Every step our students take toward increased responsibility and self-control is a step we all take toward freeing our collective energy to focus on the academic work of school.
I have been reflecting on several conversations I've had this past week about student behavior. Almost all of our kids can be described as, "sweet" in one-on-one situations while our classes are sometimes described as, "chatty" or even "disrespectful." The great challenge we have ahead of us is trying to teach personal responsibility in individual students while simultaneously teaching respect for rules and authority in groups of students. It stands to reason that if all students are truly in control of themselves then groups of these responsible students will also have control, but we don’t always get that result. What I’m seeing is that most students understand the concepts of the 7 Habits and are beginning to practice them in individual situations. However, practicing them in group situations when peer pressure and social dynamics come into play is proving to be much more challenging. Share your thoughts and your successes if you have experienced this paradox. How are you dealing with it? How do you handle teaching the 7 Habits to individual students versus groups of students?
