Holy Good Move Batman!

January 4th was the first day of our new semester. I had 90% of my first semester students continue on from Life Skills into my Health class. Rarely do I ask a counselor to move a student out of my class or into another period but I did do this for a student from my first period class about a month ago.

"Jason" was in a fight with "Stephen" in late December. They are both in my first period class, and apparently things had been said during a computer lab in class, and they fought after school. Both students were failing my class but Jason had been the instigator and also had 27 tardies to my first period class.

Long story short, Jason got moved to my 5th period for the new semester in Health. After 8 class days, he's awake, participates, comes on-time; a total revitalization.

Two other boys both got moved from my 6th period last semester to my 4th period for unknown reasons (usually a scheduling conflict). In 6th period, with lots of off-task modeling behavior they were like most of their peers- talking too much and off-task. In 4th period now they are BORN ANEW! In this class of 26 girls and 14 boys, good behavior is the standard and they too have fallen in line without me saying a thing.

New seat assignments in a class sometimes does the trick, but not always. However, a move to a well behaved period can teach more how to behave and act much better than a stern lecture, warning or call home. Peers modeling and teaching peers is a powerful tool, if only we can harness it more often and in other applications.