Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

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CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 5come across as angry, uneducated, rude, inconsiderate, havinga limited vocabulary, or trying to be cool. Even kidswho admitted to swearing a lot said this exercise got themto think about what they were conveying by their language.Once a teacher has gotten students to be more reflectiveabout language, the next question is:Given what we’ve just said about language and its effects,what agreement should we have about the use of languagein our class?One high school class, for example, agreed that becausesome people are offended by profanity, it did not showrespect for others and should therefore be prohibited intheir class. They also agreed on a consequence: If youused foul language, you had to come up with respectful“replacement words.”In another school, the administration charged the studentcouncil with the task of addressing parent and studentcomplaints about “bad language” in the building.The council conducted a survey of staff and students toassess their perceptions of language use in the school andundertook a campaign to raise everyone’s consciousnessabout their own use of language. A subsequent surveyfound that, on the whole, school members felt the level ofinappropriate language had declined.OUTCOME 5:Respectful and Responsible Moral AgentPromising Practice 2:Use discipline as an opportunity forcharacter development.5 When students do something wrong, howdo teachers and other school authorities respond? Dothey discipline in a way that develops students’ respectand responsibility—including their respect for rules andthe rights of others, their capacity to take perspective,their willingness to admit mistakes and make restitution,and their ability to solve problems and make better choicesin the future?“No one has the right to violateanother’s right to learn.”How adults handle discipline makes all the difference inwhether young people grow in these important areas. Disciplinemust be more than crowd control. It must, ofcourse, address negative behavior and maintain the orderessential for teaching and learning. But it must also, atthe same time, develop character.These two goals are related; growth in character contributesto greater maturity of behavior. The 2005 book,Developing Self-Discipline and Preventing and Correcting Misbehavior,by psychologist and educator George Bear reportsresearch showing that discipline practices that include aneffort to develop moral understanding, social skills, andself-discipline are more effective in fostering rule-followingbehavior and personal responsibility than practicesbased only on external controls. 11Classroom Discipline Practices That FosterCharacter DevelopmentThere is more than one way to implement characterbasedclassroom management. As we just saw in PromisingPractice 1, some teachers involve students in helpingto create classroom rules and consequences. Other teachers,equally committed to character development, reservethe right to set and enforce the rules and consequences.However, they take pains to do that in a way that developsstudents’ moral understanding, fosters mutual respect,and motivates students to behave in a respectful andresponsible manner.“I treat all of my studentsas individuals.”For example, one award-winning high school teacherspells out his behavioral expectations in his syllabus,which he reviews with classes on Day 1 (see box on page153). He makes an effort to foster an ethic of mutualrespect and a sense of collective responsibility—bothessential aspects of moral agency.Once a teacher has established classroom rules—whetherthrough collaborative rule-making or by simply presentingand explaining the behavioral expectations—the nextquestion is how to hold students accountable to the rules.We put that question to a focus group of teachers in alarge, multi-ethnic school that had received a nationalaward for excellence in character education.One teacher said he always was careful to disciplinerespectfully, in a way that did not embarrass students:I interact as privately as possible. That’s the most powerful way, thekindest way. I don’t have set consequences. I see all my students asindividuals, so I treat them that way. I usually begin, “Do you knowwhy I want to talk with you?” Sometimes they say, “Yes.” Sometimesthey say, “I have no idea”—in which case I explain.152Smart & Good High Schools
CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 5ONE TEACHER’S SYLLABUS (ABRIDGED)MY EXPECTATIONS. It is my opinion that educationneed not be boring. I plan to give my very best tomake this class interesting and stimulating, and thereforeexpect nothing less than your best efforts inreturn. Such effort includes excellent attendance,preparation for class, listening to and following directions,class participation, and completing assignedwork on time.Please remember that this is your room and yourclass. The behavior and participation of each personwill shape the type of learning that will occur. Sinceone person’s behavior affects everyone else, I requestthat everyone in the class be responsible for classroommanagement.WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS IN THIS CLASSROOM? As astudent in this course, you have a right to learn withoutdistraction. No one has the right to violate anotherperson’s right to learn. PLEASE show considerationto others.WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS? As the instructor of thiscourse, I have a right and responsibility to teach. Thisis my job. No one has the right to violate my right todo my job.To ensure that our rights are protected and upheld, thefollowing laws have been established for this classroom:THE LAW: TO BE FOLLOWEDWITHOUT EXCEPTION1. Be on time, prepared, and ready to work from thebeginning to the end of the class. (Let me dismissthe class.)2. Please raise your hand when you wish to speak andwait to be called upon.3. Please listen with all your heart and soul. I will dothe same.4. Please treat others as you wish to be treated.I very much enjoy relating to people on a mutualrespect level. It has been my experience that humaninteraction can be tremendously rewarding when suchrespect exists. I will always extend this consideration toyou, and ask only that you return this in kind. Thankyou. 12A second teacher said that in talking to students aboutappropriate behavior, she tries to make a connection tothe workplace:Do kids like it when they have to take off their hat? Ofcourse not. I explain the reason. “Yes, you have rights, butwearing your hat in class isn’t one of them.” I relate it tothe workplace. I point out that in that environment, as inschool, there are standards for dress and conduct that theymust accommodate to.A third teacher focuses on helping students take responsibilityfor the choices they make:If I find a student cheating, for example, I give them a zeroand a note that says, “Please see me.” When we meet, Isay, “There are choices in life. Your choices have consequences;you can’t turn back the clock. Because you choseto cheat, there will be these consequences . . . ” But thenwe talk about honesty. I want them to know that when theycheat, it breaks trust—it damages our relationship. I alsoshow them a bulletin board where I have honor codes postedfrom different colleges and universities where you can getexpelled for cheating. I want them to know that academicintegrity is taken very seriously, not just here, but at manyother places as well.“I tell students, ‘Your choiceshave consequences.’”Create a Visual Environment That CuesPositive BehaviorAt another high school, we interviewed an award-winningteacher who uses colored signs posted around the roomto cue appropriate behavior and to remind students ofthe rules they’ve developed in order to have a “positive,productive, and caring class.” On one wall, the signsincluded:No Put-Downs/Compliments Spoken HereNo One Ever Went Wrong By Being PolitePositive AttitudeRespect for OthersHard WorkThe Golden Rule Rules153Smart & Good High Schools
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A Report to the NationSmart & GoodH
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A wonderful piece of work that addr
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Dedicated to the memory ofWinifred
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AcknowledgementsWe would like to ex
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Table of ContentsLetter to the Read
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ELC PRINCIPLE 4: TAKE PERSONAL RESP
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1. Develop Critical Friends Groups
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Letter to The Reader“Are you a he
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Letter to the ReaderBut we also do
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How to Read This Reporttices relate
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Patrick Bassett, president, Nationa
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Research Methodologyand Criteria fo
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Research Methodology and Criteria f
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Principles of a Smart & Good High S
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CHAPTER 1The Call to Character:Perf
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est work and be their best ethical
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to Charactertin
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterTHE
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Galvanized by this finding, she and
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Comprehensive EndnotesLetter to the
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Comprehensive Endnotesside, 1990).3
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