Teacher’s Corner

Six things you should know about LOGICAL consequences in your classroom:

1. Logical consequences are created by a teacher in order to teach children important lessons about their behavior.
2. Logical consequences make sense for the situation.
   • There is a clean-your-desk-off rule in your classroom.
   • A student must spend recess cleaning off his desk, if he chooses to leave his desk messy after class.
   • The consequence of no recess makes sense because the student needs that time to clean his desk. It is “logical.”
3. Logical consequences are not punishments. They are results that are connected to breaking specific rules.
4. Logical consequences should be explained to students in a very direct and understandable way when a rule is put in place – before it is broken.
5. When logical consequences are in place, students are faced with the choice: follow the rule or put up with the consequence. They are in charge of what happens to them.
6. Creating logical consequences to go with your classroom rules is not always easy, but it is worth the brainpower because logical consequences give students lasting lessons.

(See Sticking to the Rules for more information about consequences.)

Writing Prompts and Discussion Topics 

The following are based on the blog, “Sticking to the Rules.”

1. Compare and contrast “natural” and “logical” consequences for breaking rules.

2. Do you think expulsion from school for fighting on school grounds is a logical consequence? If so, explain how it could teach a student not to fight at school. If not, describe a consequence that would be more logical and connected to learning not to fight at school.

3. Describe a school rule that often gets broken by students. Also describe a “logical” consequence that could be applied to a student who breaks that rule.

4. Teachers, you can use this blog in classrooms. Here are two ideas about how.

1. For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:

• Use the blog for discussion topics

• Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.

1. 2.  For all courses, especially English Language Arts:

• Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:

  • Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?

  • Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?

  • What would be your advice on this topic?

  • What was left out of this article?

  • If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?

1. Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?

• Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.

• Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.

• The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.

• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.

• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.