Student's Rights and Responsibilities

Building community within the classroom starts the first week of school, but it doesn't end there.  The foundation laid back in September needs to be built upon, and nurtured.  In the interest of running an effective, productive, and safe classroom built on trust, it is important to work continually on the initiatives you started back in September. 

Returning after the holiday break is a good time to revisit the expectations you have of your students, and the expectations your students can have of you.  A great way to re-introduce them is for your classroom to have a Rights and Responsibilities Act. 

Depending on the age of your students, the entire process can be broadened to talk about social issues such as The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or Children's Rights and Responsibilities, and why these rights and responsibilities are important. 

The Rights and Responsibilities Charter for your classroom can be a group effort that includes input and debate from every student, but here is a sample to get you started or to direct discussion:

STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As a student of this classroom, I have the right to:

• Be in a classroom where I feel safe, secure, and where I feel wanted.
• Learn, be curious, and ask questions.
• Be in a classroom that is conducive to learning and where I have access to the teachers, staff, materials, and resources that I need in order to learn.
• Develop my views and opinions.
• Express my needs, wants, and opinions without ridicule or judgement.
• Make mistakes and learn from them.

To ensure that my rights, and the rights of my classmates, are protected, I am responsible for:

• Voicing my opinion with respect and tact and with the goal of increasing my understanding. 
• Being a willing participant who is willing to try.
• Treating classroom materials with respect, and put them back where they belong.
• Following directions to the best of my ability the first time they are asked.

Tweak them as needed, and add or omit items as your class begins to navigate their own way through the process of coming up with rights and responsibilities that will encompass the vast majority of situations.  And remember that it can be a work of progress. It can be revisited and changed weeks and months later as students become sensitive to nuances in interpretation and meaning, or encounter situations that they did not forsee. 

Generally it is a learning experience for everyone, so enjoy the process!