Classroom Expectations

First, this post was encouraged as a result of conversations in the 4 o'clock faculty voxer group revolving around classroom behavior and management.

So much has been written and researched in the area of classroom management from K-12 throughout the years. My last year teaching 8th grade math was in 2014, but the one thing that remains constant from then until now are classroom expectations that lead to student success. First and foremost, I strongly despise the word "RULES." That word immediately brings a negative connotation inside the minds of kids. In addition, I dislike consequences being posted in a room attached to the rules. If I am a student, that would show me that this particular room with these posted might consist of yelling, punishment, do's and do not's.

When I became connected and started forward thinking, my posted "classroom rules" changed to "classroom expectations." Those classroom expectations were derived from my first and second day of school conversations with the 5 classes I taught. At the secondary level, most kids are aware of their strengths and weaknesses in reference to what classrooms they've been successful with in the past. This was the first step on the first days of school that set the tone for student voice and empowerment for the remainder of the year. After all the suggested expectations were devised, all the classes picked the top 5 that they felt embodied every  component of the classroom that will help them be successful. When the 5 classroom expectations went up in poster form, ZERO apprehension was encountered because a top down approach was not utilized to set the tone of the classroom environment.