Student Contributor: J. Pruneda-Martinez
This is a promise that is made up of students’ expectations for their classroom. This promise really creates the classroom climate that not only they teach would like, the students as well!
Creating a classroom promise is a tool that every elementary and even middle school teacher should begin doing! A Classroom Promise should be created in the beginning of the school year. First, you will begin by creating a chart that says how we want our class to feel, look, and sound. Students will share their ideal classroom and the teacher will fill out the chart as students share. Then, as a class talk about rules that we may need in our class. Once the student and the teacher have shared their thoughts and ideas on their ideal classroom and rules, the teacher will gather all of it and create the Classroom Promise. The promise create, will then be put up in a spot all students can see because they will recite it each morning. It is quite awesome seeing in my placement class how students have a sense of ownership and care about each other! Recently, I had the chance to hear how a student had ask another to dent to stop and they hadn’t so another peer said, “Wilber, Juliana asked you to stop and remember our promise says that when someone asks us to stop, we stop.” This tool really builds self-managers!
The creation of a Classroom Promise would be in the in the Preventative stage because this is a tool that will be used before students are taught. The Preventive stage is exactly that, it is the stage where teachers are to lay the groundwork and get the work that needs to be done prior to instruction. A Classroom Promise will be an opportunity for not only the teacher, but the students too, to lay their foundation of their idea classroom. This tool is appropriate for every Theory of Influence except a teacher- centered classroom. In a teacher-centered classroom the teacher is the authoritative figure, and they take charge, lead, and chooses what they would like. If a teacher uses the tool of creating a Classroom Promise, they give students the opportunity to have choices, have a sense of ownership, lead but also at times be led by the teacher. Overall, this is a tool that advocates to build a classroom community that is appreciated by every individual from the class.
More Information –
Tool Source: Copper Elementary
