View the various resources for the following areas of "Shubert's School" (found online at https://consciousdiscipline.com/free-resources/shubert/):
- Cafeteria
- Media Center
- Shubert's Classroom
- Sophie's Classroom
- Compare and contrast each of these areas of Shubert's School with Mio.
- How do they relate to the content of Chapters 6-8, Connection?
- What improvements could we look at making as a school? Are there any adjustments that you could make personally?
Respond meaningfully to at least two colleagues by 02/16/2020, in addition to monitoring your post for questions or comments that may need to be addressed.
Again, if we're going to unite and stick with Conscious Discipline, we're going to have a lot of work ahead of us. The thing that stood out most to me during this trip into Schubert's School was the prominence of the Safe Place. It is literally in every room, including the cafeteria in Schubert's School. I know we don't have many safe places in Mio. The closest thing is the R&R room and most of the time that doesn't feel very safe. I know since implementing it in my room (literally a chair by the door), I've been shocked and comforted by how many use it! There are a lot of kids who don't seem stressed that have been hiding it well, but find comfort from a safe place. The other students seem to respect conversations more (aka, stay out of the way) when we have them there.
ReplyDeleteAs an individual/and as a staff member, I'd really like to use more visual directions in the cafeteria, lunch line, hallways, library, classrooms, etc. I think this is HUGE undertaking though. I don't think to use my phone and snap pictures (in fact, it irritates me to use my phone at all during the day...but I'm adjusting with the implementation of more music via my phone), but I an see the value, as all areas of Schubert's school have visuals AND it would only take a few months of extra work to have YEARS of lasting benefit.
As far as connection, in just the month that I've been actively trying to connect with my students, I've made huge gains with my most difficult and my most easy have reacted in surprising and positive ways. I've come to realize that TBRI is for those with trauma, while Conscious Discipline is for all of them.
I noticed the safe place being in every room also. I can see the safe place being used in K-4, but not really fifth grade. If I had a safe place what would it look like for fifth grade?
DeleteBridgette, I imagine it would be a chair by itself with some notebook paper and perhaps some squishies or playdoh. Just a spot for them to go to when they aren't ready to be where they were.
DeleteI agree that CD seems to be for everyone, whereas TBRI is for traumatized students.
DeleteI always thought that your "old school" student desk seemed like a natural safe place for your students, Alesha. It's kind of your own little space without being confining.
DeleteI agree with Bridgette on not having a safe place in the 4th and 5th grades. If the classroom was a lot bigger, then a safe place would be much easier to have. I've seen some classrooms with lofts in them where the kids could go and read books. A fun safe place may be a tent, but then you couldn't see the kids.
DeleteI agree with the need for visual postings throughout the school as reminders of expectations for students. Yes, the photos might be a nice, personal touch. More importantly though, I think, would be the consistent reminders that these similar reminders are for ALL of the school, not just certain sections/grade levels.
DeleteThere are several aspects of both classrooms that I incorporate in mine but just a bit differently. For example, I do have a job board, and my students, both blocks, look forward to their jobs. Every week, a student is assigned to a different job. If I forget to assign the jobs on Monday, they make sure to remind me. They take their jobs seriously, and also brought in play money suggesting that being paid would be a good idea. I do breathing exercises with the students, but sometimes i forget and would like to incorporate STAR with my students daily. I believe we could do more in our cafeteria and media center which would make those experiences a bit more positive.
ReplyDeleteI think we all want to do something to help the environment of the cafeteria, but what? I think k-1 feels very at home there because we do bonding activities and some assemblies in there, but past 1st grade, it's for a chaotic 20 minute lunch. It seems like a BIG problem that needs a BIG solution.
DeleteOne thing that helps with the 2nd grade in the cafeteria is that Ms Violet lets a few students stay back with her to help clean up & wipe the tables. Might be something to build off of there?
DeleteThe cafeteria, by nature, is just loud because of the tile floor, open space, and large number of children. Many adults tend to raise their voices in there because of the noise level, and I personally find it kind of a stressful environment myself. I am going to keep thinking about this, but nothing immediately comes to mind.
DeleteI find the cafeteria very stressful too. It is loud, noisy, too many grade levels at once, and very overwhelming. I have to take a minute to get back to feeling calm when I leave there because it is so unruly sometimes.
DeleteOne thing I do miss doing in my classroom this year is a job board. When planning to use one again I will put more thought into making sure that jobs are meaningful ones, not just 'one more thing' that I won't have to do. I would want them to be jobs which students can take pride in doing and also help to build community as those completing tasks can feel more of a part of the class.
DeleteWell, clearly there are more differences than similarities between the Schubert School and Mio.
ReplyDeleteIn the cafeteria, I was most drawn to the idea of having a safe space there and a "Ways to be Helpful" chart. I think our students get very overstimulated in the cafeteria and many could use an alternative table area to go to when that happens. I also think that, if we are going to make kindness our mission, we need to have visual reminders everywhere and a lot of consistency.
In the media center, I again liked the idea of a safe space but also the Kindness Tree (the video was very helpful in understanding that). The "I Love You" Rituals hit me the same way as the "School Family" concept. Why can't they call it something like Friendship Rituals or Bonding Activities? I mean, yes I do tell my students that I love them from time to time and that they're kind of like my own kids in a way, but there's something so overt about some of these CD terms. It doesn't feel right somehow. Just my opinion.
In the classrooms, I was just completely overwhelmed by how every available space was used for Conscious Discipline. I liked some of the displays very much and could see myself incorporating them into my own classroom, but not all of them...it's too much. I like STAR and the class meeting chart/routine, and I already have some of the elements of the classroom like daily schedule and posted jobs. My final thought is that I'm being too much of a perfectionist about a safe space in my classroom - I need to just start with something simple.
The ideas behind CD are solid, but I agree with your sentiments about the labels given to them. Frankly, for lack of a better term, when I have been reading the book, there are times that the word "creepy" has even crossed my mind.
DeleteI am in total agreement Nicole. I really do not feel that the "I love you" ritual should be part of a school program. On the other hand, I like the STAR ritual. I believe it would work well in the classroom at the beginning of the day. I also like the Well wishing ritual.
ReplyDeleteI think if we went around telling kids we love them, we would be in big trouble and accused of something that could ruin our career. My motto here would be to show don't tell. It is stressful every day worrying about being accused of something. I agree with you Nicole, I looked at the picture of the model classroom and it was so busy that it was overwhelming.
DeleteUpon my second look into Sherburt's Elementary School I found myself looking deeper into how to I can better incorporate pieces of the set-up, even now in the second half of the school year, into our classroom. Even though students have been taught and practiced (some MANY times) the expected routines of the classroom, not to mention cafeteria and hallway, yet choices are being made by some to 'go their own way'. Perhaps pictures and written reminders would not hurt...at least they could say, "Oops, I forgot" as often if visual is present. The 'Routines' and 'Ways to be helpful' areas seem similar in many ways, clear language, positive terms, and specific expected behaviors visually shown with both word and pics. By consistantly and clearly referring to and following procedures and routines, I can see how learning within the classroom should become more smooth and productive.
ReplyDeleteI already post daily schedule, and students are quick to notice in anything is missed.
I have found I'm very drawn to the visuals. I'm been taking pictures of the ideal, but finding time to print them, cut them, laminate them, shrink them, etc., I haven't done that. I am avoiding it strongly.
DeleteI love the idea of taking real pics of "ideal" as exemplars - thanks for the idea!
DeleteI am wondering if deciding upon/creating the visuals should involve the entire K-5 staff. Maybe at an upcoming PD? Since it would be ideal to be consistent, even the staff members who are not taking part in the book study should be involved. Thoughts?
DeleteSo the cafeteria in the pictures had a Safe Keeper Ritual which kept an item safe in a box. I asked my Mio students how they would feel about this and one looked at it and said, "What they are doing is keeping a thing safe, not a person." Another student said, "If something of yours is kept safe, it would make you feel safe too." So I took a poll of my students and 13/16 agreed with the first student, and 3 out of 16 agreed with the second student. I think they felt as I do, that may be more powerful for lower elementary students. I asked my students what Mio cafeteria has to make them feel safe, and they said, cameras because, "You feel safer because you are being watched and someone will come and help you if you need it." Another said teachers, "If someone gets hurt, their is someone their to help." Finally they said the principal, "She is there to make sure the students are following rules." In the cafeteria the rules are posted, we have no safe place, the closest thing is the R&R room. These are the things in our cafeteria that make my students feel safe.
ReplyDeleteIn the media center, the model school had routines, greetings, Shubert Books, and I love you rituals. My students said that they did not have routine posters on the wall, and when I talked to Ms. Kim she said each classroom functions differently in the library. I can improve by getting my students to the library more often. For greetings in fourth grade, there are no props like aprons. Again I believe the 4th graders are too old for props like aprons etc. I asked them how they felt about it, and they think that they are also too old for props, and it's good enough for them if Ms. Kim just says hi. As far as I know, the library doesn't have Shubert books, but they could get the American Girls series that work on social skills. That is what some counselors use when working with girls. Not sure what the answer is for boys. In the model school they have I love you rituals. I am not a big telling you I love you person, but I try to show them that I care about them. In fourth grade I teach serious students guitar, and ukulele lessons, and we use nicknames and have friendly banter as soon as the class is under control and following rules. We also have a morning song that I've had for the last two year here and I used the same song as a teacher in Lewiston. As a school the staff pictures are up, and we hand out kindness coins.
In the classroom, they have the Well Wishes, and the safe place. We have not tried the well wishes but certainly could. I think 4th grade is a bit too old for a safe place too. I asked my students what made them feel safe in the classroom and they said the following walls are painted, tables instead of desks, lights hanging, stickers on cupboards to help them find supplies, schedules are posted, Thunderbolt Thinking caps, chalkboard calendar so they know what is happening and when, visible emergency procedures, alarms, door safety stop, and a list goes on. They said they feel very safe. I hope they are right.
Parent drop off/pick up I think Mio needs to have a better solution for this. We are supposed to be a one entry way school. The side doors are propped open all the time. Parents are entering through the side doors because a lot of coaches have keys and then the parents come in with them, and hold the door for others to get in as well. We have parents down our hallways at different times during the day when they are only supposed to be down by the office. Yesterday one of my students was taken off the bus by a father with a no contact order against him. It's a good thing Mrs. King recognized the situation. I need to be better at knowing who parents are, because they don't always show up to conferences and families may have children with three last names.
Sorry this post was so long, but I was trying to hit all of the parts.