As some of you may remember, Dr. Flint took some of the teachers to a conference at Ambleside this past spring. Ambleside is a school built upon the philosophy of Charlotte Mason, and we learned some wonderful ideas and techniques there. One thing we came away with was the concept of building habits rather than simply posting class rules. The value of this is that a class rule “Sit quietly at your desk” can seem arbitrary and meaningless to a child; while building the Habit of Attention becomes a lifelong tool for each person. And if you are practicing the habit of attention, you would be sitting quietly at your desk, among other things!

This year, my class has four habits that I have posted in the room. We will be developing these habits all year long, and if you would like to reinforce them at home, here they are:

The Habit of Attention: a lot of behaviors fall under the category of this habit. Sitting quietly at your desk, being ready to answer questions or participate in discussions, and focused listening are all behaviors that help reinforce the habit of attention. Being distracting to classmates, talking out of turn, daydreaming, or being distracted yourself by an object are behaviors that break the habit of attention.

The Habit of Self-Control: Without this habit, you probably couldn’t have the habit of attention! The overall goal of this habit is for the students to take responsibility for themselves and their actions.  Someone practicing the habit of self-control will be attentive and focused, will not harm anyone with their words or actions, and will not be prey to their impulses.

The Habit of Perfect Execution: This habit is all about doing something until it is done correctly. We already learned quite a bit about the habit of perfect execution last year, doing work over until it was 100% correct. This is because the purpose of work is not the initial grade, but learning the material. This year, the 6th/7th grade class is going to be doing an increased ammount of writing, which tends to fall directly under this habit. Papers and other written assignments will be re-drafted until they are just right.

The Habit of Sweet Temper: Practicing this habit doesn’t require the student to be innately laid-back. It requires them to learn how to actively pause when they are angry, frustrated, or scared, and to use rational thinking and higher values in the situation.

This year, students in the 6th/7th grade class who have broken a habit will be writing Apology Letters. These letters (written with perfect execution, naturally!) will be directed towards whoever was wronged, in some cases to the student writing the letter. This gives them a chance to reflect on their actions, and what they should have done instead, which will help instill a sense of responsibility. I will include copies of any Apology Letter your child has written in their daily communication folder, and in some cases I may ask that a letter be completed at home, depending on timing.

We’re going to have a great year! I’m looking forward to seeing some of my boys at basketball practice tonight, and everyone on Tuesday!

~Nicole Hallford