A comment from a substitute teacher on that same Maggie's Farm post, about two approaches to rules:
I especially noticed the difference in the two middle schools in one district. One was calm and the kids were learning. The other was a madhouse and not much learning was going on. After a while I saw what was causing the difference.
One school had a principal who had about a dozen rules, aimed at letting learning happen, and they were rigorously and quickly enforced. The teachers were supported. I had a lesson plan for the day [or more] waiting at the desk with all that I'd need.
The principal was omni-present. He met the buses arriving and leaving and seem to know all 300 or so students by name. I never went more than a few minutes in the hallways without seeing him.
The other school principal had what seemed to be a million rules that were haphazardly enforced if at all. Teachers, especially subs, were left to hang on their own. I never saw the principal. Heck, I don't know whether it was male or female.
So. One place dedicated to learning with the expectations set for clearly. One place dedicated it would seem to being a place to be for a few hours and no one seemed to know why.
It always seemed like a good idea to me to have no more rules than you were genuinely prepared to enforce.
5 comments:
That's a lesson I learned the hard way with my boys.
That's excellent advice.
In To Serve Them All My Days, the author cites what he claims (IIRC) is a Roman precept: Few rules but those unbreakable. Seems simple and doable and provides clarity.
The Principal at the VES' school (K-4th grade years) was one such like the first gentleman. There were 300 students in the K-8 school, he knew the names not only of the kids, but their siblings, parents and, in many cases, grandparents. Boys didn't wear their hats backwards. Pants were worn at the right height. Every assembly, concert, school function, etc. was preceeded by the raising of the flag, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the national anthem.
Sadly, the school's test scores didn't reflect the dedication that he and his teaching staff felt towards their students. This was due to the large population of children of illegal migrant workers that floated in and out of the area throughout the year following the harvests.
Good Roman rules...
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