Can someone explain "golden time" to me?

[AvocadoAndFitch]

PFB is starting school in september. We keep on being told about "golden time" on a friday and haven't a fecking clue what they are on about.

The also do the "peg up" and in all the welcome pack its saying we should encourage DD to "keep her peg up" and ask every night if her peg is still up. Is this linked?

I'm guessing peg up is good and peg down is for bad behavior or is it linked to how well they do in the school work? is there only up or down or is there any in between notches we should know about? once its down can it go back up?

I'm also guessing Golden time is linked i.e. peg down no extra play or something? what happens if the loose their golden time? Do they have school work instead? But surely school work shouldn't be a negative thing.

I've probably got it completely wrong :( .

Should you be providing the genitals of canines as a golden time activity?

All about choice...

Thank goodness the DCs have never been in a school where this craziness reigned. My niece otoh experienced it.

Wondering with others how glumly the children approach whatever activity replaces it if it is taken away?

"It's all very well saying they should want to behave well and be respectful, but in reality they don't want to!"

No, because most schools rewards poor behaviour, not good behaviour. Good behaviour (nice quiet autonomous hard working child) gets ignored while any sort of trouble (even over-zealous putting up of hands) gets attention.

That can be true Bonsoir.

How would you propose that teachers manage the behaviour of the whole class in order to get on with teaching?

By having high expectations.

You expect all of the kids to behave all of the time. You never reward them for something they should be doing.

There are all sorts of things you can do for and with kids who can't behave - but what you don't do is reward them for behaving well.

In the DCs' (RC) school in the US, the individual responsibility of each child to contribute to a positive learning atmosphere for everyone else was emphasised.

The programme they used was Discipline With Purpose, a developmental approach that aimed at eventual internalising of 15 core self discipline concepts.

'Self discipline' was key as opposed to 'discipline' and the aims were to teach students skills as opposed to merely maintaining order, and the creation of a positive learning culture.

IndigoBell - my child is the one who never gets rewarded because she always behaves well and gets on with whatever is required of her. That means: no attention ever from the teacher.

It has made her very unhappy and frustrated this year. After complaining a lot to us, she staged her own protest in her own quiet, well-behaved way (wrote down all her frustrations in a nice, well-punctuated, well-spelled essay when asked to write about herself). It certainly got the school's attention. But why did she have to go to such lengths to attract it. The teachers blithely assumed she was happy to go unnoticed...

mathanxiety, I'm really interested in that programme, bit your links don't seem to be working - any chance you could try again?

DD is/was one of the well-behaved ones too. She seems happy with the lovely comments at Parents Evening and in reports, etc.

It's a popular programme in Catholic schools in the US.

dwpbv @ aol . com is the email address for inquiries.

Have c&p'd this:
'Basic Skills
Prompted - Birth-K
Internalized - Grs. K-3rd

1. Listening
2. Following Instructions
3. Questioning
4. Sharing: Time, Space, People and Things
5. Exhibiting Social skills

Constructive Skills
Prompted - Grs. K-3rd
Internalized - Grs. 3-7

1. Cooperating with Others
2. Understanding the Reason for Rules
3. Independently Completing a Task
4. Exhibiting Leadership

10. Communicating Effectively

Generative Skills
Prompted - Grs. K-7th
Internalized - Grs. 7-12
11. Organizing: Time, Space, People, Things
12. Resolving Mutual Problems
13. Taking the Initiative in Problem Solving
14. Distinguishing Fact From Feeling
15. Sacrificing/Serving Others

The first five skills are called Basic Skills. They are difficult for children in Kindergarten through the end of grade 3 to demonstrate on their own without help. The most basic of all skills is Listening. The symbol for the Basic Skills is the handshake. It reminds us that people need people in order to get along in an institutional environment.
The second five skills are called Constructive Skills. Children in grades 4-7 are developmentally ready to learn these 5 skills. The symbol to represent the second set of skills is the liberty bell, since learning the rights and responsibilities expected of members of our society requires citizens to use Constructive Skills.
Five additional skills are learned from grades 8-High School. The last five skills are called Generative Skills. The demonstration of Generative Skills requires a more comprehensive world view. People are motivated to demonstrate these higher level skills when the needs of others can be recognized and are considered to be important. The symbol of the transmitter reminds us that people who want to make changes in the institutional or democratic environments must transmit what they know to transform the world in which we live.'

(there are posters available for display, hence the symbol explanation)

A big advantage I saw when all the teachers were on board was the unity of language and hence consistency of message from one year to the next. The children got very familiar with the expectations of their contribution to the learning environment as the years went on.

So do they have a programme for teaching these skills - a scheme of work? I tried going to the website directly but it declined to show the web page. I will try emailing!

From the site, it appears they do. They also provide ongoing support and plans for classroom practice, incorporating skills language into classroom management, as well as materials for parents. It looks as if they have dvds as well as printed materials.

maths, how did you get on the site? I emailed and he has said he is happy to answer any questions, but I still can't access the site! Do you think you have to be in America or have a special log-in (but how do you enter that if you can't get on it?!)

DS set up my computer/internet and various settings and he is the administrator, with his own computer as the home computer -- it's possible he has some sort of override or has created some sort of quirk (very non-computerese language there).

www.sjbosco.org/for-parents/dwp0/ Maybe try this. I am not familiar with this school but the description of how they use DWP rings a bell from my own observation.

LemarchandsBox

Aha! Restorative Practice! Am in the middle of training for this! Nice to find somwhere else that does it!