Last Thursday, we took some class time to talk about the culture in our classroom. I explained to the students that I saw a persisting problem with blurt-outs and taking too long to settle down. The students said they saw the same thing.
We had a long discussion about what causes the problem and then how we might solve it. Most of the suggestions from students revolved around some form of rewards and punishments. After they had suggested a number of systems like this, I asked, "So do you want to do good because you get candy, or do you want to do good because it's right?"
I went on to explain that as they mature, they need to become people who do the right thing because it honors the Lord, not because they are avoiding punishment. Our classroom is a great place to practice honoring the Lord and having self-control by giving our focus to assignments that are sometimes less interesting than our friends.
We decided that instead of names and checks on the board, we are going to try to remind each other that everything we do we do for the Lord. For my part, I'm going to try to give them movement breaks often and assignments that involve collaboration and moving when appropriate.
We had a long discussion about what causes the problem and then how we might solve it. Most of the suggestions from students revolved around some form of rewards and punishments. After they had suggested a number of systems like this, I asked, "So do you want to do good because you get candy, or do you want to do good because it's right?"
I went on to explain that as they mature, they need to become people who do the right thing because it honors the Lord, not because they are avoiding punishment. Our classroom is a great place to practice honoring the Lord and having self-control by giving our focus to assignments that are sometimes less interesting than our friends.
We decided that instead of names and checks on the board, we are going to try to remind each other that everything we do we do for the Lord. For my part, I'm going to try to give them movement breaks often and assignments that involve collaboration and moving when appropriate.
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