If you haven’t implemented classroom jobs, think about it. They change the dynamic in the classroom by recruiting students to do the minimum wage tasks which gives the teacher time to think. Jobs let students share some of the load so that you can do what you are best suited to do. Students with jobs are more aware of what is happening in the classroom and can use their own initiative to deal with situations that come up and achieve limited goals. The shared responsibilities and power allows students to make some of the tactical decisions while the teacher focuses on best implementing the big picture. I can’t imagine teaching without classroom jobs now.
This quote from Orson Scoot Card’s classic science fiction novel “Ender’s Game” gives the feeling of adopting this game-changing practice:
“Commanders didn’t have time to think. Well, Ender would take the time… Even with less than four weeks together, the way they fought already seemed like the only intelligent way, the only possible way. Ender was almost surprised that Rabbit Army didn’t know already that they were hopelessly out of date.” (p. 126)
Here is my list of classroom jobs. This is recently updated, but it is always evolving with little tweaks here and there as students change and I learn and grow: http://www.brycehedstrom.com/wp-content/uploads/CLASSROOM-JOBS2.pdf
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