Classroom Principle

This summer I read "Teaching with Love and Logic" by Jim Fay and David Funk.  A great book to read, and I recommend it to any teacher or parent.  My favorite thing about it was the specifics it gave and models on how to respond to certain student behaviors.  I've written a few of those down and review them often to make sure they're fresh in my mind.

One thing I loved from the book was their one rule:  

You can do anything you need to do as long as it doesn't cause a problem for yourself or others.  

It pretty much covers everything.  In our class we call it our class principle.  I have the kids repeat it at the beginning of every class and have different kids offer examples of how this rule applies to every-day interactions in the classroom (or outside the classroom).

There was a poster someone else had made for this principle, but it was bizarre with lots of colors and too many fonts.  I can't handle that.  It's chaotic.  So I created my own.  And it's beautiful and calm.  Here it is:

It's easy for the kids to understand.  It's a concept they can easily apply to other situations and environments.  It's easy to refer to when I'm explaining why a certain behavior is inappropriate for our classroom.  It's pretty much the best.   Thanks, Jim Fay and David Funk.