Explicating Norms

Review these statements for insight into personal beliefs and norms When you find a statement that expresses your needs or wishes in the classroom, you may wish to jot it down. These beliefs contribute to feeling successful or burned out as we teach. If we recognize these norms, we can work on things that don't match.
As you work to develop or refine your discipline plan, remember to review these underlying expectations and scripts. Of course, once you review these, you may also realize that your script matches the experiences you had in school rather than describing the kind of classroom you hope to have. Examining experiences and contrasting them with your vision of great teaching may help balance your discipline plan.

Teachers must model self control	Teachers need to be organized
Teachers are in control of the classroom	Teachers can be a friend to students
Teachers should be liked by students	The teacher models honor
Teachers need to understand themselves	Teachers can share opinions and ideas
Teachers are professionals	Teachers can have fun - joie do vivre
Teachers must demand and get respect	Teachers need to be self disciplined
Teachers can and must win power struggles	Teachers cannot expect peer support
Teachers know that parents are "the enemy"	Teachers "pour" ideas into students
Teachers need to understand children	Teachers need to like children
Knowing the subject is what really counts	Teachers are not appreciated enough
Teachers and students share a relationship	Teachers are under a lot of stress
Teaching students to think is a crucial task	Teachers need to punish bad behavior
Creativity detracts from learning content	Teachers are social servants
The school board is the enemy	Teachers do not apologize to students
Teachers should not admit to ignorance
The administration is responsible for educational leadership, not the teachers
Teachers have little power, little pay and little appreciation
Teachers can individualize instruction without losing rigor and content
Self esteem is an over-done idea which detracts from the real work of education
Teachers are the best judge of whether a student has learned the content
A good teacher knows the right answers to student questions
Parents are a big part of the problem
Students already know a great deal	There are many effective ways to learn
Children have personal needs	Children love to learn
Children tend to be rude	Children talk too much
Children need to be taught social skills	Children are too powerful
Children have a short attention span	Homework is an essential teaching tool
Children are basically lazy and sneaky	Tests are an indispensable part of school
Children are basically self centered	Learning is hard work
Children learn best by good listening	Children learn best when it is quiet
Children can't be trusted to work together	Children must be taught stewardship
There are always a couple of bad kids	Children lie to stay out of trouble
Children can manage their time well	Children can take ownership for learning
Children will cheat if given a chance	Cooperative learning is a great school tool
Children cheat because they want to win	The grading curve shows who's really learned
Children work best when competing
Knowing a lot is more important than understanding a little
Seat work , worksheets and tests are the best proof that learning occurs
Achievement test scores prove who is the best teacher
Children who present their learning through portfolios prove that learning has occurred.
Grade cards today are missing important areas
The curriculum is covering the right things, but students aren't learning as well any more
American education is very poor compared to other counties.
We are watering down our standards to get students out of school
A longer school year is the best answer to our current problems
The break-down of families is the real issue, and teachers cannot see it as their job to try to change the situation