My goal is to create a positive environment that encompasses respect, trust, safety, and fairness. As Rafe Esquith says in Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire, "A classroom based on trust and devoid of fear is a fantastic place for kids to learn." Lawrence Kohlberg has created six levels of Moral Development...
Level I: I Don't Want to Get in Trouble
Level II: I Want a Reward
Level III: I Want to Please Somebody
Level IV: I Follow the Rules
Level V: I am Considerate of Other People
Level VI: I Have a Personal Code of Behavior and I Follow It
I want to get my students to Level VI. In this level, students behave in a certain way because it is simply the right thing to do. They respect, help and trust each other, and they think before they act. They are responsible human beings. This cannot be learned by posting a set of rules on the wall; it is learned through experience, stories and discussions.
I also expect students to be responsible and will help them do this by having a mini society in the classroom. Students will have money that they are in charge of; they will pay for items that they want in the classroom, but they will also be payed for their jobs. They will learn and be in charge of keeping records of their transactions. This will show students responsibility and lessons on money management.
Level I: I Don't Want to Get in Trouble
Level II: I Want a Reward
Level III: I Want to Please Somebody
Level IV: I Follow the Rules
Level V: I am Considerate of Other People
Level VI: I Have a Personal Code of Behavior and I Follow It
I want to get my students to Level VI. In this level, students behave in a certain way because it is simply the right thing to do. They respect, help and trust each other, and they think before they act. They are responsible human beings. This cannot be learned by posting a set of rules on the wall; it is learned through experience, stories and discussions.
I also expect students to be responsible and will help them do this by having a mini society in the classroom. Students will have money that they are in charge of; they will pay for items that they want in the classroom, but they will also be payed for their jobs. They will learn and be in charge of keeping records of their transactions. This will show students responsibility and lessons on money management.