Rules For Rules

Apropos of yesterday's post, here's something from the archives:

During my Middle School Philosophy class this past winter, I commented on a proposed classroom rules list that included typical items such as “speak only after the teacher calls on you.” And yet, typical as the rules were, they seemed so unlike the behavior I expected from adolescents that I thought our instructor was proposing them as a joke, as if to say “You cannot expect middle school students to hold back, so don’t make them raise their hands and await their turn”.

Many middle school observations later, I realize the error of my early thinking. I am now a firm believer in classroom rules. Kids may not like them all, and will break them on too many occasions, but they crave routine and structure. When they are unclear as to the teacher’s expectations, they are uncomfortable, and seek to alleviate this by asking question after question until they understand what they should be doing. Far better it seems to me that the classroom, a “community of learners”, does what all communities should do; establish rules early on, with input from students and steering from the teacher. I even have to admit that I like the word “rules”. Kids understand the concept of following the rules. It’s the best word for conveying the concept that you must behave in a particular way or there will be consequences.

In our Inclusive Schooling class, we shared Ron Clark’s book listing his Essential 55 Rules. Instinctively, I’m thinking 55 are too many; I’d use Clark’s list as food for thought in proposing a dozen essential rules for my classroom. One particular Clark rule raised for me the question of how you manage 55 rules. Clark says that students should always say thank you upon receiving something from the teacher. Does this include all handouts, tests, homework? What are the consequences if a student doesn’t say thank you every time? My goal would be a set of rules where transgressions would merit consequences. Bullying someone merits consequences, failing to say thank you upon receiving back a test does not. A better rule than “always say thank you” might be “always treat each other with respect”. This gives the teacher more latitude in determining which behaviors stray so far from that rules that something needs to be done.

A final thought: This is an area in which anything I might think today will likely change in the crucible of my first classroom. I’ll check in with myself in a year’s time to see what I think about the rules for rules.



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