A Message from Horacio Sanchez The focus of this six part series is to promote practices that will improve

your success in the classroom. The expectation is that all of you begin class with a ritual that promotes a positive mindset. The ritual should not be passive (such as students come in write down something on the screen or blackboard) and should be triggered by a teacher action that requires a student response. Many of you already have a ritual in place. If you have not framed and anchored it, please do so. Remember, it is the frame and anchor that explains to students why they should engage in the behavior. The better you frame and anchor, the more success you will have with the students who are slow to adapt and often refuse to participate in new practices. Please also remember that many effective interventions take time. This is why we want to make sure you understand the rationale for all recommended practices, so that you believe in them and will maintain them even in tough times. I apologize for rushing through such an important concept as shifting the paradigm from rules and consequences to desired practices. However, this is a crucial step to creating a positive class climate. Each class must shift the focus to specific practices that students believe that if they achieve they will be successful. If a practice is important, you must be willing to cultivate related skills in order that ALL students know that they can achieve what is being asked of them. It is important that concepts such as success are presented in action steps so that they are clear and concrete. I attempted to model in my class that success could be achieved by doing one action being on task. I picked success as my focus because it is one of the natural drives of the human brain along with the need to be safe or feel wanted. I did not frame and anchor this concept during the training; I merely introduced it. The next time we are together I will demonstrate some approaches to frame and anchor a shift in the paradigm. Please note that the motivation to shift the paradigm from rules and consequences to desired practices is because those who are prone to violating social norms when focused on rules perseverate on how to beat the rules and avoid the consequences. You cannot match this focus and research indicates that the only opportunity to overcome this pathology is to shift the focus and make students believe that you are so invested in their success that you make it not only obtainable, but that you invest time to cultivate the required skill, and consistently praise and reward the practice. I strongly recommend that you avoid the temptation to make a laundry list of desired practices as this tends to overwhelm students and reduced the likelihood of compliance. That is why I just chose one; this way I can always say to students that I am only requiring one thing from them and they will achieve success in my class. If you think about it, many negative behaviors would not occur it students were on task. For the next session please come prepared to share what your desired practice(s) will be and how you plan to frame and anchor. Have a condensed script that you can model using us as your class.