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In Your Corner, Student Learning
Closing the Year with a Message to Our Students
In the waning weeks and days of the school year, we can feel as though our students are slipping away. They are beginning to look forward to summer and anticipating the adventures of next year. Of course, we have invested the past months guiding, coaching, and preparing them for this time. We have watched as their competence and confidence have grown. We hope that we have done what is necessary to prepare them for what is next and what lies beyond as their lives unfold.
While we are excited to send them on their way, we may also feel some regret. There is never enough time to teach everything we would like our students to know. Yet, it’s amazing to see how far they have come.
Now as the end of the year approaches, we have one final opportunity to give our students some advice to reflect and rely upon in the months and years ahead. Each of our students is unique and will hear our advice in a different way. Regardless, this is a time when we want to instill hope and build their confidence. As we think about our “closing message,” here are some ideas and insights to consider passing along.
First, we can remind our students to regularly recall and recount their successes. Confidence grows as students feel successful, and success builds on success. When students remember, recount, and relive their successes they can counter negative, confidence-undermining narratives. We can remind students of the many successful experiences and occasions worthy of recalling and recounting from the past year.
Second, we can discourage students from comparing themselves and their performance to others. Comparisons to others who may be moving faster or doing better can undermine confidence even though another student may be in a very different situation. What matters most is for students to concentrate on their own learning and progress. It is also the only element students can control. Our students’ long-term success will be determined by what they do, how they continue to grow and learn, and what they do with their unique talents and skills.
Third, we can remind students that effort and occasional struggle are important to their learning. In fact, learning that comes easy is often forgotten just as easily. We can remind them that when they must concentrate and make multiple attempts before succeeding, they are building learning skills that will serve them for a lifetime.
Fourth, we can point out to our students that it’s never too late to get better. Life continues to present lessons until they are learned. No matter how well our students did this year or how much they may have struggled, there are always opportunities to get better. Life is all about growth.
Fifth, we can remind our students that school will end, but learning is lifelong. We can urge our students to continue to find and practice learning approaches that work for them. Sometimes their learning approach will not align with how they are taught. That doesn’t mean that they are not good learners. We can urge students to find the ways in which they learn best and embrace them. It can make all the difference.
Sixth, we can advise our students that what matters most is not who approves of them. What matters and will count the most is their own approval, acceptance, and confidence. To chase the approval and acceptance of others is folly. We can urge our students to live lives they can be proud of and people who count will approve of and accept them.
Seventh, we can assure our students that we see in them the potential for greatness. They have gifts and talents they may not be aware of yet. Each student has their own unique combination of special potential. Further, we can remind students that it’s not the A’s they received in school that will matter most, it will be the actions they take in life. It will not be the B’s they earned in school that will determine their future. It will be what they choose to become. And it’s not the C’s that will matter most. It will be what they are willing to commit.
Eighth, we can urge our students to take life as it comes. There is no need or benefit to hurrying life. We can remind students that every stage of life will have its gifts and delights and its challenges and heartaches. Trying to accelerate life beyond their years risks their missing important lessons and experiences that will make them more satisfied and successful people. We can remind them to live each day with purpose and to make each day count. If they always try to do the right thing, then they will live a life with few regrets.
Our end-of-year message is an opportunity to remind students one last time of the experience of the past year and it is a gift to take with them as they depart our classroom and school. Our best hope is that when they encounter life’s challenges and navigate life’s dilemmas they will be able to fall back on what they have learned and experienced in their time with us.
In Your Corner, Student Learning
Ways to Prevent Unacceptable Behavior in the Final Weeks
This has been a difficult year for everyone. As we approach the end, we can anticipate that some behaviors with which we have been dealing will increase in frequency. We may also encounter new behaviors from students whom we would not necessarily expect to act out. Our challenge is to anticipate, head off, and prevent as many acts of misbehavior as we can so that the final weeks are productive for learning and a positive experience for students.
We need to remember that behaviors are purposeful. They send a message. They meet a need. The better our communication with students, the less they may feel the need to send us a message. The better we can anticipate and meet student needs, the more successful we both will be.
For some students the end of the year signals significant changes in their lives. The structure of school may be going away. The assurance of regular food and consistent adult contact may be about to end. Regular connections with friends may be at risk. These and other worries can lead to defiance, inattentiveness, unresponsiveness, and other forms of unacceptable behavior.
In this context we are wise to avoid overreacting and making unnecessary behavioral demands or immediately directing that a behavior must stop. When we respond too forcefully, we can unintentionally stimulate repetition of behavior. People do not like to be told what to do, especially when they are stressed. They may resist or find other ways to engage in behavior that we have taken from them. Even students who otherwise might be cooperative can react negatively and become passively or actively resistant.
Here are some other tips and ideas for avoiding the occurrence and escalation of unacceptable behavior in the final weeks of the year:
- Presume positive intentions and behavior. Lack of trust can be a fast track to misbehavior. Rather than calling overt attention to misbehavior such as side conversations or poking another student, our raised eyebrows and eye contact that conveys confused disapproval can be all that is needed. Unfortunately, calling out small infractions and publicly admonishing students for small incidents of misbehavior can quickly escalate the situation and waste precious class time at a key point in the year.
- Offer an observational statement. Rather than directing students to comply with a previously given direction make a statement such as, “Several of you have yet to put away your materials.” Then give students time to follow through. For students who still do not comply, the subtle reminder of pointing to what needs to be done as we walk past can be enough to stimulate action. Calling students out and risking embarrassment in front of classmates may be a stimulus for escalation if the student is in the mood to defy authority.
- Make a presumptive observation such as, “You know what to do.” When well-practiced routines are involved, resist telling students to do things they already know they should do. When students already know what to do, they don’t need to be retold. If students need a subtle reminder we might modify the statement to the question, “What should you do?” However, repeatedly restating the obvious can lead to inattention, resistance, and even mocking.
- Consider the larger context of student behavior. Watch students’ interactions with peers. Tensions, arguments, even boisterous teasing can be signs that relationships are fraying and misbehavior may be about to escalate. Waiting and hoping that the situation will resolve itself may not be a good bet. It may be that all that is needed is a conversation with key actors. Or it may be time to engage someone to investigate and de-escalate the situation. Interactions with peers can be early signs that problems are percolating.
- Be inquisitive not accusatory. We might say, “I have noticed that your behavior has shifted. Is there something I did or need to know to understand what is happening?” Ask questions, communicate curiosity, and seek to understand. Use “I” statements.
- Be clear and stay consistent in routines and expectations. Shifts in attention and follow through late in the year can be misread as routines and expectations no longer being important or needing to be followed. Students may believe that expectations we used to hold no longer apply and previously unacceptable behavior now is permitted.
- Give students who may be inclined to act out plenty of attention. Their acting out can be a strategy to gain attention. If we give attention to them before they choose to demand our attention, we may avoid the need to intervene and correct.
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Relationships and Connections
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Thinking Frames
Share Your Tips & Stories
Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.
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