As a human, I too will make mistakes. I will be open to admitting when I have made a mistake and learn from them just as I would expect from my students (Olsen, 2009).
I will let my students plead their case whenever a confrontation is necessary. I might not be able to see everything going on outside of my classroom so if that is affecting my students I want them to have an opportunity to explain themselves (Olsen, 2009).
In addition to your classroom contract, I will ask my students to write goals for my class. If their behavior begins to get in the way of their goals, I will pull them out and revisit them with the student (Claassen, 2008).
In the event that something major happens (i.e. natural disaster, shootings, great loss, etc.) I will hold a circle meeting with my whole class. We will arrange our chairs into a huge circle so everyone can be seen. Each of us will take a turn talking with the talking stick and share our feelings toward the situation. This model can be adapted for conflict resolution as well (Pranis, 2005 ).
Sometimes we get rowdy and loud. In the case that this behavior gets in our way of learning, I will implement constructive reminders (Classen, 2008). You might see me walk by the disruptive behavior and stand there until it stops. Sometimes all I need to do is make eye contact with the student or shake my head. In the case that these don’t work, I will begin counting down 5 to 0. If my students have not quieted down by 0 I will begin counting back up. Every number after 0 will be :30 seconds after the bell .
In the event that something happens in class where I will need to meet with the student privately, I will ask to meet with the student the next day. This way the student has 24 hours to cool down and think about what transpired. In this meeting, their goals for the class will be brought out, as well as their classroom contract (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2013).