Standard+D1+Mutual+respect+is+evident+through+interactions+between+students+and+teacher


 * Date ** : 2011-2012 School Year

In my room mutual respect is an expectation. It is discussed at the beginning of the year and regularly reviewed after holidays and when needed. I stand at the door each morning to greet students. They are expected to say, “Good Morning” when they arrive, and I greet them in return. Please, thank you, may I, yes and no are required by us all. I model this expectation from day one.
 * Evidence/activity/anecdote ** :

Success is celebrated and challenges are considered an opportunity to learn. Students work together in reading, writing, and math with partners to turn to for advice and assistance. They are directly taught how to use supportive language and offer feedback in an appropriate way. They understand that a partner or groups are for getting work done and learning. In writing workshop, I students give appropriate feedback (constructive feedback) to fellow writers, without making the other student feel “bad” about their work. This also follows over into my teacher conferences. During reading workshop, I model appropriate language during conferences. In our reading groups, such as reciprocal reading groups, students are also given a structure to follow that helps to develop their comprehension skills as well as appropriate social interactions. I think that it’s an extremely important skill for students to know how to learn and work with others. A lot of the work in my class is done in groups where students have a scaffold for support from their peers, as well as me.

I feel like mutual respect has helped facilitate higher level thinking skills and built self-esteem in students. Students become advocates of their own learning. They develop better work habits, and attitudes towards their learning assignments and their peers. Their initiative develops and their level of maturity increases markedly throughout the year.