I had an observation the other day and my kindergarten class and I went over the rules.My principal informed me today that Rule # 5 was awful , not student or child centered and there was nothing positive about it . She wanted to know where I got it, and said we are 100% positive sooooo don't ever use that again! I was really taken aback. I really love using this, how do I present it so she will understand? I did give the point on the video, she wasn't buying it. Is there another way to say the same thing?

Sure. Turn it around like this:

Rule 5: Keep the learing going for everyone.

In the same way that you can apply "Keep the teacher happy" you can use this phrase.

If a student is distracting others, or breaking any of the other rules they are not keeping the learning going, and distraction affect everyone.

Does that help?

The problem with my colleague Jeff's variation is that "keep the learning going for everyone" is open to debate. Let's say a kid drags a huge branch into the room ... which actually happened to Angela Macias. If she had said, "that breaks rule 5 which is 'keep the learning going for everyone'" the kid could have replied, "I want everyone to learn about branches." The beauty of our Rule 5 is that it makes the teacher the judge of what constitutes proper classroom behavior ... and the teacher is the best judge of this. Too bad your principal took it the wrong way ... and if you explained that "the only thing that makes me happy is seeing my kids learn" and he didn't buy it and you don't have tenure, then you probably have to drop the rule ... and that is a shame. Because every rule but our rule 5 can be quarreled with ...

Thanks! I see both of your points. She is much more inclined to understand Jeff's point, but I will work on the other as well, by pointing her to this website, and explaining it to her a little differently. I was so taken aback that I perhaps wasn't that successful in my explanation. Thanks again.

If you have any challenging kids at all, every teacher will need at least one rule that no challenging kid can quarrel with. Ask your principal to give you such a rule. Even "make smart choices" doesn't do it, because a kid could always argue that he or she was making smart choices. Kids will argue that they are not out of their seat, when, in fact, they are out of their seat! "I'm not out of my seat, I'm just getting my pencil sharpened." "I'm not talking to my neighbor, I'm just asking her about the homework." However, if you don't have any kids who will quarrel with rules, then you can do without Rule #5. Keep us updated!

I can see Biff's point on the change I suggested. My suggested change would only be useable if the kids were trained to know that the only one who determines what keeps the learning going is you the teacher. I would definitely run anything like that by that principal. I am not sure that would meet her requirements.

Otherwise, you would need to drop the rule, or as Biff suggested, try to engage the principal in coming up with an acceptable alternative. To make sure that principal felt comfortable with this I would include them.

Please don't be discouraged by your principles comments! I have worked at International schools for the past 10 years, and I can tell you from experience... some people just don't get it!
My current principle is British and from a very "prim and proper " back ground and she has actually said to other teachers that my whole brain teaching is "absurd" and "suitable for Kinder, but not proper for elementary pupils." Boy my heart dropped and I really had to step back and look at myself as a teacher. Was I absurd or just misunderstood???
I continued to use each and everyone of the power teaching tools despite the frowns and after the first six months of school every teacher in elementary had asked to observe my class and by the next year every grade was Power Teaching! An High school teacher, after watching my class in the computer lab actually told me I was his teaching hero!!! So, my point is.... not everyone gets it, and not everyone has to. You know your class and you know yourself. Do you feel successful? Do your students actually participate? If Yes, then stick to your guns and keep your chin up! Sooner or later your success will shine and your principle will come knockin on your door asking you to teach the next workshop!

I teach EFL in Taiwan. Most of my students think that rule 5 is absolutely hilarious. They never heard of anything like it. However, I had one 6th grader go wild screaming at me because the rule is unfair. I told him I would reconsider the rule after everybody took a vote. We never got around to the vote because my principal came in. She said she understood the rule, but said that I couldn't use it anymore. Some of the students told me privately that they wanted me to continue using the rule.
I listened to the principal and stopped using the rule. However, I didn't generalize her demand. I interpretted it as only applying to the one class that had one student who had trouble with it.

You can try making the rule less personal, such as "keep the scorekeeper happy", or "ref makes the call". Like in soccer .. Dang biased refs....
Always keep any reference to that rule light and humorous, and don't attach personal consequences to it like detention, etc... Just stick to the scoreboard and keep it a game.

Thanks for having the discussion about Rule #5. I like the rule but I can see how it might be misinterpreted. In my first day letter to my parents, I'm going to add the following under the rule so they know it isn't about me but about the learning environment.

5. Keep your dear teacher happy!
If what happens in our class helps me to teach and you and the other students to
learn, I’m happy.

Hi there! First of all~ I gotta give kudos to the "purpose driven teacher" for sticking to it even when others "didn't get it:" What makes me laugh~ is I started out WBT in 3rd grade. A HUGE argument was from the kinder teachers who came to see me and said "it would never work in kinder!" "Kinder is it's own world". So imagine my delight to move down to kinder and Surprise! It worked great! Except that now people see the videos in kinder, and say: "It can only work in kinder but not in........." UGH! The fact is that it works IN EVERY CLASSROOM AND EVERY GRADE~ so long as the teacher believes it and puts his/her heart into it, CONSISTENTLY! The teacher delivering the instruction is the one that makes the difference and there is just no disputing: WBT is a successful classroom management/instructional delivery system for ALL STUDENTS, ANY AGE:) ! So "ten finger rolling woo with a lightning sizzle" to you, for sticking it out:)!

Back to the question at hand, the "dreaded" Rule #5. I would say to make an "addition" at the end. For example~ in my class, after we count our smiley and frowny points we go through a little choral response routine that goes like this: I ask "Who needs to participate?" Students answer "I do!" (they point at themselves). Then, I ask: "Cuz what's your job?" and students answer: "To learn!" (and they point at their heads) and I say "And how are you going to learn?" And they say "You gotta say it (make talking hand motions), and do it (arms go back and forth as if running) to learn it! (point at head again).

This little routine gets my kids going for participation. Soooooo.......what if after Rule #5, you do a little choral response, maybe something like this:

You say: "Rule #5" and they answer (while doing the handmotions) "Keep your dear teacher happy!" and you ask"How you gunna keep your dear teacher happy?" and students say "By thinking, and learning, and doing!" (and make up some handmotions).

Or whatever answer you want your students to say. Think about what makes you happy~ most of us would say when the students are actively learning. And when they are not "making us happy"~ usually they are doing something that is not contributing to learning~ whether for themselves or the friends around them. I agree with Biff~ the beauty of "keep your dear teacher happy" is that YOU are the judge~ no arguments allowed. But adding the choral response may "Keep your dear principal happy!" ~ while keeping YOU as the final judge for what breaks that rule!

I tell my students that the best way to make their dear teacher happy is to follow rules 1-4. That usually works!

That's a great idea too!

Just don't forget the "beauty" of Rule #5 is that it is the rule that "covers it all"~ for those odd behaviors (*see Biff's "branch story" below) that don't necessarily fall under the other 4 rules OR that (older or exceptional) children can't outwit or outsmart!

My children loved this rule last year. It always made them laugh. I did not find this web site until Jan. last year, so this is my first year starting the year off using all of these rules. I liked the recommendation of adding the explanation of what makes the teacher happy. I am adding to what was said because each year I seem to have several children who have difficulty getting along with their classmates. So I am going to add this to rule 5. My teacher is happy when I participate, listen, cooperate and learn. I am excited to use what I have learned through this website and at the LA conference. We have Open House next week and the children will start school the following day. Has anyone used WBT techniques during Open House with your parents and children to introduce and help them remember important school and classroom procedures? How did the parents react? Did they participate? Andrea- I guess I could use tell your partner "You gotta participate." This is another procedure that always tickled my kinders last year.