COLAB STUDENT AFFILIATES PARTNER PREP
CoLab Student Affiliates
Values-based student worker development
Portfolio Part: BAD RULES
#wronganswersonly
BAD RULES
In the space below, brainstorm the MOST restrictive, oppressive course policies you can imagine. You can choose to frame these around a course you teach, or you can just come up with a list that could apply to any courses. Be as heavy-handed and authoritarian as you like; it’s okay if the rules you write make you uncomfortable.
Oppressive Course Policies
- No tech
- no noise
- no toys
- no food and water/ drinks
- eyes up / sit up
- Bad corner/hat of shame
Oppressive Course Policies Reflection
Referring back to the rules you wrote, now write the OPPOSITE of each of them in the space below. Reframe each rule by imagining what it would be if you tried to completely counteract its purpose.
Rewritten Course Policies
- tech needs to be school-appropriate and mostly for notes and only learning purposes
- Noise is not bad at a calm level and sometimes it’s helpful to talk things out with other people to better understand a topic
- fidgets are allowed but if they are used in ways they are not supposed to be will be taken or asked to be put away
- if you need a snack, eat it quickly or step out to eat it for a second
- water is always allowed, if you need energy have a coffee or energy drink, be mindful so don’t spill if you’re responsible for clean up.
- as long as I can tell you are actively listening and learning, sitting, standing, and walking in the back of the room.
- there is no such thing as a punishment in this classroom if there is a problem we solve it right then and now so they do not expand.
Rewritten Course Policies Reflection
Reflect upon the experience of writing both sets. How did writing these rules make you feel? How were the two experiences different? In your own courses, are your policies more like one set or the other? Put yourself in the shoes of a student again, and re-read the rules. How do they feel now?
