Case
No Fun in School

My principal is a firm believer in instruction from bell to bell. I teach in an elementary school and we used to have school wide celebrations for students who have met their Reading and Math goals. Now it is left up to the teacher but it has to be done during the students scheduled Activity time. I feel that some students could be more motivated if the fun was brought back to our elementary school. How do I get my principal to understand this?

Posted on: 03/14/15 | Views: 1124
Solution #1
I agree that you should talk to your administrator about the lack of fun in your school. Before you meet though you should do some research and have researched based arguments as to why fun is needed in school. Also, do not go into the meeting empty handed, have some suggestions for fun activities that are also educational for your adiminstrator to look at.

A respectful discussion and research with activities that are fun and educational are the way to approach the situation.

I agree with this, fun is very important.

I think so too. You need evidence to back your argument.

I agree with having educational suggestions when you speak to your principal. Let them know that these will not replace the lessons but will be in addition.

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Solution #2
Try scheduling a meeting or talking to your principal when you know he/she will be able to take the time to listen to you. You may want to bring a fellow teacher with you for support. Tell the principal what you think about the school wide celebrations in a very objective way. Present the facts to him/her. Maybe you will be able to shed some light on the topic that he/she hadn't considered, especially if other teachers agree with you.
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Solution #3
As a persuasive writing assignment, have students write letters to the principal with reasons to include fun, but educational, activities. Hearing the opinions of the students may be more powerful than coming from a teacher, as we should all have the students best interests in mind.

Having students write about what they like about school or activities that they would like added to their daily lessons is a good idea. I'm not sure about sharing with the students about issues with the principal.

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Solution #4
Plan educational activities that are fun AND meet standards. For instance, this St. Patrick's Day a leprechaun will visit our second grade class. He will leave a leprechaun book study. We will also complete data and fractions with lucky charms and finally do a science experiment analyzing the properties of a gold chocolate coin! The principal will have a hard time coming around. They have a ton of pressure on them from the county. You don't need a school-wide celebration however to have fun!!
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Solution #5
Talk with your Principal and share how you feel. Discuss how your ideas could improve the instruction and student learning. Ultimately we have to follow what the Administration decides. We can share ideas and if the Principal sees your desire to help hopefully they will be open to suggestion. Being a Principal is a difficult position and their is a lot of pressure of them to help keep the school running smoothly. Maybe the reward could involve some type of educational game.
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Solution #6
I agree that talking with your principal is a good idea. Use examples of before and mention that you could even help with planning these events. Explain that you are proud of your students are that you want them to be recognized and proud of themselves too. Hopefully they will understand.
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Solution #7
I would ask other teachers within the school, and see what their thoughts on this situation. That way instead of going to the principal and having a one-on-one meeting, it would give him/her a more broaden perspective on the impact that this is having on the teachers in the school. I just think it would make a more impact on the principal, if he saw that more teachers are in the same boat as yourself. I would also come up with ideas to present to him as well.
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Solution #8
I think it is important to talk with the principal as well as other teachers. If it has to be scheduled during the activity time I would talk with a couple of teacher and maybe have the students who didn't make the Reading/math goals go to a different classroom and have one teacher take the rest of the students out so they can enjoy their reward. If that doesn't work I would ask and see if you could arrange with the principal to do something every other Friday.. just something different.
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Solution #9
Talking to your administrator might not be helpful but if you show him or her and can prove it in your own classroom that once the fun was brought back the motivation grew as well they might be more inclined to bring back the fun.
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Solution #10
I would conduct an experiment by doing a week of boring, by the book lessons and see students progress and then the next week do a lot of hands on, fun, engaging activities and see which week the students do better.
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Solution #11
I would make a hard copy "business plan" to provide administration with when you go to meet with them. Going in with a concrete plan will show the administration that you have researched and found facts that back up what you are presenting to them. Fun lessons are what motivate students to learn and capture their interest.
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Solution #12
I think you are going to need to sit down with the principal and explain how you feel about the new tone of your class. Give examples of what ways you will make the learning more fun. After a few weeks have a follow up meeting and give results to prove your point.
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Solution #13
If administration does not support any fun during the day, it is the job of the teacher to make the lessons fun. Try including games, stem activities, and ways for them to be active during lessons.
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