Be The Decider

On October 31st, I wrote the following on my white board.
"The rules in my class are the same on October 31 as they are the rest of the year.  Please save your candy for snack time or lunch."

Yes, I am the Halloween Grinch.  Not only do I not want to teach teenagers that are too buzzed on candy to have a complete thought, I want them to know that the calendar does not decide the rules of my classroom.  I do.  (By the way, the same applies to Valentine's Day, which is another day that they believe they can openly violating the eating rules of my classroom.)

A few hours after writing this, I checked my facebook and found this post from a friend of mine who teaches in Oklahoma.  Obviously, we have very different approaches to this holiday.  Another teacher friend of mine gives an assignment to kids to bring in candy (He got 35 pounds this year!) or write an essay.

And, here's the thing.  I don't think any of us wrong.  What's important to me isn't what the teacher decides but that the teacher is the one making the decision.  My advice to new teachers (and veterans who may have forgotten this fact) is to remember that THIS IS YOUR CLASSROOM!  If you want to be casual and fun, then you should cultivate that atmosphere in your classroom.  When you do that, it is still your classroom management that determines what happens.  Do not just give up because the kids are out of control and then try to make yourself believe that you like it.  If you are more strict, that should be your option because this is YOUR classroom, but don't be mad at the teacher next door for making you look like the bad guy.  Embrace that you are the stricter presence in the lives of students, realizing that they will continue to have a range of teachers and bosses throughout their lives.

Whatever decision YOU make, be the decider.