Submitted by Sara T., Maryland
Idea posted June 15, 2005
Last year I saw the post on BRAVO and thought it was a great idea. I took it to one of the art teachers at our school (we have most of the same classes), and we adapted it to fit our classes. Here are my BRAVO expectations:
Be prepared
Respect people and property
Actively participate (big words, but with one explanation they really do get it!)
Voices are soft
Open your ears and turn off your voice
For meeting each expectation, students can earn two points. I have a poster of a staff that I laminated and on which I put ten small Velcro strips. I put the other part of the Velcro on the back of ten music notes. Each rule is a different color, and I always go in the same order. (The top line is for B, next one down for R, etc.) I do this so they know what they are earning the points for and can easily tell where they did not earn them. When they earn ten points, they get a "BRAVO" certificate for their teacher to hang up in their room. When they earn 100 points, they earn "Special Specials," which is a day of music games and sometimes treats. (We see them twice a week, so this could technically be earned in five weeks, if they get all tens.)
The teachers told us that the kids really responded to this well last year. Kids loved earning certificates. One fourth grade teacher said that her class had enough "BRAVO" certificates for everyone to be able to take one home at the end of the year.
This system also works well because our expectations and positive reinforcement system work hand-in-hand. This year my school is really big on emphasizing the positive and not the negative. We are not supposed to call them "rules" anymore; one suggestion was to call them "Behaviors for Success." Personally, I think that's a little wordy. I can also no longer take away recess, which is kind of frustrating. I didn't take away the whole thing before, just a few minutes, but that is no longer allowed. You cannot have any visual negative consequences (i.e., flip a card, move a clothespin, etc.). You can't take points away but can only earn them.