For years, I used
the Clips and Colors as my behavior management plan and I loved it. It was simple and easy. When students made good choices and made me
happy, they moved their clip up, and when they did not and made me sad, they
moved their clip down. This was a highly
effective behavior plan, and my dudes and divas were very well behaved…. when I
was there, and when I was focused on them.
When I had a sub, or at lunch, or even if I was busy working with a
small group, there were always those 5-6 goobers who just could not hold it
together. And that was frustrating to
say the least!
As I began to
implement The Leader in Me principles, I realized that my beloved Clips and
Colors actually IMPEDED the process and was diametrically opposed to The Leader
in Me idea of personal responsibility and integrity. The Clips and Colors allowed me to control
the students’ behavior quite effectively, but it made ME the center of the discipline
plan, not the STUDENTS. They were kind
and helpful not because it is the right thing to do, but because they wanted ME
to see and move their clip up, but there was really no reward for doing the
right thing if I was not there to see it. My students were not learning to be People of Integrity,
but People Who Needed Someone To Always Validate Their Behavior, and felt no
personal responsibility when no one was watching. And that broke my Teacher
Heart.
The final straw that made me re-evaluate The
Way I Had Always Done It was a very personal one. My grandson’s teacher used the Clips and
Colors and his mom and dad, being responsible, good parents would ask him what
color he was on when they picked him up.
If it was a good color, there was Rejoicing in the Land, but a not-so-good
color meant No Fun for Wyatt. It became
a great source of stress for their little family and to Wyatt himself. And that broke my Grandma Heart.
I realized that I had seen the same scenario
played out many, many times as parents of my students picked up their
children. Good color… happy family… bad
color…. sad family. As I made the
paradigm shift from me being the Disperser of Discipline to students taking
responsibility of their own actions and learning to self-monitor, the Clips and
Colors just didn’t fit anymore. Sooo…I
dumped it!
This year my class will be encouraged to solve their problems with each
other, with me acting as a mediator when needed, using the tools and language
taught by The Leader in Me. Yes, I will have a discipline plan with consequences for behaviors, and when things go wrong, as they frequently
do, consequences will be immediate and appropriate. But more than that, the mistakes made in the
classroom will be used as an opportunity to learn how to regroup, make a new
plan, and start again. This year is going to be a great year!
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