Teachers are idealists - especially in the summer. We
dream, learn, plan, set goals – all with a beautiful, almost-perfect school
year in mind. Then the school year begins.
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry…”
During my first year teaching I often thought, “No one
prepared me for THIS!” I wanted a happy, safe, awesome classroom but most days
it felt as if I was swimming upstream - up the side of a mountain! The reality
is – and we learn this as we mature as teachers – we can and should plan completely
and thoroughly BUT if we do not establish the culture and environment of our
classroom our students will not learn as effectively. We must dream about and
plan for our classroom climate – it is necessary if we want our students to
succeed!
Here are a few of the characteristics I strive for, plan,
and teach in my classroom (many overlap):
Safety: Students
will know and truly believe that they are safe every single day they enter our
classroom. They will not be bullied, ridiculed, disrespected, neglected, or
harmed in any way. My students are safe to share their thoughts and questions
because they know they have the support of their teacher and classmates.
Happiness: My
classroom will be filled with joy! We will be happy to see one another each
morning. Students will celebrate each other’s achievements. No one will struggle
alone – classmates and teachers are there to encourage everyone!
Excellence: We
will strive for excellence in all that we do! We will do our best in every
subject – this doesn’t mean we will always achieve an A+. This means we put all
of our effort into learning and trying our best. If we fail, we pick ourselves
back up and try again.
Integrity: We will
make a decision to do what is right – no matter what. We won’t do what is right
in order to gain a reward or avoid a consequence. We won’t do what is right to
gain recognition or fame. We will do what is right simply because it is right
and that is who we want to be. We know it will take hard work and no one may
even notice but we do it anyways – because we are determined and have grit!
Grit: We will
determine our current level of grit and work hard to increase grit in our lives
because we know that is the main tool we have to combat frustration, distraction,
boredom, temptation, and fear. We will build our stamina, passion and
perseverance for long-range goals, and work hard to make our futures a reality.
We will hang on! We will stick to it! We can do it!
Teamwork: We
will work together to achieve our goals. We will encourage, celebrate, support,
and respect one another. We will be the strength someone needs and receive
strength from others when we are weak. Our team, our class, is behind us and
has our back!
How ClassDojo
Helps Me Establish Classroom Culture and Characteristics:
ClassDojo has revolutionized my classroom! ClassDojo
supports me in my efforts to develop a safe, positive classroom environment. I
can encourage the positive behavior that will help establish a classroom
culture of teamwork, integrity, grit, safety, and happiness! My students love
their avatars and the ability they have to change them into the type of
creature they want. This encourages students to participate and view their
performance. Parents enjoy the constant communication with the classroom –
through viewing their child’s points/behavior at any time and the messaging
feature which allows them to send and receive messages.
I LOVE that I can
consistently reward my students for demonstrating the positive characteristics
of our classroom culture. Tyrone showed grit? Add a point! Maria helped a
classmate? Add a point! Duane is working really hard on a math problem? Add a
point! All day long I can communicate awesome behaviors to my students and
their parents. I am also able to review the positive things happening in our
classroom throughout the day. I can assign a negative point when needed, as
well. This happens FAR less often but also helps teacher, parent, and student
review performance. On top of all of that, I can message my parents,
individually or as a whole-class broadcast at any time. Think of texting but without
everyone knowing your phone number! I even receive notifications on my phone,
iPad, and/or computer when a message is sent to me so I can communicate
quickly. Talk about increasing parent involvement! It is for these reasons and,
oh, so many more that I absolutely love ClassDojo and can say with confidence
that it has revolutionized my classroom!
However, I am over-the-moon
excited about the new feature being released tomorrow: ClassDojo Groups!
This new feature allows teachers to place students into a
group (or groups) and quickly award points based on that particular group’s
performance. Those points are then applied to the individual students’ totals.
How cool is that? When using the app on my iPhone I am able to easily switch
between groups and individuals by a quick swipe (indicated at the bottom of the
screen by a grid or dot). I am excited about how this will streamline giving
out points throughout the day. Before, I would have to search for individual
students in a group to award individual points. Now all it takes is one click! Group
1 is working as a team? Add a point! Group 4 is demonstrating integrity by
following instructions? Add a point! We are all about teamwork in my classroom so
this feature just amps up my ability to encourage and reward awesome teamwork.
Students will be able to see that teamwork benefits not just the team but their
individual total, as well!
I can’t wait to put this new feature into practice once
the new school year begins. And, yes, I am one of those idealistic teachers.
However, I know that with ClassDojo supporting me, my students and their
parents we WILL have a successful, positive, fun classroom culture and year!
What do you think about this new feature? Please comment
and share any ideas or questions you have! I can’t wait to hear from you!
-Angela
