46. Back to School Series: Student Neatness, Class Expectations, & Class Room Rules

Ellie 0:00

Welcome to The Teaching Toolbox Podcast. I'm Ellie, and I'm here with my friend Brittany.

Brittany 0:05

Hi.

Ellie 0:06

Today we're diving into three key areas that can significantly enhance the learning environment and set your students up for success - student neatness, class expectations, and classroom rules. We'll discuss the benefits of each and share some practical ideas on how to implement them effectively. So let's get started.

Brittany 0:27

First up, let's talk about student neatness. What exactly do we mean by neatness? When I first think of neatness, I think about handwriting, notes, math work. Neatness can be so much more than that however. It can be like how neat and tidy a desk is. How neat and organized binders lockers and backpacks are. Is the desk stuffed to the max, unable to budge? Are students unable to find what they need when they need it? within a reasonable amount of time? Are there papers not in the proper places, corners sticking out getting ripped, bent or destroyed? Do the bottom of their backpacks or lockers have papers piled up, baggies of food from old lunches, forgotten clothes, and a ton of pencils that they can't find to use in class? Do papers come to you with food stains or worse on them?

Ellie 1:27

Yes, I've got pictures of baggies of food on the bottom of the lockers in my mind.

Brittany 1:33

I once got a paper that said, don't touch that and pointed to an object.

Ellie 1:39

What was it?

Brittany 1:41

If any of these scenarios sound like they could be your students, it's a great idea to take some time during a study hall, or even during a regular class period to work on and stress the importance of organization. I would also teach the students that backpacks, lockers, and desks needed to be cleaned out weekly, either during the study hall, before or after school, or at home on the weekend. I would then periodically do desk, or locker, or backpack checks and award little certificates and classroom dollars to those with the best, and warnings to those who needed to get a cleaning done. I will link those cards and my locker organization lesson in the shownotes for you.

Ellie 2:25

Awesome, that sounds great. I like that idea of a little certificates if they are doing a good job with that. Yeah, when students have clutter or disorganized materials, it not only makes it hard for them to locate their materials quickly, but it can be a distraction during class and lead to lost instructional time as you're waiting for students who can't find their materials. The disorganization can create an internal sense of chaos for students, and that affects their ability to focus and maintain a productive mindset for learning. So taking some time to teach organization, and encouraging students to stay neat and organized can profoundly impact their academic success and their overall well being. It can help improve focus for students as a tidy workspace minimizes distractions, allowing students to concentrate better on the things they need to do. And teaching organization skills can also help students just develop positive habits. Teaching neatness fosters personal responsibility, and it helps students develop lifelong organizational skills, which we know we are all in need of.

Brittany 3:30

Yes, very much so. So here are a couple of implementation ideas. Number one, when organizing your supplies and teaching how to organize a desk or locker, don't just tell the kids that the smaller books go on top of the larger books, or that the scissors go in the pencil box. Instead, ask the students where they think the items belong, or where they belong in relation to the other items that have already been placed. Making the kids logically have to think it through and process it themselves. Make students have to think at a higher level when it comes to organizing it all.

Ellie 4:09

And I like that I think about like the smaller books on top of the larger books. It's something that, you know, they don't maybe really even think about they just shove the books.

Brittany 4:18

Yeah,

Ellie 4:19

I like that. That's great. And we can use some visual aids like you can use posters and labels to remind students where things belong. And that can include some color coded bins for supplies, or illustrated charts for desk or pencil box organization.

Brittany 4:34

And number three, you can run periodic checks on desks, lockers and backpacks, like I mentioned, and run them frequently at first and then taper off as the year goes on in order to show students that you're serious about organization and that it's important.

Ellie 4:51

That's great. I like the idea of checking a lot more frequently to begin with and then tapering off and then maybe do some surprise checks here.

Brittany 4:57

Yes, yes.

Ellie 4:59

Okay, well let's move on to expectations and then we'll touch on rules. There are three main types of expectations in school. We have academic, behavioral, and social. Most think about behavioral expectations such as show respect, be responsible, take ownership. But as teachers, we also have academic expectations. As a teacher, you expect your students to try their best on academic work, participate in class, possibly format their papers in a certain way, and answer in full sentences. Were you picky about formatting papers in a certain way? I kind of was.

Brittany 5:36

Oh, I was totally.

Ellie 5:37

Yeah. Like those maybe academic expectations we have, but we don't always communicate them. Well, instead, we just think they're intuitively understood like they did this last year, they probably know how to do it this year.

Brittany 5:50

Yeah.

Ellie 5:50

So we can't have that expectation. Social expectations, or the expectations we have for dealing with others. And again, they are often not taught but are assumed to have been learned when the kids are are younger. But as we learn, adapt and grow, our brains do too, to some extent. And so it's important to touch on these things again and again. And the social expectations is one of those areas where we need to keep revisiting.

Brittany 6:17

By middle school, we should be teaching students roles within teamwork situations, we should also be reviewing proper line etiquette, lunch room behavior, crowd behavior, and more. I am sure more than one of us has been to a Broadway theater and heard people who've been in hollering and wearing sweatpants while who hasn't been to a school function and heard the din roar of people talking on their phones throughout the performance. It's appalling behavior. From a group that wasn't taught how to behave in public.

Ellie 6:54

May I share a short story?

Brittany 6:56

Of course!

Ellie 6:57

I went to my nephew's band concert at the high school level and sitting in front of us was a family, I think maybe a grandmother on either side of her were I believe her grandchildren and the parents were sitting in the row in front of that. The two children one like seven or eight years old, one thirteen maybe - they had their phones on the entire time, the screens were bright in our eyes, and they seemed oblivious to the fact that that might be bothering somebody else. It was a little bit frustrating but those kids were taught that it's okay to just sit on your phone in a concert and not really pay attention to what's going on, but just sit on the phone and watch the phone and not think about how it's affecting the people around you. So we need to have those lessons.

Brittany 7:47

Yeah, we had an end of year award ceremony at the junior high I worked at, and you could barely hear the kids names over the microphone, and speaker, because all the people talking on their cell phones are talking to each other. It was just sad.

Ellie 8:09

Right?

Brittany 8:10

So having and reinforcing expectations is critical for classroom management and success because clearly defined expectations can create a structured and respectful learning atmosphere. And they help you as a teacher gain authority and respect in the classroom, because they see you as the one laying down those rules, or those expectations.

Ellie 8:34

For sure. We might think of rules and expectations as the same thing but we can approach them differently when we set expectations for our classrooms or behavior. Rules or a specific clear cut guidelines that outline acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. These rules are often non negotiable, and they're enforced through predetermined consequences. For example, a classroom rule might state that students must raise their hand before speaking or another one might say that they are not allowed to use their phones during class time. So rules provide a structured framework within which students must operate, ensuring order and discipline.

Brittany 9:13

On the other hand, classroom expectations are broader and more holistic. They encompass the overall attitudes, behaviors, and work habits that teachers hope to see from their students. Expectations are often centered around creating a positive and collaborative learning environment. For instance, one classroom expectation might be for students to show respect for themselves, for one another, for property, for ideas. Another expectation might be for students to be engaged and participate actively in discussions, or it could be for students to take responsibility for their learning. You could also have expectations for academics, expectations for behavior, and expectations like in a teamwork atmosphere. Expectations are more about fostering a culture of mutual respect, and academic curiosity, rather than enforcing compliance through specific directives.

In general, while classroom rules are the concrete do's and don'ts that govern student behavior, classroom expectations are the aspirational standards that guide the overall atmosphere and dynamics of the classroom. Both of these are crucial for creating an effective learning environment. Still, they operate on different levels. Rules maintain order, while expectations encourage a generalized positive and productive mindset and an overall set of ethics. So we've got a couple important things to remember here as we implement expectations. First, show consistency and clarity, make sure students understand what is expected of them. This leads to a more predictable and stable classroom environment with less confusion, and anxiety. Second, maintain some mutual respect. When expectations are clear, students are more likely to respect both the teacher and their peers. And motivation - when expectations are clear and spelled out, students are more likely to be motivated to meet them. And it's fantastic to have high expectations. Having high expectations can help challenge students to push their limits and surprise you with what they can accomplish.

And so when we go to set and establish clear expectations, you want to have a collaborative creation. You want to involve the students in creating the class expectations at the beginning of the school year. That gives them some sense of ownership, buy in, and accountability. Be clear and specific. Don't make a ton of little clauses or if then statements, just like general overarching expectations that can apply to almost any situation. And then set regular reminders. Revisit expectations regularly through discussions, posters, reminder notes - this keeps them fresh in students minds and reinforces their importance. And when an issue comes up, discuss it with the class.

Okay, classroom rules. Establishing clear rules is essential for maintaining order and ensuring a safe learning environment like we've mentioned. The benefits of having defined rules include safety. Well defined rules protect students from harm, and secure a space for learning. It's the whole Maslow before Bloom argument - students have to know that they're safe and belong before they can learn. If our students are fearful for their safety or scared of what will happen if they go to the bathroom or leave the classroom, they're not going to be learning well. Rules provide structure and order, they provide a framework for behavior, and once that framework is in place, classroom behavior is easier to manage, disruptions are reduced, and more time can be spent on learning. And then it's really important to be fair and consistent. Consistent rules ensure that all students are treated equally fostering a sense of justice and equality. So you can't, you know, say I'm going to I'm going to enforce this rule this time, but not next time. Or I'm going to enforce the rule when this person does it. But not when this person does it, we have to make sure that we are really consistent. If you're going to choose a rule that you can't be consistent with, then it shouldn't be a rule.

Yes, very much so. When you go to implement your rules, have a rulemaking session again, at the start of the year, where students can suggest and vote on rules. This democratic approach increases buy in and adherence.

And sometimes they want to make like a million rules, right? They want to make more rules than we do. But this might be a good time to say, How well can we reinforce this? Is this something that we can make sure we're consistent with every single time that happens? and help them understand the difference between you know, something that can be consistent and maybe can't be?

Yeah, it's funny how many rules they'll want to make and how ruthless they are with their punishment.

That's true. Very true.

Have positive reinforcement. Implement a system of rewards for following the rules such as a point system, or a Student of The Week Award. This motivates students to comply and recognize their efforts. We've talked about different ways to reinforce positive behavior in our using a classroom economy episode, and also in our behavior and discipline episode, and we'll link both of those in the show notes. And then have a visual reminder, posting rules prominently so all can see them and be reminded of the objectives in front of them is a good way to keep students on task. But also it quickly remind students which rule they broke before you get back to teaching. Don't ever make rule breaking and reprimands a drawn out process. Just remind the student what they did, tell them what step they're on, and what they need to do. Such as "Linda, you're talking that strike to see me during work time", then go right back to teaching. Don't allow if, buts, or rebuttals?

Absolutely. To me, the most critical factors are clearly communicating rules and expectations and consistently reinforcing consequences. If they aren't met. You can have the best roles and expectations in the world. But if you don't reinforce them, or you reinforce them inconsistently, there is no point in having them.

I agree. And sometimes you need to do a reset, because you let things drift or you let kids get away with things you shouldn't have. So then I tend to have a class meeting, explain it's a reset, like I let skibbity go too long. It got out of hand because we're saying it every three seconds. And so I'll say you know, no, no more skibbity in this classroom. And then I'll take a few questions, and then we'll just get back to work.

Yeah, reset is a great idea.

But also you have to involve parents throughout the process. If you can get in a good phone call at the start of the year, before you ever have to call home about something bad. But when something bad does happen, talk to parents immediately and make sure they're in the loop with you.

Yeah, absolutely. I know I always send home our expectations and rules for parents, first day of school are what you know, right away so that they are aware exactly what the rules are and they sign off on them that they have have seen them and they acknowledge that they understand.

Yes.

All right. So we've talked about strategies for fostering student neatness, setting class expectations, and establishing classroom rules. By incorporating these elements into your teaching practice, you'll create a more organized, respectful and safe learning environment for your students. We encourage you to pick one tool we mentioned and add it to your teaching toolbox. If you'd like to hear more about any of these topics, please let us know. Comment on any Instagram or Facebook posts or contact us through our website teaching toolbox podcast.com We'll talk to you later.

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