And on Tuesday we met our students.
We spent the first day laying down the schedule, the routine, designing name plates for each cubby hole. In the big kids' class (9 - 10 year olds) we wrote out the rules. For each of the values we will learn, the students were asked to come up with a rule; written without the words, "Do not" and "never" and "no." We call it THE CODE.
The values are: Peace, Spirit-lifting; Generosity; Persistence; Humility; Courage; Innovation; Responsibility; Concentration; and Ecological awareness.
And here is the code as the kids define them.
1. Keep [the environment] clean and all the inhabitants.
(Ecological awareness)
2. Think of other ways to solve a problem. (Innovation)
3. Keep on trying. (Persistence)
4. Practice quiet pride. (Humility)
5. Do a good job! (Responsibility. Not the enthusiastic punctuation mark)
6. Try something you've never done before. (Courage)
7. Focus (Concentration)
8. Help other people, and they may help you! (Generosity)
Earlier, it was announced that there are only 2 absolutely unacceptable, non-negotiable behavior: Violence towards others; and Disrespect (Peace and Spirit-lifting)
Everyone agreed, and signed.
Reading through the list again, rules written in this manner appears easier to follow and is even encouraging.
If only all rules were written as such.
It makes me look forward to teaching (and learning) from the kids.
A code is a powerful thing. I'm going to be writing more on that in The Hero Handbook soon. It's a topic I cover with most of my presentations. It's a lot easier to be a hero when you have a code.
ReplyDeleteI think so, too, Matt.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we "set up" situations where the kids have the opportunity to rise to the challenge. Something as simple as, "I'm teaching the pre-school class later and can somebody help me with the music and story-telling?" I get one or two volunteers; One to play the guitar in the toddler class, and the other will read a story to the them.