Does your elementary school use the "stoplight"/shame system

[Anonymous]

No. DS would be on red most days if he had that and likely would not care. His class may use the Responsive Classroom, I'm not sure. He talks about the morning meetings. He has a behavior plan and earns stars for meeting his goals. I'm not a fan of reward systems either and we worked something out with the school to find something that works for all of us.

[Anonymous]

To the principal who posted above. This looks like a great program. Does it have to be implemented school wide? Can it be used by non-home room based teachers like me? I only see my students for 45 min blocks. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

So, which schools use RC and which use these other charts/stoplights/clips?

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the principal who posted above. This looks like a great program. Does it have to be implemented school wide? Can it be used by non-home room based teachers like me? I only see my students for 45 min blocks. Thanks!

Principal here--yes anyone can use it. It's designed for K-6, but I believe that there are middle school components being added. What happens in many schools is that teachers begin to get trained on their own, and then colleagues notice how their classes seem to run much better and kids/teachers seem happier. Then more begin to take it, and then hopefully you hit that tipping point where you feel more like an RC school than not. You can hear it in the hallways by how teachers address children. The culture shifts and practices like stop lights and prize boxes are looked down upon.

If you're in FCPS, there are plenty of Academy offerings in the summer. It's one of the best trainings (4.5 days) you'll attend. And it's really fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what do you do if someone misbehaves and doesn't follow the RC script? Why should kids not be told when their behavior is not acceptable? If your kid has been warned about a behavior multiple times, why should your kid not receive a consequence?

I teach K-2 students and I use a card system. Each student had a card on the edge of their desk. When they do something they should do (following directions the first time, following classroom rules and procedures, completely homework on time, etc), they earn a stamp. When they acquire 10 stamps, they can pick something from the reward box. Students earn more stamps at the beginning of the year and after breaks when they are learning/reviewing rules and procedures. I always tell a student why they are getting a stamp. Rewards include pencils, erasers, stickers, "money" for our school store, small prizes like bubbles, glow sticks, small PlayDoh, etc). I don't often cross stamps out but if a student repeatedly breaks the rules after reminders, I will cross one out. I think this works better than the stop light. I had an admin many years ago who had no problem berating teachers in front of other teachers during meetings, PDs, etc. Our admin now is the complete opposite. We all want to do well b/c she knows how to get people to do their best.

I don't know why but I'm not a huge fan of the reward box either. Maybe because the rewards seem so ill thought out and are unrelated to the deed.

It's not about you. It's for the kids. Kids love this stuff. My ds would love a teacher like pp. And I'd appreciate it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, which schools use RC and which use these other charts/stoplights/clips?

It's not necessarily schoolwide. Well, RC is generally schoolwide but it will vary somewhat unless they've all had extensive training. Some schools are sort of RC-ish (or RC lite). The chart/stoplight/clip thing is often left to teacher discretion. It's also possible to have the chart system in some rooms in an RC-ish school.

An interesting read: http://missnightmutters.com/chuck-the-chart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

But it sounds like that's what you're already doing. My child went to a school that did a clip chart with the colors and it stressed him out. In three years he was on yellow twice and the good colors all the other days, but he was so worried about moving his clip that it made him hate school. His friends were on the "bad colors" all the time, so he worried the teachers would have him move his clip too. I told him to quit worrying about it, but it was no use.

The past two years we've been at a school that uses responsive classroom and he's much happier. It's rare that I hear him talking about his friends being in trouble, so I guess it's working ok. My ds is kind of shy and quiet, so he never got in trouble for anything except not following instructions before, but with the responsive classroom it seems the expectations are pretty clear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

I would love this. Last year in the winter DC was sent to the principal over something that would be a big deal in our house and I didn't find out about it till the last week of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

But it sounds like that's what you're already doing. My child went to a school that did a clip chart with the colors and it stressed him out. In three years he was on yellow twice and the good colors all the other days, but he was so worried about moving his clip that it made him hate school. His friends were on the "bad colors" all the time, so he worried the teachers would have him move his clip too. I told him to quit worrying about it, but it was no use.

The past two years we've been at a school that uses responsive classroom and he's much happier. It's rare that I hear him talking about his friends being in trouble, so I guess it's working ok. My ds is kind of shy and quiet, so he never got in trouble for anything except not following instructions before, but with the responsive classroom it seems the expectations are pretty clear?

Yes, the clip system can do that to kids. That's why positive reinforcement in place first is so important. Planning for the behavior ahead of time removes many of the situations that involve reacting without thought. The clip system is a punishment system, unfortunately. There is a book by Murray Sidman called Coercion and its Fallout. There is good discussion about the negative effects of punishment and it also addresses how kids HATE school among other things. I have two kids who LOVE to learn. They quickly learned to hate school with the punishment systems they have in place. My 1st grader started peeing her pants and both of my kids are very nervous at school. This has lasting effects and they are afraid to approach their teachers for fear of being yelled at or called out. It has been a nightmare for me being a parent of children who do not have behavior issues. Such guilt that I can't homeschool with people who share our similar values and want to promote a LOVE of learning rather than scaring kids into good behavior. Teacher and administrator education should strongly focus on behavior so that the people who are with our kids all day are educated on best practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

But it sounds like that's what you're already doing. My child went to a school that did a clip chart with the colors and it stressed him out. In three years he was on yellow twice and the good colors all the other days, but he was so worried about moving his clip that it made him hate school. His friends were on the "bad colors" all the time, so he worried the teachers would have him move his clip too. I told him to quit worrying about it, but it was no use.

The past two years we've been at a school that uses responsive classroom and he's much happier. It's rare that I hear him talking about his friends being in trouble, so I guess it's working ok. My ds is kind of shy and quiet, so he never got in trouble for anything except not following instructions before, but with the responsive classroom it seems the expectations are pretty clear?

Yes, the clip system can do that to kids. That's why positive reinforcement in place first is so important. Planning for the behavior ahead of time removes many of the situations that involve reacting without thought. The clip system is a punishment system, unfortunately. There is a book by Murray Sidman called Coercion and its Fallout. There is good discussion about the negative effects of punishment and it also addresses how kids HATE school among other things. I have two kids who LOVE to learn. They quickly learned to hate school with the punishment systems they have in place. My 1st grader started peeing her pants and both of my kids are very nervous at school. This has lasting effects and they are afraid to approach their teachers for fear of being yelled at or called out. It has been a nightmare for me being a parent of children who do not have behavior issues. Such guilt that I can't homeschool with people who share our similar values and want to promote a LOVE of learning rather than scaring kids into good behavior. Teacher and administrator education should strongly focus on behavior so that the people who are with our kids all day are educated on best practices.

Wow pp that is heartbreaking. I've seen my fair share of bad teachers who are just flat out MEAN and CRUEL to the children and then a few who are kind and loving. I've gone back to school so that I can become a teacher and it's because I love working with kids, not so I can bully them.

But do you know who I frequently see the worst behavior from? The instructional aides. They are often the least patient, have the shortest tempers, and have NO IDEA how to interact with children appropriately. They are quick to punish and have no idea how negatively it affects the children. The schools should be looking more closely at the people they hire for these jobs. The difference is that they don't even require them to have any college education at all. So they haven't been required to study child development and child psychology and how to teach things like math and reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher in Virginia and use the "stop light" system. Why, because I don't have time to sit there and have a discussion with your child Everytime he decides to play around and not follow directions. Especially if I have already outlined my expectations and given both verbal and written directions. My students know why they are changing their color and they are able to move their color back if their behavior improves. However, once they teach red they will be joining me in an instant phone home. I don't have time to teach 30 kids and also deal with the fact that your kid has not stopped talking the past 5 times I asked them.

Now I say all that but let me say that I give my students plenty of advanced warnings, have clear guidelines for behavior and expectations and keep my kids engaged all day. I give them downtime when I notice that they need a break and only make them change their colors when I've exhausted all other means (a warning, a quick check in with them and then a discussion). But if your child is being a little disrespectful snot then by all means, expect to hear from us.

But it sounds like that's what you're already doing. My child went to a school that did a clip chart with the colors and it stressed him out. In three years he was on yellow twice and the good colors all the other days, but he was so worried about moving his clip that it made him hate school. His friends were on the "bad colors" all the time, so he worried the teachers would have him move his clip too. I told him to quit worrying about it, but it was no use.

The past two years we've been at a school that uses responsive classroom and he's much happier. It's rare that I hear him talking about his friends being in trouble, so I guess it's working ok. My ds is kind of shy and quiet, so he never got in trouble for anything except not following instructions before, but with the responsive classroom it seems the expectations are pretty clear?

Yes, the clip system can do that to kids. That's why positive reinforcement in place first is so important. Planning for the behavior ahead of time removes many of the situations that involve reacting without thought. The clip system is a punishment system, unfortunately. There is a book by Murray Sidman called Coercion and its Fallout. There is good discussion about the negative effects of punishment and it also addresses how kids HATE school among other things. I have two kids who LOVE to learn. They quickly learned to hate school with the punishment systems they have in place. My 1st grader started peeing her pants and both of my kids are very nervous at school. This has lasting effects and they are afraid to approach their teachers for fear of being yelled at or called out. It has been a nightmare for me being a parent of children who do not have behavior issues. Such guilt that I can't homeschool with people who share our similar values and want to promote a LOVE of learning rather than scaring kids into good behavior. Teacher and administrator education should strongly focus on behavior so that the people who are with our kids all day are educated on best practices.

This has nothing to do with any behavior system and everything to do with having a punitive teacher who doesn't give enough positive reinforcement. Both systems are supposed to have positive reinforcement. It just sounds like your kid's teacher isn't very nice and doesn't give any reward for good behavior.

[Anonymous]

So tired of parents of young children berating a system whether it be testing, curriculum, stoplight, or whatever when they've had so little experience with it and often are just upset their child isn't doing well with a particular teacher. A good teacher will make any system work well and a bad teacher will make even the best thought out program miserable because they won't know how to implement it well.

[Anonymous]

The clip system is a punishment system, unfortunately. There is a book by Murray Sidman called Coercion and its Fallout. There is good discussion about the negative effects of punishment and it also addresses how kids HATE school among other things. I have two kids who LOVE to learn. They quickly learned to hate school with the punishment systems they have in place. My 1st grader started peeing her pants and both of my kids are very nervous at school. This has lasting effects and they are afraid to approach their teachers for fear of being yelled at or called out. It has been a nightmare for me being a parent of children who do not have behavior issues.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using it as a punishment system if used appropriately - the things that get reds in my son's class are things that need to be punished - stealing things from other K students, hitting, blatant bullying, cursing at a teacher. No one gets a red for having problems sitting still, not being on task etc. That's a yellow, which is not associated with any consequence, and you can move up from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The clip system is a punishment system, unfortunately. There is a book by Murray Sidman called Coercion and its Fallout. There is good discussion about the negative effects of punishment and it also addresses how kids HATE school among other things. I have two kids who LOVE to learn. They quickly learned to hate school with the punishment systems they have in place. My 1st grader started peeing her pants and both of my kids are very nervous at school. This has lasting effects and they are afraid to approach their teachers for fear of being yelled at or called out. It has been a nightmare for me being a parent of children who do not have behavior issues.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using it as a punishment system if used appropriately - the things that get reds in my son's class are things that need to be punished - stealing things from other K students, hitting, blatant bullying, cursing at a teacher. No one gets a red for having problems sitting still, not being on task etc. That's a yellow, which is not associated with any consequence, and you can move up from it.

Yeah, well at our school, a kid gets dropped a color for not filling in his agenda book in 3rd grade with the day's homework assignment. Mind you there is no creative positive reinforcement in place FOR filling in the agenda book. It doesn't take much to drop a kid a color but it does take a caring person who understands best practices in behavior management to encourage and I Jan for the RIGHT behavior.