I am a literacy teacher for twelve 1st graders and an alternative core intervention teacher for thirty-six 4th and 5th graders, all of whom have been labeled as "Below Grade Level" in Language Arts. Because of their seemingly negative label, many of my students have low self-esteem and don't see themselves the way I see them. One of my goals this year was/is to help change their perception of themselves, to help them see how wonderfully perfect they truly are. It seems the Universe is helping me with my goal this year, introducing me to things that have helped me along the way, encouraging me continue with my endeavor.
I started off the school year by teaching them about affirmations and the power of words. I learned about affirmations from Louise Hays and from some dear friends of mine (you know who you are :)). Positive affirmations have helped me in so many ways. I had my students write an affirmation about themselves on a sentence strip. I taught them how you can speak words into existence. If you don't feel smart, say, "I am smart." If you don't feel important, say, "I am important." I'll never forget my student who wrote, "I am tall," because he felt short and wanted to be tall :) All the sentence strips are posted in our classroom.
Our daily positive student affirmations:
"I am smart."
"I am important."
"I am kind."
"I am special."
After my students recite their daily positive student affirmations, I always say, "yes, you are," regardless of anything that happens that day in our class (i.e. a handful of poor choices, students not returning their Home Education, a bumpy/rough lesson, etc.). No grudges. Nothing is personal. Many of my students have requested to add on additional affirmations like, "I am awesome," and "I am amazing," which I encourage. There hasn't been a single school day where my students haven't said their affirmations...they won't let me forget. It warms my heart to have a student raise their hand and remind me that they didn't say their positive affirmations. It also warms my heart to listen/see my students share their affirmations with other students who don't attend our class.
I recently told my students that whenever I learned something new that I wish I would have known when I was in elementary school, I would share it with them. They loved that idea :) So when I learned that "hurt people hurt people," and "cooperation is the goal; not competition," from a class I attended (thank you K & T), I couldn't wait to share it with my students. They soaked up positive affirmations, so I felt confident they were ready for some additional uplifting, life changing words. And it didn't hurt that it went along with our Language Arts theme "Bullies Beware" perfectly! I started by writing "hurt people hurt people" on the white board and asking my students what they thought that meant. That was an interesting conversation :). I told them that it meant people who were hurting, hurt other people because they didn't know any better. They were hurting and wanted to make other people feel the same way, so they didn't feel so alone. We talked about how bullies are hurting people...they are hurting inside and don't know what to do. They are doing the best they can with what they know.
I continued by telling my students that bullies are not born mean. They are hurting inside and they need compassion. Many of my students gave me examples of how they had been hurt in the past, and together we identified how that individual was probably hurting inside. Once the saying, "hurt people hurt people," was introduced (it's still on our board), we refered back to it whenever there was an incident and we continue to do so. Children are wonderful at application.
Yes, I taught about acceptance of bullies, but I also taught my students how to stick up for themselves. I didn't tell a student to run up to a bully who was being mean and give them a hug, but I did tell them to remind themselves of our saying, "hurt people hurt people," when they are being bullied, as well as, "nothing is personal". We talked about walking away from a bully, telling the bully to stop saying what they are saying because they don't like it, telling an adult, etc. I understand that bullying is a huge problem for students. I shared some of my personal stories with them. I want my students to have a voice, not to be/feel voiceless just because they are children.
Moving onto cooperation, as opposed to, competition...I love this!!! I introduced this concept/idea to my students using Reading Counts lexiles (reading levels), since they had all recently taken their lexile test for the end of the 2nd trimester. I told them that competition regarding lexiles would be wanting to do better than their peers. Wanting to score higher, wanting to be better, wanting to be smarter, etc. Competition makes you feel better if you're winning, but it doesn't make you feel better if you're losing. Then, I told them that cooperation regarding lexiles would be wanting yourself to succeed, but wanting others to succeed as well, not caring about what their peers' lexiles were. Cooperation makes you feel good all the time because you always want everyone to do their best, including you.
In our class, we don't display lexiles, but we do display the lexile growth over the school year. It is not important for my students to know each others lexiles, but it is important for them to help celebrate the lexile growth of their peers and their own personal growth. No competition, just the desire for everyone to succeed. We do a ton of team activities, but competition isn't promoted, only success. We want all teams to succeed to the best of their ability.
Sayings used in our classroom:
"Use caring, compassionate, and kind words."
"Treat other people with care, compassion, and kindness."
"Nothing is personal."
"Focus on the present."
"Hurt people hurt people."
"Cooperation, not competition. We want everyone to do the best they can do."
"Speak it into existence. If you say you can't, then you won't ever be able to. However, if you say you can, you will be able to."
Our classroom is a safe place filled with "feel goods." It is a learning ground for my students to apply what they have learned. There are no grudges on my part, I greet my students with a smile and a "Good morning," every single school day, regardless of what happened the day before. I want them all to be successful and to see themselves as the perfect individuals they are. I am providing them puzzle pieces that have been passed onto me. It's up to them to create their puzzle.
