Better Choice Chair

Thank you for the Better Choices Chair. I used that today with a student who

was disrespectful to me. It allowed me to respond to her without feeling angry

and gave her time to figure out a better way. Frequently, “Can you find a

better way to do that?” is a response I use to correct inappropriate actions,

so a Better Choice Chair is a logical next step.

Anything adults do for kids we take away an opportunity for children to learn Responsibility!

After you told us that anything we did for students that they could do for

themselves taught irresponsibility, I started thinking about classroom

routines. I initiated a “Class Secretary” and a “Lunch Clerk”. The secretary

takes attendance for me each day, records it on the attendance slip and brings

it to me for my signature. It takes me just a second to scan the room and

double check since it is an important document. The Lunch Clerk takes lunch

money to turn in, records it, records lunch count and turns those in. Children

turning in lunch money are responsible to see that the clerk records

their money correctly.

Each Friday, a new secretary and clerk are selected and the old ones train the

new ones. The children take the jobs very seriously and it has freed me up

first thing in the morning to greet students, spend a few minutes listening to

them, and celebrating their arrival. The children have been incredibly

accurate in the paperwork making fewer mistakes than I do. In an odd way this

seems to have added to the children’s sense of ownership of the class.

Reinforcing Responsible Behavior

It started by accident. One day when a student did something terrific, I put

both my hands up in the air to slap his hands, our

fingers intertwined, and we drew a large circle with our hands. The kids

loved it and now are much more impressed by receiving that attention than any

sticker, note or anything I could GIVE them.

Levels of Responsibility Chart

I posted the Levels of Responsibility Chart from your Book the Big “R” on my

chalkboard. We discussed each level and my students really seemed to

understand. Throughout the day we check where we are on each of the levels.

When a student said, “I didn’t have time to do my homework,” we went to the

chart and discussed that level. Now many of the students will check

themselves and actually change the language they use to work at being at a

higher level of responsibility.

Student Poster If it needs to be done I’ll be the one!

I introduced your poster “If it needs to be done, I’ll be the one.”

Immediately, my students began to do things such as stack chairs and pick up

trash without being asked. I even went so far as to make large signs to post

in the hallways for all students to see because I believe that statement is so powerful.

I have posted many of the reminders from the Values in Action! Program

on the chalkboard. I am convinced that the children absorb what they see. I

had several of them posted before you came to train us. When our music

teacher went home the

night after training, she was telling her family about it and her son who is

in my class said, ” Oh, Mrs. Cottle has that up in her room,” and even added

to what she was saying. We refer to these signs often.

Code of Ethics- Storybooking

We have begun teaching the Student Code of Ethics I also tried a technique

called “Storybooking” with a 5 year old who had kicked another child. It

involved my sketching her actions, feelings and the victim’s feelings with

stick figures and labeling those actions and feelings. Then I drew the

better alternative she told me, how she would have felt and how the victim

would have felt had she made a better choice. She then took the paper and

explained it to her teacher and the victim and apologized. It was very

powerful.

Character’s Character

We discuss the character’s character in the books we read, class novels, read-

a-louds and stories from our anthology. One novel by Gary Paulsen titled

Danger on Midnight River included compassion, perseverance, and initiative.

The students used mapping techniques to explore the changes in the characters’

ethics and decision making. We also looked at which characters would make

good friends and which ones we would not choose as friends. With each book, we

read it becomes easier to relate Values in Action to character’s traits and ethics.

– Michelle Cottle Anderson School Spring Texas