It has recently come to my attention that many of our ‘good students’ are unintentionally being punished within the school system for simply just ‘doing the right thing.’ Talking to several groups of students lately, they have told me “That it is often just the way it is.” They seem to quietly accept this. Steve Simpson might call this an unwritten ground rule, or maybe it is simply a processional effect of trying to get the disruptive students to conform.
Group points
This starts in junior classrooms and continues throughout high school with house points. Often desks are clustered together and group points are dished out for being attentive, having tidy desks, being ready for instruction, having work completed on time or a myriad of other predetermined or random criteria from the teacher. With a quick glance this seems to be a valid way to reward students until you look a little deeper. One child complained how unfair this was; “I’m in a group with ‘x’ and we never get group points. I have tidied his desk, done his work and even hurried him to sit down, and we still never get the points. It’s just not fair!” Of course every classroom has an ‘x’ student; the one that perhaps does not follow instructions, is talkative, highly kinesthetic or lacks self control.
Maybe the idea is to put them in groups to allow peer pressure to help these children conform, or to provide good models for them to imitate. The challenge from the well-behaved student’s point of view is that they feel they are required to rebuke, chastise and discipline other students, distracting them from their work, and it is not their job to do this.
Due dates
Another area where good students feel aggrieved is when information is due back on a certain date. This maybe an assignment, homework sheet or a notice for an up and coming trip. Many students work hard to complete their work, albeit often the night before, to discover when they do the right thing by handing it in on time, students that have not handed it in, for a multitude of excuses, are told, “Bring it back by Friday.”
This behaviour undermines the need and importance of deadlines. Students because apathetic to the deadline because there are no consequences. At the Teachers Matter Conference in January, Celia Lashlie spoke about the importance of holding boundaries for our learners; “If we don’t teach students to be responsible for their actions who will?”
Whole class reprimanding
Todd Whittaker, author, speaker and educator discusses what great teachers do differently. He asks “Have you ever been into a shop with a sign that states, ‘Shoplifters will be prosecuted’? He continues to ask, “Does the person shoplifting know it is wrong?” Of course they do – the only people the sign affects are the wholesome, trustworthy people. Upon seeing the sign they may become nervous or extra conscious that someone is watching and might think they are stealing, even when they know they are not.
The same holds true in the classroom. When the entire class is reprimanded for the misdemeanours of the few, the students that were causing the trouble usually know they were wrong and are not bothered. This approach, again, causes angst and anxiety for the well- behaved students as they may start to feel guilty as they wonder if there is something they have done wrong and don’t know or can’t recall.
A great technique is to verbally affirm the good students by saying something such as, “I really appreciate those who have handed their assignment back on time. Thanks.” This sends a clear message to those that have done the ‘right thing’. They know who they are and will take the praise. Those that have not handed it in possibly don’t care and by not mentioning them publically, they might feel excluded and want to be in that good group the next time. Of course consequences should be given to those not doing the right thing – however not publically.
Save all your public attention for those that deserve it.