บทที่ 15The Productive Nature of Using Rituals
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Using Rituals in Teaching
Why Use Rituals?
Using Rituals to Solve Problems
How Do I Get Started?
during most of the twentieth century, students sat quietly in classrooms and were asked to not talk to one another. This structure created a constant stress for the teacher, who tried to maintain enthusiasm and participation and still have students quietly face the front of the room and avoid their neighbors. Our recent understanding of the brain and the nature of social dynamics have changed our point of view. Socialization influences learners in many ways, some of which can be good: it alters our levels of stress, our confidence, and even our content knowl edge. This chapter focuses on a particular type of socialization: classroom rituals.
USING RITUALS IN TEACHING
Most classrooms have some type of ritual. For example, taking attendance seems pretty ritualized and automatic. This leads us to our simple definition of a classroom ritual: a highly predictable, prearranged activity. Classroom rituals are just one form of socialization. As a general rule, you should make it a habit to constantly seek appropriate levels of social interaction for your students. Whe you do this, you'll be able to increase or decrease interactions and influence noise and motivation. You might be wondering, though, what makes something a Consult the criteria in Figure 15.1
FIGURE 15.1 Criteria for a class ritual
1. It must solve a recurring problem.
2. It must include and engage everyone.
3. It must be simple and easy to do.
4. It must be highly predictable- the students know when it's going to happen.
5. It must put students in a positive emotional state.
There are several primary benefits that social rituals bring to our culture. First, they provide "social glue" so that we feel more connected and bound to each other. This glue is what allows us to feel empathetic toward others and be willing to help others in a time of need. But it also increases our moral outrage when someone breaks society's rules that we all adhere to. The second benefit is that social rituals help us convey values to each other, especially to the younger generations.
Why Use Rituals?
Every day, you make hundreds of micro decisions as a teacher, and a few big ones, too. Many of the decisions are done to solve a classroom problem such as the following:
How can I quiet things down?
How can I help students feel appreciated?
How can we do a daily review of the previous day's learning?
How do I minimize or even take advantage of the problem instead of having it be a burden?
There are of course, many, many more problems to solve. You may not have thought of them as problems, but they are, and they usually trigger the following:
1. You need to use your ability to assess that something's needed ASAP
2. You experience stress over what to do, when, and how.
3. A decision must be made
4. A strategy must be carried out
5. The effect of the strategy must be monitored to ensure that the desired result is achieved.
Problem solving, no matter the seriousness of the issue, is draining. It consumes your time, energy, and emotional reserve. need a You way to streamline problem solving so that you only need to solve a given problem once (if the is where is a recurring one). Wouldn't that a huge load off your shoulders? This is where rituals come in handy: they help you get a handle on potential problems and even prevent them from occurring.
What Makes a Good Ritual?
Let's "unpack" each of the criteria listed in Figure 15.1. First, the ritual must solve a recurring problem, You deal with problems every day in your job, and (e.g., needing to get your students' n a week or a month's time some problems occur every single day tion before you speak). Others occur predictably within a week or a month’s time frame, sometimes dozens of times (e.g., a student's birthday). This distinction i important; there's no reason to even bother creating a ritualun it will save you grief on more than one occasion. The grief it saves is that you don't have to vent the wheel: already have a prearranged solution.
Remember, rituals are for the long haul, for onetime use
Second, the ritual must include and engage everyone in class. If you a actively engaged in the train whistle to get your students' attention, they aren't But if you want their attention and stle is your ritual, not theirs. ritual: the train w t becomes a productive you say, "If you can hear me, clap your hands once ritual because the students are doing it with you. It's not something that you are to them: it's a experience. This criterion reminds you that the s not about you. It's about a collective effort to solve a group problem, which is essential for community building.
Third, the ritual has to be so simple and easy to do that everyone in your class can do it. This means that, in an inclusive class, it's accessible to students with di abilities as well as kids who are hungry, stressed, or unfocused. Use rituals that either involve a conditioned response (think Pavlov's experiment) or are pretty close to automatic. That means they must incorporate behaviors such as hand rais ing, cheers, consolidations, stretching, high fives, and team meetings. Avoid ritu ls that require constant novel or complex input from students. Those won't work or last. Students get lost, and the task won't get done.
Fourth, the ritual must be highly predictable. Students should know when it's going to happen. They should know. for example, that the day always starts with stretching, which is followed by a class meeting and then a review
Finally, the ritual must put students in a positive emotional state. It must be uplifting. This may seem trivial, but it's just as important as the other criteria. Many eachers have rituals at meet the first four criteria, but not this last one. Because rituals are by nature somewhat repetitive, you run the risk that students will get bored or tired of them. We've all seen teachers who need silence in the room raise their hand. The expectation is that kids see other hands up and raise their hand. too This ritual meets four of five criteria but misses the boat. This is the critical teature students' brains must have an affirming, positive memory of actually doing the rit Otherwise, they'll do it a couple of times and then do it grudgingly or stop altogether. Now, let's get specific and illustrate when and how you can use ritual
Rituals are different from procedures. Al teachers need procedures to stream- line classroom problem solving, but procedures lack two critical features that rituals collectively, always end in positive emotional s and (2) they are done all classroom so they build community and encourage common engagement. Not procedures need to be rituals in a healthy classroom half rituals number rituals, there may be a 50-50 balance half procedures and half rituals
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Using Rituals to solve Problems
The more time you teach, the greater the likelihood you may have problems. By the way, use the word problem in the larger sense, meaning an issue to deal with. It might not be something bad at a it just means you have to take the time to deal with it. Over time, dealing with issues wears us all out. Here are examples of recurring issues that you may have to address:
starting the class on time
taking daily class attendance
welcoming visitors, managing interruptions
incorporating energizers, stretch breaks
making announcements, enabling students
make announcements
acknowledging a student's birthday
having students clean up their desks
getting the class's attention
distributing supplies
celebrating
collecting things from students
wrapping up the class
Anatomy of a Ritual
Let's take the first "problem" on that list: starting class on time, with a good attitude. every day for months on end. That means you need a ritual, so let's cre ate one and then we'll break it down.
Problem to solve: You need a start to class
Ritual name: Startup Response.
When it's used: When students arrive, enter the room in the morning, or come back from recess or lunch.
What you do: Play a predesignated "callback song" and the second it's over. "If you made it back on time, please raise your hand and say, 'Yes! Model the behavior, and raise your hand, saying, "Yes! Then say, "Now turn to your neighbor and say, 'Happy Monday to you!'" (or if they're getting back from recess, "Welcome back!
What students do: They raise their hand and say, "Yes!" Then they turn to the nearest person and say, "Happy Monday to you!" or "Welcome back!"
Let's analyze whether (and how) this ritual fits the five criteria that constitute a productive ritual
o Does it solve a recurring problem? Yes, getting students back on time and ready to learn is a recurring problem.
o Does it include and engage everyone? Yes, everyone is asked to and they all participate.
o Is it simple and easy to do? Yes, all the students have to do at first is raise simple and neighbor and their hand and say one word ("yes". Then they turn to their give a brief affirmation.
o Is it highly predictable do the students know when going to happen? YES, it happens every time they return to class, no EXCEPTIONS
o Dose it put student in a positive emotional state ? yes it does. One of Does it put students a positive emotional state? the most positive words in the English language is yes. The second part anges it from a solitary experience to a social experience. Students turn to a neighbor to offer a thoughtful and caring (yes, it's a bit trite) affirmation
The beauty of this ritual (or any similar one) is that it solves recurring problem (e.g., noisy class, fragmented discussion, inattentive students) elegant way. There's no bell, no evil eye, no shushing, and no raising the voice. There's no admonishment offered, no frustration generated, and no venting needed. It's short and fu