Radical Idea of the Day: If your child is in a stoplight classroom and it isn’t going to change any time soon, respectfully request that his/her name be taken down and that the feedback be shared privately with you and your child.
While teachers keeping the information private is our #1 alternative to the stoplight, this simple idea of the parent requesting privacy for their own child came from a wise friend. Please let us know if it works for you/your child.
This is Frannie Gay’s first year w/o a stoplight or similar system. Check out the ‘Code of Cooperation’ she created with her class… I especially love the last two!
Quote of the day: “My son, now 24, was that kid who was always the one who “made a poor choice”. At 24 he is the most lovely kind and empathetic person, and currently in grad school, respected by his peers and his professors alike. But as a child, he was hard work. When your kid is always the kid whose name is on the wall, because he’s the one who is taking a little longer to learn those sorts of skills that come naturally to other kids, well, it breaks your heart as a mother. When your 5 year old says he hates school, it breaks your heart. When your kids says he wants to put his own name on that chalkboard just to “get it over with” it breaks your heart. Just because real life is shaming doesn’t mean the classroom has to be. That is false logic, and we need to create a better world for our kids, starting in the classroom.” – comment from Pat, left on the original stoplights post.
beyond the stoplight 