Students Set the Rules

"When students take ownership and responsibility for their behaviour, you get a productive classroom," says Kelly Brownrigg, a Grade 6 teacher from Guardian Angels Catholic School in Stittsville, Ontario. "It may not be quiet, but it's really full of learning!"

How can teachers encourage students to be responsible for their behaviour? Brownrigg and fellow Prime Minister's Award recipient Marie Hockley, who is an English and history teacher at Ridgeway-Crystal Beach High School in Ridgeway, Ontario, use student-developed codes of conduct.

On the first day of school, Hockley tells her students that she has one rule for her classroom: respect others. She then asks the students to list ways that they can show respect and actions that show disrespect. Next, the personal lists are compiled onto a big piece of paper. Suggestions include "Don't make fun of others" and "Don't interrupt." Hockley's students sign the sheet and a copy is sent to the principal's office.

Brownrigg's class brainstorms a similar list, which is likewise written on large sheets of paper. Brownrigg encourages her students to develop more than behaviour rules and come up with standards for work habits, homework completion, lunchtime, and library and yard times. The rules are written in positive language, such as "We will always be polite to each other," and are posted in a prominent place in the classroom for the first month of school, then kept for supply teachers to review.

This process gives the students a sense of ownership — these are their rules, not ones imposed by the teacher or administration — and a feeling of pride and responsibility, Brownrigg and Hockley explain.