Second Grade or Sorority?

Teaching Second Grade reminds me a bizarre amount of initiating New Members into the sorority. Sometimes I tune into the things I'm saying in front of the class and think... this is pledge.

Now before you call Child Protection Services on me for this confession, let me explain. This realization may surface a positive perspective on the pledge process...

Both in the classroom and on the college campus, strong modeling and positive reinforcement work best. Being kind and creating a safe atmosphere motivate learning. Bullying and intimidation shouldn't be attached to the pledge process just as they should never be allowed in the classroom. They have no place in a learning setting.

Both in New Member Education and in Second Grade, the Active Member and the teacher...

- look pissed if they're not smiling
- fluctuate their voice
- exaggerate emotions
- tell the students what to do
- ask for the reasons behind actions and responses
- emphasize respect
- teach the class as a whole, a unified group
- encourage students to work out their problems among themselves
- want to squish the students in a bear hug
- can't stay mad
- have favorites
- treat the students equally
- know there's a lesson in everything
- want them to do well
- make mistakes
- get carried away
- have a lot of responsibility
- stress effort and attitude
- know that respect goes both ways
- know that respect is earned
- know that trust can be broken
- have to care in order for the students to care
- have to stick to what they say
- want to be friends with the students
- have to establish distance
- burst bubbles
- feel like moms
- can't wait for the end
- miss it once it's over


Though pledge, new member education, initiation, or whatever you want to call it has a negative reputation, it's really just like elementary school all over again. Going through it, or being that student, you have little independence, you hang onto your teacher's every word, and you have to trust. You work with your classmates and learn to love even the weird ones. You learn your own weirdness. You work for your teacher's approval, you find your role in the class, and looking back, you realize that memorizing facts was never the point.