Child Safety and Code of Conduct for Adults Working With Children & Youth

Safety Policies for Teachers

Code of Conduct for Adults Working with Children & Youth

Many Sources

As a faith community, we as Unitarian Universalists draw from many sources, including these two around which our RE program is based this year:

 

• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life; 
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Why?

• Because we want to share the wisdom we’ve found in these traditions with our kids
• Because we want our kids to know about these traditions in order to be culturally literate when religion (of any kind) is the topic or the context in school, community organizations, politics, news, etc.
• Because we want our kids to understand how these sources feed our living religion
• NOT ‘so they can choose a religion when they grow up’ – I know some families may have come here for this reason however I believe that as a congregation, as a fellowship, we are here to provide a religious home for our children, not a religious airstrip for them to take off from at some point in the future.

How?

• With the youngest kids, we celebrate holidays and keep the focus on our own community.
• As kids get older, we tell stories from the traditions with the most adherents in the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and relate those stories to our own faith journeys.
• Upper elementary kids are ready to learn more details about the stories and holidays to improve their cultural literacy.
• Middle school kids go on an odyssey of sorts, experiencing the worship life of different traditions first hand and relating it, again, to their own faith experiences.
• Youth may or may not explicitly participate in any programming around world religions, but will be exposed to lots about it in the larger community, etc.   Advisors are invited to take the ideas we’ve talked about here back to group for discussion/action.

What?

• We are learning FROM the wisdom of these traditions
• We are learning ABOUT these traditions and how they relate to the larger world and ourselves (individually and UUs)
• We are NOT learning to BE any of these religions
• We are NOT PRACTICING any of these religions (unless we are doing it WITH an actual practitioner of the religion who is voluntarily sharing his/her sacred ritual with us)

Classroom Management & Discipline Policy

Classroom Management and Discipline Policy

BuxMont UU Fellowship Religious Education Program

This policy is guided by our Unitarian Universalist Principles.  Everyone is welcome here, but not all behaviors are.  As part of our RE program, we have a responsibility to set boundaries about what behavior is and is not acceptable in our sacred space.  The common welfare of the group comes first, because a healthy group provides a safe place for each person to learn and grow.  It is not okay for one person or a few people to disrupt an entire group.  It is important for each person to be responsible for his or her own behavior and to find a way to be a part of the group.  As adults, we are responsible for helping children and youth learn how to choose positive behaviors and suggesting possible strategies for being involved in positive ways. 

If we are welcoming, set clear boundaries, value the health of the group, and encourage good personal leadership and behavior, the whole system will work together to create order.

Classroom Management Techniques:

All teachers are encouraged to:

1. Follow the Opening and Closing Circle scripts to provide consistency and grounding for each class.

2. Set boundaries about what behavior is and is not acceptable to you – personally and as a teaching team, if possible, through creating with the children a written class covenant to refer to when issues arise.

3. Offer children who are fidgety, clowning, or overbearing something to do with their hands (modeling clay, pipe-cleaners, paper and pen, etc.)

4. Reposition children who are encouraging others to misbehave to a seat near the teacher or assistant.

5. Give children who are acting out a job to do.

6. Relate lesson materials to the concerns that children raise.

7. Utilize our outdoor  campus when weather permits – many children spend most of their waking hours indoors and a bit of fresh air can make a big difference to mood and attention.

8. Utilize large body movement activities such as dance, yoga, stretching, games, etc.

9. Use materials and activities that speak to a variety of learning styles (verbal, auditory, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.)

10. Be honest (in an age-appropriate way) with each other and the children if you are having a particularly challenging time for some reason (tiredness, sadness, etc.)

Discipline Procedures:

1. When behavior issues arise in a classroom, teachers should first draw upon the classroom management techniques described above to address the situation. Depending on the circumstances, teachers should also consider reviewing what they are doing and adjusting the class activities to better accommodate the needs of the group.

2. If the problematic behavior continues, a teacher should tell the child(ren) directly what to stop doing (or do), and what will happen if they do not comply.  (Generally, s/he/they should be told that they will need to take a break from class and visit with the DRE.)

3. If necessary, a teacher should  escort the child(ren) to the DRE.  At this point, the DRE will work with the child(ren) to determine if s/he/they are able to return to class, can engage in an alternative activity in the RE space, or needs to spend some or the remainder of the program time with a parent or guardian.  The teacher should express a preference if s/he has one.

4. The DRE will communicate what happened to the child(ren)’s parents/guardians as appropriate.  Information may also be conveyed to the other teachers of the class so that they are aware of potential issues that may arise.

5. If an issue arises more than once with any particular child, the DRE will meet with the child, the child’s parents or guardians, and the class Liaison or teachers as appropriate to develop a plan for how to continue to include the child while preserving a safe and sacred learning environment for the rest of the group and teachers.

6. Each plan will be reviewed after an agreed-upon amount of time to determine if it is working for everyone concerned. If not, further solutions will be sought, including advice and support from the Minister and/or appropriate counseling, educational, and developmental professionals.

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