Discipline
My system of discipline rests primarily on the notion that creating a peaceful classroom environment depends on strong cooperation and mutual respect between the teacher and students. Recognizing that all children are different with respect to the pace and style in which they learn, a safe, secure, positive, and supportive learning environment optimizes a child’s learning. My job as a teacher is to offer corrective, supportive, and most importantly, preventive strategies to discipline. This means disciplining with dignity. The ultimate goal is to inspire children to make smart choices and develop positive behavior.
Each student’s behavior is recorded on our classroom behavior chart, which has green, yellow, and red pockets. The student will begin each new day on green, indicating that they are following the rules that have been discussed and posted on our Second Grade Pledge. When a rule is broken, the child is issued a warning by flipping their name card to the warning side. If another rule is broken their name moves to the yellow pocket and the child will sit out of recess for 7 minutes. With a third infraction the student’s card will move to red, they will lose recess time, and a note will be sent home for a parent to sign. The behavior chart also includes two new pockets for "good work" and "excellent effort" for when students display good classroom behavior. When a child's card is moved to the excellent effort pocket a note will be sent home commending the student for their behavior.
For positive behavior a student may expect to receive praise, stickers, or a positive note home. Candy is not distributed on a regular basis in second grade. When a child has a full month of green days they get to choose a treat from our classroom treasure chest.
Second grade students are expected to maintain a comfortable work environment by maintaining an appropriate volume. To help remind them to do so, we have a Noise-O-Meter that we use during quiet work time. This indicates the amount of acceptable volume for a given activity. When the volume becomes too loud, the quiet trickle of our rain stick helps to remind students that they should quiet down.