Values – We tout their importance, we toss out questions like, “What are your top values?” and “What do you value in life?” We place value on money, time, relationships, and character traits, tangible and intangible things alike. It’s no wonder that the concept of values can sometimes be challenging for our students to grasp. So how do we teach our students the importance of common values such as trust, responsibility, perseverance, and honesty? How do we even broach the subject?

Here is a fun way to introduce values to students, while making learning relevant by connecting to their real-world knowledge: Values Billboards. You’ve likely seen these uplifting signs, thanks to the Foundation for a Better Life, as you drive down the highway; a picture of a person or sports scene on the left and a short quote on the right, with a clear value printed in a red box below. The words “Pass it On” encourage you to demonstrate that value as well. Babe Ruth’s face draws you into a billboard which states “From orphanage to hall of fame” with the value “Drive” written below. An image of Whoopi Goldberg supports the statement, “Overcame dyslexia”, emphasizing the value of “hard work”. Not only do these billboards introduce a variety of values to your students, they also share snippets of history and socially relevant topics which just might reassure your students that even the greatest actors, athletes, scientists, etc. had challenges to overcome.

How can you use it? First, go to www.values.com. Click on “Billboards” and scroll through the billboards which have already been designed. You can even search billboards by value if you have a specific one in mind. There are many ways to use this site – here are just a few:

Values Gallery: Pick 10-12 billboards and print them from your computer. Post them around your classroom and have students walk around the room, like an art gallery, evaluating each billboard. Ask students to select one billboard which stood out to them and share why this value and story was significant.

Create Your Own Billboard: Go to “Your Billboards”  where students can create their own billboard. After introducing values to your students, have them think of a person or even which exemplifies a value, and create their own billboard.

Students Empowered: Have your students click on the “students” tab at the top of the website, and explore ways that they can support values education on their campus.

Ideas for You: Click on “Faculty and Administration” to learn how you, as an educator, can incorporate values education across the curriculum. 

School is wrapping up quickly and students are excited for a break. You likely are too! It is amazing how much can go on during this time of year. Depending on what you teach you may be inundated with preparation for final exams, closing out reports and projects, preparing for graduation, or finalizing end of the year meetings. Before we know it the year will be closed out and we will be catching our breath to get ready for next year. Recognizing the rat race you may find yourself in, I pose this challenge to you: Take a moment to appreciate, and give your students the opportunity to do the same.

For you: I’m a runner. Not a particularly fast one, but one who enjoys the trials of training, the fresh air that fills my lungs, and the thrill of crossing the finish line. This crazy season of teaching can often feel like the end of a long race, using all of the adrenaline we’ve stored up to just make it across the finish line. As you see that finish line in site, instead of putting your head down and blindly pushing forward, take a moment to look at your surroundings and appreciate. Find three things today that you are appreciative of. It may be a checked-off to-do list, a clean counter, finally making a connection with a student, or laughter with your class. Make a note of what you appreciate and post it in clear view.

Identify a person you appreciate, who has helped you out this year. Take five minutes to write them a quick note expressing your appreciation and thanking them for their encouragement or guidance. Don’t underestimate the power of a simple hand-written note. They are precious gems in our crazy world of emails and Facebook updates.

For your students: Take the last fifteen minutes of class and provide your students with a blank card or sheet of paper and an envelope. Have students identify one teacher/coach they appreciate, who has helped them out this year. Empower your students to express their appreciation as they write a note of thanks. Students can place their notes in a sealed envelope, and you can slip them in the teachers’ boxes before school gets out. Not only are you teaching your students a valuable lesson on being appreciative, but you just might give a fellow colleague the encouragement they need to cross that finish line with their head held high!

We strive to build leadership in our students. Regardless of our content areas, we hope that students will leave our class having developed leadership skills which will help them in the real world. There are great strategies and techniques for instilling specific leadership in students, but let’s back up and take a look at the big picture. You can instill leadership in your students simply by setting clear and high expectations.

We set more expectations than we may realize. General behavior, performance on class assignments, how students treat each other, arriving to class on time, and responsibility for missed work are just a few. We set expectations by what we allow in our classroom. Regardless of what we have posted, our actions speak the loudest!

So make your expectations clear and set the bar high. As we approach the end of the year, it is likely that you may not have reviewed expectations since August! Take a few minutes to revisit your expectations, clarify those that you may not have previously enforced, and make copies of specific expectations for students to keep in their binder.

Reality Check - How do your students view your expectations? What do they think you expect them? Ask. Take 5 minutes at the end of class today and ask students to jot down on a piece of paper the top 3 expectations you have of them. Collect these and find out what expectations your students have a clear expectation of, and what expectations you might need to clarify!