Give 'em the Pickle

If you are a business person, you have already read this book.  Our principal has decided to make this part of our staff development.  It has opened up great conversation at our school about how we can serve our community better and how to show pride in our school.  Yesterday we discussed chapter three about how to be a cheerleader for your school.  It reminded me of a tradition one of my previous school's did for the students each grading period.  At the end of the nine weeks each teacher submitted a "Scots on a Roll" nomination.  This wasn't for your A or A/B honor roll children, but for the child who may work hard all the time or who improved a great deal during the nine weeks.  It was awesome to see the sea of praise and accolades for the students who may have gone unnoticed before for their hard work.  We always talk about how we seem to lose the middle level children, but this is a way to show them we see their efforts too.  I am looking forward to starting this up again at my new school.  How do you praise your kids for their efforts in your class?

Geometry of success

Any time a student makes an A on a test or quiz they get a leaf on the board. The kids are funny when they catch on to the pun. This idea branched from the calculus teacher that used cows in her class.  It amazes me how much high schoolers love rewars like stickers as much as an elementary teacher.