The Christmas Spirit Brings Charitable Giving...

The Christmas spirit is in the air and my students are feeling quite charitable these days.  Yesterday one of my students skipped 3 pages of a 4 page science test.  My policy on skipping test questions without leaving me a note as to why you skipped them is a fee of $5 per question and mandatory completion of the questions.  That meant that this student now owed $150 and would need to skip recess to complete the test.

This was a student who has a history of throwing major tantrums.  You can see and hear a cloud of "Oh goodness, what's going to happen now?" fall over the faces of other students in the classroom as I told this student that he would need to pay the fee and complete the test.  Surprisingly, the student gave me $13 from his wallet, told me to keep the $50 bonus that he was on track to receive in the afternoon, and wrote himself on the debt board for $87.  He then took his test back without throwing a tantrum and proceeded to complete the test.  He also approached me after completing the test and calmly asked if I had any jobs that he could do in the classroom to help him get out of debt, which of course I did!  It was certainly one of those, "Wow, everything is falling into place!" moments that we have as teachers.

Meanwhile, Greyson (who has one of the biggest hearts I've ever had the pleasure of knowing) had been saving up the money that he had been earning with his new business to move out of "Freeville" and into "The Suburbs."  The next thing I know Greyson is coming to me saying, "What the heck, it's Christmas" with $50 in hand to donate to the student now in debt for his carelessness.  I asked him if this was the money he had planned on using for the big move.  He responded, "Yeah, but my classmate needs it and it's almost Christmas."  WOW!  Now, of course, I had to stop Greyson from giving all of his money to the child in debt.  We had a conversation about the responsible way to give to charity while being able to pay your own bills too.

Although the kids in this class have been dealing with the tantrums thrown by the careless question-skipping student since first grade now, they are finding ways to celebrate the fact that he is beginning to find control within himself.  The classroom community is putting their arms around him.  It is such a beautiful thing to witness.  This child's success is affecting us all.

Here's the scoop on our classroom donations:

Once a week (or more often if you have time to devote) allow students to donate to peers on the debt board. These are the only students that can receive donations, only up to the amount that he/she is in debt. Donations are to be given directly to the teacher, not the individual students. 

Students who receive donations must thank the donor(s) with a formal thank you note. The formality of the thank you note will be based on your students’ ability levels. Students tend to be happy to write a thank you note because they realize just how hard the donor had to work in the classroom for that money. This makes students feel special as both the giver and the receiver. The student who gives money receives an intrinsic happiness and the student who receives the money feels loved by his/her classmates. This builds classroom community and peer respect.

Here's an example of a charity thank you note from last school year: