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Every Friday before recess, I draw a popsicle stick from the cup I keep on the chalk tray, and the person whose name is chosen becomes Student Leader for the following week. That child gets to answer the phone, deliver things to other classes, and handle a variety of classroom monitor jobs. In addition, (s)he leads everybody in the Pledge of Allegiance and selects the exercises for our "Tabata Tuesday" morning warm-up routine. I also fill out a colorful certificate and hang it on a bulletin board where the kids can put up pictures of their family and friends.
A few years ago, my students and I added a new twist to this weekly feature when I selected Gracie’s name from the cup. I can get a bit silly before recess, and I joked that as a tribute to our new Student Leader, everybody needed to show up on Monday wearing a flower in their hair as Gracie often did. I completely forget about my little joke and was shocked when many kids showed up on Monday with flowers in their hair. Gracie was absolutely beaming when she saw this, and a new tradition was born.
The following week, a boy named Tanyon became Student Leader. Because he didn’t routinely wear a flower in his hair as Gracie did, we needed a different way to honor him during his special week. He said that he liked wearing blue shirts to school, so the following week, many kids wore blue shirts to school. These tributes, which began as a throw-away joke before recess, have become a quick, simple, and powerful way to give kids their moment in the sun and make them feel like an important part of the team. The tributes don't have to focus exclusively on what students wear. Recently, one girl invited classmates to join her at the monkey bars during recess for a special workout.
Once I select the Student Leader and determine how that child would like to be honored, I send a brief email to all the parents so they can remind their kids about this on Monday morning.
Whenever I want to communicate an important academic or behavioral idea to my students, I try to create a visual representation of that idea. Creating a visual reference point makes the idea easier for kids to understand, and it also gives it a sense of permanence because I can review the visual, as needed, over time.
Over the past few weeks I have been writing about the virtuous cycle that begins once students develop higher personal standards and expect more from themselves. This virtuous cycle has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and I have started to discuss the idea more explicitly and more frequently with my students.
In my two previous posts I have emphasized the importance of helping students develop higher personal standards. When kids expect more from themselves, a virtuous cycle begins in which they work harder, produce better work, and receive positive feedback about their work, effort, and attitude. As a result, their confidence and motivation grow. That leads, in turn, to even better effort, and the chain reaction progresses to a higher level.