- If you have to go to the bathroom, go to the bathroom. Take the pass from the front
of the room. Unfortunately, only one person can go at a time. Don’t leave for the first
10 minutes or the last 10 minutes of the period because you won’t know how the les-
son began or ended. - Please don’t eat in class, play a radio, or sit with your head down. Please remove hats
in class. - If you are absent, bring a note. Cutters will be penalized. I take cutting as a personal
insult. - Be prepared with a pen and notebook everyday.
- Class participation, homework, and preparation are all part of your grade.
- Number all homework assignments. Keep them in a separate section of your note-
book. - Homework is due when assigned, but can be made up late. You must competeall
homework assignments to pass the class. Answer all questions in complete sentences.
Questions to Consider:What do you think of my recommendations on class rules? Why?There are many ways to present rules in class. Henry Dircks, a social studies teacher in
the New Teachers Network, has three posters hanging in his room. Each poster includes a
picture of a former U.S. president and a slightly modified “quote.” Franklin D. Roosevelt says:
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself;... that and being late to class. Thomas Jefferson
explains: All men are created equal,... but people who participate in class get better grades.
Abraham Lincoln suggests: With malice towards none; with charity for all... let us strive to
finish the work we are in... and study hard for unit tests.
Every society, community, and school has unofficial as well as official rules. These rules
are not written down but definitely exist in practice. For example, what should your students
call you? Most schools expect students to address teachers as Ms., Miss, Mrs., Mr., or Dr. So-
and-So. But the rule is rarely written down anywhere. When I was young and just beginning, I
needed to have students call me Mr. Singer to help me to establish myself as an adult and
their teacher. On a couple of occasions I had students whom I knew from camp or the neigh-
borhood, where they called me Alan. I told them that “outside I would always be Alan, but in
class, they had to call me Mr. Singer.”
Eventually, when I became more comfortable with my role as a teacher, I changed the un-
written rule and introduced myself to new classes as Alan. The sun continued to shine, the
Earth did not tremble, no administrator ever reprimanded me (though some teachers were
unhappy), and I did not lose the respect of my students. Members of the New Teachers Net-
work who have tried this report similar results.
The advantage of unofficial rules, such as giving students incompletes, is that they are
less likely to cause a problem with school authorities, and if they do, the situation can be
“massaged.” Once I was called to the assistant principal’s office because I had too many
missing grades on my grade sheets. I looked puzzled and said “it must be a computer error.”
Some of my unwritten class rules, that I convey to students orally, include the following:
·If you have trouble with another teacher or the dean, come see me before it escalates. As
long as you are honest with me, I will help you as best as I can. But if you ever lie to me, I
will not be able to trust and support you.134 CHAPTER 5