right again for this little fellow.

This is just a little story, but I think it highlights an important DWS skill––finding a positive response even though the situation might be negative.  As Dr. Marshall points out, “People do better when they feel good.”  In this particular incident, what good would have come from focusing on the fact that this little dog didn’t sit as still as was expected?  Of course, nothing productive could have come from it and we would have all felt worse, rather than better, at the end of it.  I know that in time, this dog will eventually develop the maturity that allows him to sit as still as all the other dogs, but it’s TIME––not negative discipline–-that will accomplish this.

For me, it was a good lesson in keeping my priorities straight too––people and their feelings are more important than things.

It featured the following quote that spoke of an ancient form of what I would call “discipline positivity!”

In the Babemba tribe of South Africa, when a person acts irresponsibly or unjustly, he is placed in the center of the village, alone and unfettered. All work ceases, and every man, woman and child in the village gathers in a large circle around the accused. Then each person in the tribe, regardless of age, begins to talk out loud to the accused, one at a time, about all the good things he has done in his lifetime. Every incident that can be recalled with any detail and accuracy is recounted. All his positive attributes, good deeds, strengths and kindness are recited carefully and at length. The tribal ceremony does not cease until everyone is drained of every positive comment s/he can muster about the person in question. At the end, the tribal circle is broken, a joyous celebration takes place, and the person symbolically and literally is welcomed back into the tribe. (Author, Alice Walker)

Click here to read the interesting blog comments of Alyson Schafer, a Canadian psychotherapist.

Because young people are no different than adults in this respect, one of the three principles that form the foundation of the Disicipline without Stress Teaching Model is Positivity.

Dr. Marshall reminds teachers to develop a coaching mindset from which misbehavior is viewed as the child’s best effort in THAT moment to fix a frustration.  He suggests that teachers word all their communications in a positive way.  In other words, a goal for DWS teachers is to train themselves to consciously choose positive wording in every situation––even discipline situations that would typically be perceived as negative.  Although developing this skill initially can be a challenge for most teachers, becoming more positive in our teaching holds enormous benefits for students and teachers alike.

Another important aspect of the Positivity Principle is for the teacher to proactively create a positive classroom environment in which students are so involved in their learning that they have little desire to misbehave.  It makes sense!  Why would a child want to misbehave when they’re engaged in meaningful tasks, familiar with the highest level of the DWS Hierarchy (acting with internal motivation,) and fun activities are routinely included in lessons?

As we start back to school for another new year, I thought I’d share one small way I incorporate some laughter and fun into my own elementary school teaching.

Over the years I’ve collected a large number of riddles suitable for younger children.  Each September I xerox these riddles onto a variety of colored papers, cut the riddles apart and fold each one in half.

Some years I store the riddles in a brightly decorated box and have the kids pull out one or two whenever we have a moment to spare.  Often this might be at the end of the day or in that minute before the bell rings for lunch time.  Depending on the age of the children, I might read the riddle to the class myself or turn that job over to the child.  If no correct guess has been made after three tries, we simply share the answer.

Then I always take a moment to ask why the riddle is funny.  Experience has shown me that little kids will laugh uproariously over a riddle answer even if they don’t understand the humor! They simply know that all punch lines are supposed to be followed by a laugh.  Over the course of a year, this little activity provides many opportunities to discuss double meanings of words, puns, famous sayings etc. I find that sharing riddles makes the kids more creative and flexible in their thinking, so our daily joke session is educational as well as fun.  It offers a bit of reading practice too for those old enough!

Other years, I have created a “job” in my classroom as Class Comedian.  Each student becomes our Comedian for a week at a time, taking home an envelope of 5 riddles in order to practice reading them.  This is always one of the most appealing jobs in the classroom.

If you are currently a teacher who substitutes in other people’s classrooms, you may find that these riddles are useful to you as well.  Most well-prepared “guest teachers” that I know tend to carry a positive bag of tricks with them wherever they go!

Click here for a PDF of My K-5 Riddle Collection

Some related posts featuring the Principle of Positivity:

Using a positive challenge!

I need help with positivity.

A DWS Mindset: Misbehavior as an Opportunity to Learn

Improving the Quality of Homework

Focusing on the positive!

In previous years when we’ve had a new addition to our class, we’ve sometimes experienced the following problem:  If the new youngster starts to feel anxious and begins to cling to Mom when it’s time for her to leave, we’ve been surprised to see that there have always been one or two other kids in the class who start crying and clinging to their moms too!  I guess it’s a sympathetic reaction;  they must pick up on the new child’s anxiety and it makes them feel nervous or scared too.  Whatever the reason, it’s been a rather negative experience for all––just at a time when one would hope to create a positive atmosphere of  welcome.

She started the meeting by explaining that a new boy would be joining our class.  She asked the kids to imagine what it might feel like to be in his shoes.  Had they ever experienced something similar––a time when they were new to a group?

Then she brought out our DWS Hierarchy chart.  ”How might various people, operating at different levels of the Hierarchy, handle this out-of-the-ordinary situation?” she inquired.  She guided the discussion with questions and together they arrived at the following descriptors for behavior at each of the four levels:

Level A

• being mean to the new child,  perhaps teasing etc.

Level B

• not looking very pleasantly at the child
• ignoring the child altogether
• imitating clingy behaviour which upsets everyone in the class

Level C

• being polite to the child in class (when adults are present,) but essentially ignoring the child on the playground

Level D

• going out of your way to say hello
• telling the new person your name
• smiling at the new person
• inviting the newcomer to join in at lunch and recess
• offering help when the new child seems confused about routines etc.
• understanding that the new child may feel sad to be left in a new classroom––but not imitating that behavior
• offering friendship to the newcomer

At the end of the meeting she asked the children to keep this discussion in mind and to think about which level they wanted to operate on the following day when the new boy arrived.

The results of this meeting were great!  Not only did we avoid a problem we had encountered several times before, but we noticed that kids were shyly taking the initiative to say hello and introduce themselves in the cloakroom––even before the new student had been officially introduced.  We’ve never seen that happen before!

This week I tried using Sherry’s idea in my grade one classroom.  Here’s one example:

Two boys sat down on the carpet near each other as we were getting ready to read a story. The boys weren’t right beside one another; there was a space between them.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a third boy was coming nearer, with a plan to sit in the space.  As the third boy got closer, the first two quickly moved together, obviously shunning the new boy.

After asking them to identify their level of operation in this instance and having them explain why they saw themselves at that level, I did as Sherry suggested and offered them a chance “to raise their behavior to a higher level.”  I said we could try the whole scene once again, but this time we would try it at Level C.

I asked the third boy to move away again and the first two boys to sit as they had been originally.  I asked them to think about what they could do this time that would put them at a higher level.  I gave them a moment to think and then asked if they were ready.  When they said, “Yes,” I directed the third boy to approach them again.

This time the two boys moved over a bit to ensure that the third boy had ample room to sit down.  Then one of them said, “Come on, Dylan, sit here with us.”

We talked for a minute, comparing how it feels inside to push someone away, with the feelings that result when we generously welcome someone.   I gave Dylan a chance to say how he had felt, in both the first and second scenario––once when he was shunned and once when he was welcomed.

Another thing we could have discussed would have been the difference between Levels C and D.  Level D actions would have looked the same, the two boys welcoming the third––but the motivation and initiative would have come from the two boys involved––rather than from me, the teacher.

Then I reminded them that the level of someone’s operation is a choice.  People can choose to act on any one of the four levels.  I left them with the idea that another time when they saw someone approaching them, they could consciously choose the level from which they wished to respond.

At the end of this experience we were all left with a positive feeling––the third boy was properly welcomed and the first two boys were given an opportunity to see how their impulsive actions had affected someone else. They were given a chance to reflect on which feels better––operation at Level B or Levels C/D?  Instead of leaving the two boys to feel badly about what they had done––and they did feel badly, because they’re usually two of the nicest boys in my class!––they were left with the uplifting feeling that they really did know how to operate on a higher level.  I think it gave them an opportunity to think about what kind of people they want to be in the future.

Dr. Marshall encourages adults “to view misbehavior as an opportunity to learn.”

Sherry’s use of role-play sends exactly the same message to students:

Acting in an unacceptable way is not something that adults will allow in the classroom, but at the same time we won’t hold what you’ve done against you.  Instead of getting angry, we will provide you with an opportunity to learn that it actually feels better inside to behave in an acceptable way than it does to misbehave.  We have faith in your ability to learn to make good choices.

DR. MARSHALL’S RESPONSE:
A class meeting is a good start for the students.

But the problem is also an instructional one––there are some things that the teacher should not do and can do.

First, some things not to do:

DO NOT COLLECT anything within the first five minutes––this includes homework, lunch money, permission slips, etc.

DO NOT HAND ANYTHING OUT within the first five minutes.

DO NOT TAKE ATTENDANCE within the first five minutes.

DO NOT START A LESSON WITH THESE WORDS, “Take out your books.”

Today’s students live with remote controls in their heads. These controls have three switches: participate, apathy, and disrupt. Any of the above “dont’s” are more likely to prompt the second or third options.

Instead strategically plan for instruction:

Find one thing in your planned lesson that energizes or excites you. Then ask yourself what you can do to catch the students’ interest. The more unique the better! For example, assume you are teaching science and the lesson has to do with weather. Bring an egg and a bucket to class. Stand on a chair with an egg in your hand. Drop the egg. Ask the class why the egg fell. Obviously, the more outlandish or foolish your action, the more attention you will get and the less the students will want to miss your opening.

In this example, students will answer, “gravity.” Ask why didn’t the egg did not fall sideways. Legitimatize all answers, i.e., accept them all; don’t make fun of any.

If a student answers that the egg is heavy, then ask why a feather falls, and then the key question, “Why don’t clouds fall?”

The purpose of exercises like these is to create “killer questions”––those that prompt curiosity––not to pass a test or for some other external reason but one that students want to know for themselves.

I used to start my social studies classes showing a cartoon using an overhead projector. In English classes, have students do a “show and tell” the first few minutes. Then have students write on what they have seen or can learn from it.

Creating teaching ideas is what makes preparing for teaching so much fun.

The point:  Start every lesson with something that creates curiosity. Then watch how your students get to your class on time.

More is in the book under, “Sponge Activities.” In addition, “REDUCING TARDIES” has its own section with additional suggestions, starting on page 207.

——
P.S. Clouds do fall.  It’s called precipitation.

Here is my latest success:
Last Friday, three third graders left their homeroom in route to my class (science) and on the way, chose to yell and scream and play an impromptu game of tag. (At my school, we don’t walk the kids from class to class, and all the classroom doors lead outside, so they were coming across the playground.) Upon hearing the commotion, their homeroom teacher flew out of her room and wound up in front of mine, fuming at the gall of these kids.

Since she got there first, I let her handle it. She said, nearly yelling, “Which one of you children decided to act like a preschooler and run and yell while you were coming over here?!?  I’ll stand here and wait until whoever it was comes forward!” And of course, no one moved a muscle because they could see how angry she was.

She went on and on about acting like wild animals, what the other teachers would think if they saw them, etc. It was clearly ineffective because after 3 minutes of this, still no one confessed.  There was a lot of staring and mean looks coming from her, and silence by all of us!  I knew the right way to approach this situation, but being that she has been teaching 30 years longer than me, I let her go.  She finally left it that the kids should all think about this incident over the weekend, and they would start Monday morning by writing apology letters to the other teachers who they may have disturbed.

Once the kids were in my room, I took a different approach.  I asked what level running and screaming was on. They clearly knew it was Level A. Then I reiterated that a Level A choice was never acceptable.  But I put this spin on it: I said that even though some of them had made a Level A choice already, now they had an opportunity to change it to a C level choice by cooperating and taking responsibility.  I explained that no one could make them do this, but if they chose to, this situation could turn into an acceptable one, with their decision to cooperate.

We talked about responsibility and how once a poor choice is made, we shouldn’t have to wallow in it forever; we can make a choice to fix it and move on. Because the levels are so concrete and understandable, the kids weren’t dwelling on the Level A behavior any more, they were working on turning it into a C.  Shortly thereafter, three kids came up to me and said they wanted to make a good choice and take responsibility.

The conversation followed from there:  “How do we walk between classes? Why wouldn’t we want to yell and run?” etc. I didn’t feel extra punishment was necessary because I wasn’t sure they ever understood these things in the first place; it was like a light-bulb moment when we talked about someone getting hurt without a teacher around to help them. Finally, I elicited consequences if this behavior should happen again and we moved on!

I should mention that I’m new to DWS and just finished reading the book in September.  If someone with only a month of experience can have these kinds of interactions, it must be good!  Read the book! Implement now, perfect later! It has made me feel so much happier throughout the day. No more “me-against-them” feelings. Good luck!

This year though, our introduction of the Hierarchy came about completely without prior planning. That was a surprise even for us! In the past we’ve planned a formal lesson to explain the levels and sometimes had the kids draw pictures. We’ve also read Tanis’ book over the space of several days and so concluded with a review of the four levels in pleasant storybook format.

This year however, Darlene saw an “everyday opportunity” to discuss the levels and how they related to something that had actually happened in the classroom.  She just went for it – much like we would do during all the rest of the year.  And it turned out well!  When I returned to teaching in our shared position just a few days later, the kids were easily talking about the levels. I simply carried on from there, discussing the Hierarchy in various situations throughout the day.  Tomorrow, at the start of our fifth week in school, Tanis’ book will arrive in our “classroom mailbox” and we’ll read the story over the space of two or three days.

We’re enjoying a very nice class this year but the kids are not without their individual quirks of course!  Several are quite stubborn and a few more seem to have fairly serious emotional/anxiety issues.  One morning, just over a week ago, the day started off on a very bad note.  Four kids arrived at school in various states of upset and all were crying loudly in the line-up outside the classroom.  The boisterous crying continued right into the cloakroom!  Darlene, my teaching partner, had quite a difficult time helping any of the four, simply because all were upset about something that had happened at home and over which she had no control, or even any real information to help her figure it all out.  One was mad at Grandma for some reason and the others were mad/sad/angry at Mom and Dad, each for their own reasons too, of course!  It wasn’t within Darlene’s power to help any of them with their actual “problems,” simply because they weren’t school related.

Although we have 17 other kids in our class, her attention had to go that morning, entirely to the four who were out of control as they entered the room. Eventually, about 15-20 minutes later, she did manage to get each one settled down; into their indoor shoes, out of their sweaters, a drink at the water fountain and into their desks.  And then the day went on, more or less as usual!  That’s a primary classroom for you–never a dull moment!

A couple of hours later, just before lunch playtime, she got out the DWS Hierarchy chart.  She asked the class to remember back to the early morning and what had happened when the teacher was in the cloakroom helping various kids with some problems.  She asked each one to think about what they had chosen to do while the teacher was very busy.  She explained that she had noticed that all those who didn’t have a serious problem themselves, had simply done all their cloakroom chores independently and then gone to their own seats and found something to do, leaving the teacher to deal with those who really needed help.

She said that she had noticed that some students had taken out their chalkboards or doodle books from their desks and begun to draw.  Some had taken books from the carpet area and had spent their time looking at them, while others took out bags of pattern blocks and had built beautiful patterns on their desks.  She explained that what she had seen could be described as Level D on a certain special magnetic chart that we always have hanging on our front chalkboard.  She brought the chart over to hang front and center on the board in front of the children.

She told them that Level D is the level where you can look after yourself – you don’t even need a teacher to be right there to make sure that you’re doing the right thing that you should be doing. She then explained the difference between Level C and D; that Level C was lower on the chart because that was the level where you needed an adult around to make sure that you were doing the right thing.  She again described the events of the morning, but focused on all the positive aspects of the (rather horrendous!) start to the day; the fact that many people had chosen to do the right thing – the grown up and mature thing – despite the fact that the teacher really wasn’t even available to help them or supervise them right at that moment.

Then she asked them to imagine in their own minds, times when they might have been on Level D in other situations – situations in which they had done something without being asked by an adult, something that was very grown-up.  One girl, new to our school, (who is basically an only child in a family with several adult siblings and nieces and nephews older than herself!) put up her hand to say that she thought that she might have been on Level D the very night before.  At that point, a wonderful and outgoing little boy in our room, spontaneously took over the teacher’s role!  He turned around to her and in very teacher-like way asked,

“What did you do?”

She answered, “I did the dishes and then I went into my bedroom and made my bed.”

In an effort to confirm that this was truly Level D motivation–and not something lower–Jeremy questioned her, “Did you do this ALL BY YOURSELF or did someone ASK you to do it?”

Emily answered, “I did it all by myself.”

To which Jeremy, seriously replied, “Well, then that was Level D.”

With a smile, Darlene went on to briefly explain the lower two levels herself!

*******************************

(Darlene is an amazing person!  She can turn almost anything into a positive event!)

Two DWS points:

1.  Find the positive in a situation – even if it’s hard to see right at the moment.  After a cool-down period of time has elapsed, focus your teaching energy into describing that (what you’d like to see more of!)  In this situation, the kids who were stubbornly at a lower level early in the morning, did receive the help and discussion they needed at that moment to get them operating at Level C, but later in the day they received no attention for their lower-level behavior. It wasn’t discussed at all, even though everyone had witnessed it and knew it was at the root of the whole situation developing as it did.

Instead the kids at the higher level received attention later in the day (without being named,) by virtue of the fact that Darlene used their behavior as an example of Level D.  In addition, the four stubborn kids were subtly given information about what it looks like to be well behaved and mature.  Without discussing their immature behavior in front of the class, they were given a comparison model in their mind about what it means to act maturely in grade one.  With the new understandings about Level D that were given to the class as a whole, they too will start to aspire more often to be on THAT level, rather than on the immature level that they know disrupted the class in the first place that morning.  Kids WANT to think of themselves as more, rather than less, mature.  As teachers we can benefit from that natural desire!

2.  Procedures are very important.  The 17 kids already had a very good understanding of what choices they have in free choice times and they all chose to fill their unexpected “free time” with an appropriate choice.  When their teacher was busy with the (stubborn and immature) criers in the cloakroom, they simply read the situation as free time for themselves and already knew what they could do with that sort of pleasant time.

“What to do when you find yourself with a bit of free time” is something we review quite a bit in the first weeks of school.  We certainly can’t take all the credit ourselves either!  Most of these kids came from a Kindergarten teacher who is the best “procedures teacher” I have ever seen, so these particular students are very used to following procedures at Level C.  We are benefitting greatly from her diligence last year, which is a wonderful thing about having colleagues who try very hard to be on the same page with each other!