I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)

As teachers and students, there are a lot of things we're asked to do throughout the school day: pay attention, read this, hand in that, take this survey, scale that mountain of e-mail. We're asked to marginalize certain things in order to address others deemed "more important." Sometimes, we're even asked to compromise our core values and beliefs for the sake of "getting the job done."

I think it's important for us to uphold our values at any cost, but most importantly, to maintain that singular, uncompromising, unwavering viewpoint: our own "Golden Rule."

Continuing with our #ed584 grad class series of questions, I elected to blog about the concept of this rule and what that means to me. No, not necessarily "do unto others," but rather: "What is one, non-negotiable rule that all kids must follow in your class?"

I feel like mine is pretty simple, but quite profound when applied in the myriad of our educational contexts: "Be respectful."

I mean and expect this of myself, my kids and colleagues in everything we do, whether it's in or out of the classroom. Being respectful means showing respect to others when they're showing you how to do something, or sharing their views on a topic. I think students should respect themselves enough to give it their all when confronted with a difficult activity or concept, as often happens during my co-taught research classes. Being respectful means being a good digital citizen, practicing the ethical use of information, but also being respectful in your interactions with others online. To me, being resilient, actively participating in and contributing to learning process, honoring the views and work of others and building a culture of tolerance means being respectful.

Being nonconstructive, negative, opting out of learning, not trying your hardest to fight through adversity and disrespecting others? No, I can't go for that (no can do). 

What's the one non-negotiable rule in your classroom?