My Classroom Rules

This is a safe space, full of respect, responsibility, and resilience.

My rules are simple.  Be respecful, be responsible, and be resilient.  I believe teaching
and learning must be placed on a solid foundation of respect, responsibility, and
resilience.  These three principles can be found throughout my personal philosophy,
my professional pedagogy, and my classroom.  Furthermore, I believe respect,
responsibility, and resilience are prescriptions for loving, peaceful, and joyful lives.  All
three of these principles are about relationships, and that is what I care most about.  

Respect, for me, is the mutual acceptance that we all come to the table with
different strengths, and that we are all capable of gaining knowledge, skill, and
perspective.  I respect the perspectives and insights of others and believe we all
deserve to be treated with patience, kindness, forgiveness, and honesty.  Sometimes
this is a sacrifice; one I’m more than willing to make for my students and their families.  I
respect their family, their goals, and their place in this community.

Responsibility is needed when respect is disrupted.  We are all going to make
mistakes this year, and we may find ourselves either acting, or being treated,
disrespectfully.  This is when we need to take responsibility for our own actions, speak
up honestly, apologize, and hopefully restore the lacking respect.  As a teacher, I
believe I am fully responsible for the safety, well-being, and educational opportunities
of my students.  I am responsible for giving them every resource, tool, strategy, skill,
and piece of knowledge they will need to navigate this increasingly complex
world.  It is my job to equip them for continued schooling and careers.  My students,
on the other hand, are fully responsible for their own focus, effort, and dedication.  I
can do all I can to inspire, motivate, and encourage, but it is their willingness and
readiness to learn that will truly determine their success.

Resilience is about seeing ourselves, and the world around us, a little clearer.
Resilience is about getting back up after a failure, making tough changes, staying
positive, and having fun.  Life can have a way of knocking us down sometimes, but I
think our strength and character can grow from those difficulties.  Strength succeeds
struggle.  We must be willing to learn and grow from our mistakes.  Without resilience, we are
stuck in our shame, fear, and inabilities.  I want my students to find their strengths, develop
them, and use them to benefit their family and community.