One of the most impactful things I ever did at the start of any given school year with a new class was to create a ‘collaborative’ classroom charter. The reason I emphasise ‘collaborative’ is that until recently, the typical classroom charter outlined only adult expectations of children’s behaviour within the classroom.
This puts the onus of the classroom’s success on the children and the children alone.
This falls in line with the more archaic view of education; one in which the teacher speaks and the children obey out of fear or duty. This is NOT what education is or should be!
Education is a collaboration between a child and teacher. As soon as those children walk through your classroom door they should feel as though they are part of your TEAM not your employees.
They should want to listen and learn not because they are told they must, but because they feel respected, motivated and loved.
Impactful relationships begin with collaboration and a collaborative classroom is a thing of wonder. It is a place full of so much love; it is a family.
So the next time you begin a new school year and those 15 pairs of eyes are looking at you waiting for you to tell them how you expect them to behave; take out a piece of paper and start first by asking them:
❣What do you expect from me as your teacher?
❣What can I do to be a good teacher?
❣What do you need from me as your teacher?
❣How can I ensure you are happy, healthy and safe when you are in our classroom?
❣How can I ensure that you feel like a valued member of our classroom?
❣How can you ensure our classroom is a happy place for me too?
❣How can we ensure that we are all taking responsibility for our safety and happiness and that of others when we are in our classroom?
The response you will then get when you explain your own expectations will be nothing short of love.
?This is how we create magic and change lives?
Lydia x
