In schools, they are known by many names: rules, expectations, guidelines, directions, pathways to learning, the code, the blueprint, standards, norms, recipe for success, to name just a few.

They can serve a far greater purpose than simple managing behavior.

In my classroom, I considered those the norms for our interactions, as they were m, and are just about every classroom I visit.

As the Dean of Students, I still find them an effective and important component of my work with students.

My ‘rules of engagement’ which were called ‘The Code’ in my classroom evolved from ten very specific items to the following:

*Respect yourself, your peers and the learning space.

*Do your job.

*Make an effort to be better everyday.

Quite simple, really, and very much enforceable and fair to all students.

My only job, outside the daily instruction was to have conversations with my students. Frequent sidebar chats and small group discussions were the norm. No assigned seats after roll call, flexible groupings, students switching groups, shared notebooks, no homework.

All work was completed and discussed in class, where we could bounce ideas off each other, share our ideas and collaborate on projects.

If I could make the work feel less like work, the students would be more likely to complete the assignments. We celebrated successes, large and small. Failures were turned into opportunities to do better (no F was given as long as they kept working to improve).

The bottom line in my classroom was getting the work done; individually, in pairs, in groups; however it could be done – GET THE JOB DONE.

The collective success of the students and the class fostered the respect for the LEARNING, their PEERS and the LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

Them showing up and doing the work every day, or reaching out to get caught up after being absent, was their opportunity to BE BETTER EVERY DAY!

Not just rules; these are transferable skills that students take with them and applicable to pretty much everything they do in life.