Respect

I mentioned in my newsletter that I asked a student "That's not respectful, is it?" This has become my personal teaching mantra. Respect is an idea that seems to be understood at a much earlier age here than in the US, and yet something that is so rarely enacted. Talking about respect has proven my single greatest tool in behavior management both in and outside the classroom.
A five-year-old snatches a crayon that doesn't belong to him away from another child. "That's not respectful, is it?" "No, maestra." 
An eight-year-old is talking loudly in class instead of paying attention. "That's not respectful, is it?" "No, maestra." 
A pre-teen throws a ball at a toddler to watch them topple. "That's not respectful, is it?" "No, maestra."


There is a four-year-old in the la estación kinder who introduces himself as "Luisito." His enthusiasm for chatting up his classmates is sometimes a source of frustration for us, since his work rarely gets completed, and he's behind his classmates in terms of motor skills, color and letter recognition. But he has one of the best memories I've ever seen; it reminds me of Caleb's movie-quoting. If you say something directly to Luisito, he will remember it. The other day when we were eating our lunches outside, a teenager (who didn't seem to have a connection to any of the kids in the kinder) threw an empty potato chip bag in the middle of the road when he was done eating it. This isn't uncommon in Mexico, and especially not in la estación, but nevertheless, Luisito tore off after him, screaming "¡Éso no es respeto, hombre!" The teen was so surprised by this public outcry that he picked up his trash and put it in a nearby bin. Luisito has a masterful strut for a four-year-old.