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For Shame

A large part of working with students at the beginning of the year is establishing good habits.

One big challenge for this class is for them to stay in their seats during lunch. If they don’t, then food gets all over the floor instead of just dropping on their desktop, where they can easily clean it up.

Another big challenge is that they leave their stuff all around their desk area – papers, pencils, water bottles, erasers…

Yesterday after school, I swept all the food and stuff together into a pile… into a Pile of Shame. I will show it to them this morning and talk to them about being more mindful of their things and of their classroom. It will probably work for a couple of hours.

This pile contains some assignments that are due today.

This pile contains some assignments that are due today.

5 Comments

  1. Lauren

    Behold the Pile of Shame! I really think that if it gets any bigger, it should have a flag. 😉

    If they keep up the messiness, are you going to teach them the Life Skill of sweeping?

    • Carol

      That was my thought, Lauren – learning how to clean up after one’s self if being messy in the first place seems unavoidable. This year’s VBS group at our church was amazingly clean even after eating popcorn, Skittles, and other usual floor debris – no need to sweep up after snack time the first four days. Well, 80% successful is a B-, so there’s that. Sadly, we don’t meet on Saturday so I can go over that particular Life Skill with them…

    • Brad

      We do a Big Sweep at the end of the week where they push the desks to the side and use multiple brooms and mops to clean up completely. I don’t take time to have them sweep at the end of each day.

  2. Mark

    I don’t know what grade these students are in, but here is an idea:

    If they are 7th grade or under, ask a group of 8th graders (preferably the respected by peers, more mature leaders), just three or four, to come into the classroom while you are teaching with brooms and dustpans, and sweep the mess up with your students watching.

    After dumping the stuff in a trash can, have them give disapproving looks to the students and walk out. But they should NOT say a word.

    • Brad

      Ha! I love this idea!

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