It’s hard to believe that today marks the first official day of my 25th year in education—not counting all of the years I was the student! That said, I don’t know about you, but after experiencing this many new beginnings, I’m always looking for a new twist to add to those age-old obligatory back to school activities—like discussing classroom rules.

That’s why I love the infographic shown below—which highlights the how and why teachers should allow students to actively participate in establishing expectations.

A shout out to Mia MacMeekin for sharing another awesome infographic!

Classroom Connection:

Allowing students to set the rules? Are you crazy? Some teachers would say yes, she’s lost her mind! But no—not completely! Giving students the opportunity to play a role in determining classroom rules not only gets them to think about what it is important, but it also encourages them to take ownership and responsibility for their education. And what educator doesn’t wish for that? Afterall, there’s nothing better than a classroom full of good classroom citizens, right?