Classroom management is a constant struggle.
One way to help make management easier, is to boost positivity at school in general.
While reading through a Mines newsletter, I saw a small article on Project Positivity. The idea of this project is to boost happiness by leaving notes for strangers to find.
In advising last week, I asked my students to write a positive note on a sticky note. It could be a joke, a quote, a saying, a picture, whatever they liked!
Most of the kids loved it. Some had even found my notes hidden around the school.
"You are beautiful in every way."
"If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone as attractive as you, I'd have a dollar."
"Don't worry, be happy."
and so much more!
I asked the students to take their notes with them and hide them around the school. Some hid them in classrooms, others in hallways, and I saw some in really creative spots!
I can only hope this helped at least one kid. I hope to continue writing my own sticky notes to keep the positivity present!
What other ways can we help keep the attitude positive in our school?
What is the funniest thing you've seen or heard in school?
How have students shown you positivity when you least expected it?
I really enjoyed seeing the comments distributed around the school. I think the positivity effect was certainly tangible. I heard a few kids comment on them as well.
ReplyDeleteOnce thing that I have seen work and have seen reflected in the research is that praise is more powerful than rewards. Praising a behavior can have more of an impact that a prize or other tangible. I think it is also beneficial to connect praise of positive behaviors to the identify of the student while dealing with negative actions as behaviors that are inconsistent with the student's character. For example, "thank you for being an excellent student and turning in your assignment on time" vs. "turning in work late is not consistent with the caliber of student that you are". In other words connect positive behaviors to the student's identity and keep undesirable behaviors separate from defining who the student is.
I think it's important to have multiple positive comments to surround any negative comments you have for a student. It's easy for students to become disheartened and this can help alleviate that feeling.
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