Once teachers have a sufficient theoretical background to support their decisions concerning their approach to the teaching-learning process, the time has arrived to direct their attention toward the classroom. Neither theory nor practice alone is sufficient; each should complement the other in order to blend the teachers' philosophy and practice into a unified, rational whole. Given a theory of learning and of language, teachers can begin an examination of the art of the teaching process itself. Fortified with the armor of their understanding of theory, they can continue to prepare themselves for the day in which they sally forth to do battle (intellectually) with their first class.
In the classroom, teachers present content to students operating in a social system. In order to do their job well they should first of all know the material they are attempting to teach to the students. Second, they should be familiar with various methodological and curricular approaches to establishing appropriate teaching-learning situations. And third, they should have matured to the level at which they can develop a productive rapport with each student personally and with the class as a whole. They should like young people, be willing to take them for what they are, and most of all, maintain their commitment to helping them learn and grow to higher levels of intellectual, emotional, and social maturity. As important as knowledge of subject matter and methodology and curriculum are to becoming a successful teacher, the most important factors are personal qualities which the teachers bring to the classroom. Unless they can relate to the students and vice versa, other factors will be insufficient.
Aside from the myriad of personal relationships existing in the classroom, the teacher's tasks fall into three major categories: (1) establishing objectives, (2) preparing learning activities geared toward the attainment of the aforementioned objectives, and (3) evaluating the outcome of task 2 to determine whether the objectives of task 1 were indeed obtained. Teaching, then, becomes a continuous process of the formulation of hypotheses, hypotheses which are subsequently put to the test in the classroom. As teachers evaluate the results, they receive evidence as to the validity of their hypotheses. Modifications and revisions are then incorporated into teaching procedures. As they receive feedback on their hypotheses, teachers have an obligation to learn and to grow. Unless teachers continue to learn and grow, they will undoubtedly not rise to the height of their potential.
The purpose of part 2 of this book is to relate the theory discussed in part 1 to the classroom situation and to examine with the prospective and/or practicing teacher various aspects of teaching a second language. The goal is to present a sufficient amount of information, insight, and examples, so that the reader can become an internally directed, creative teacher, not an imitator of incompletely understood models and techniques. Chapter 9 focuses on meeting student needs in the classroom. Chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13 treat
240 Part Two: Practice
separately each of the four language skills. Chapter 14 is a discussion of teaching culture. Chapter 15 outlines general guidelines the teacher should keep in mind. Chapter 16 discusses lesson planning. Chapter 17 summarizes various classroom procedures appropriate to each phase of the class hour. Chapter 18 gives an overview of evaluation along with some specific examples and suggestions. A short summary concludes part 2.
Classroom Management
Environment for Learning
The Physical Environment The Emotional Environment Planning and Scheduling Keeping Student Records Handling Materials
Self-Concept
Damaging Self-Concept Improving Self-Concept Self-Concept and Second-Language Teaching
Self-Actualization
Values
Achievement Motivation Theories of Motivation Types of Achievement Motivation Conditions of Motivation Improving Motivation
Improving Motivation in Second-Language Classes Discipline
Classroom Discipline Patterns Approaches to Discipline Types of Behavior Problems Discipline in the Classroom
Classroom Climate
Aspects of Classroom Climate Improving Classroom Climate
What Do Students Want?
Sources of Student Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction
Student Evaluation of Teachers
Student Opinions About Second-Language Classes
The premise upon which this chapter is based is that students have basic needs and that the teacher is responsible for helping to meet these needs, most of which revolve around the need to be sustained, encouraged, guided, and nurtured in growth. Obviously, the teacher's major responsibility lies in the area of intellectual growth, but often psychomotor or affective-social factors render the teacher's best efforts to teach academic content ineffective or even useless. The contemporary scene is such that the teacher is being asked to attend to these affective-social factors in order to promote student learning. Thus, the teacher's role is expanded beyond the covers of the textbook and the confines of her academic preparation to the realms of student attitudes and social adjustment.
The preceding paragraph is not intended to imply that the teacher is concerned about her students only as a means of improving academic achievement. Her guidance in the affective-social areas may well have beneficial effects that will in the present or in the future far surpass those of the subject matter itself. Growth in one area tends to affect growth in other areas, and all aspects of the total student are important to that student now and in the future and to the classroom learning atmosphere.
Of course, no teacher can be expected to shoulder all the students' problems. He is no amateur psychologist in white coat who comes running at the first sign of trouble. He has neither the training nor the time to assume such responsibility. However, he should be committed to fostering student cognitive, affective, and social growth as far as possible within the confines of the classroom situation and the limited contact he may have with any given student. Too, he should be prepared to refer any student needing specialized assistance to someone who can provide those services.
Chapter 7 treats the students and their world and closes with an examination of student needs. Chapter 8 focuses on the variability of individuality. The reader should keep the contents of both the aforementioned chapters in mind while reading this chapter. The primary purpose of chapter 9 is to discuss ways and means of meeting student affective-social needs in the classroom. (Ways and means of meeting student cognitive needs in the second-language class are dealt with in the remaining chapters of part 2.)
The teacher role is a multifaceted one requiring a variety of skills, many of which are not limited to instruction alone. Although teachers might prefer to confine their activities to the more creative and interesting aspects of teaching,
The organization and basic content of this section are from the following source: Alexander (1971, pp. 177-88).
they do have other obligations that must be fulfilled. The first step toward meeting student needs is to learn to manage the classroom situation. Classroom management includes those bookkeeping and housekeeping chores that provide the basis for establishing all teaching-learning situations and activities. These everyday chores are an integral part of teaching, and a successful teaching career requires that teachers learn to handle them promptly and efficiently. Teachers' records are the principal cornerstone of the entire administrative-counseling system of the school, and handling the housekeeping routine is vital to the ongoing classroom activities.
The following outline of the various housekeeping and bookkeeping chores is being presented as a guide to the classroom management responsibilities the teacher has to meet. Limited space precludes detailed discussion of ways and means of handling each. In fact, how these chores are to be managed is not so important as the necessity for the teacher to have some plan or system for doing so. The point is that the teacher needs to anticipate these responsibilities and find ways to meet them. He may develop his system individually, with the cooperation and input of the students, or in consultation with experienced teachers. (The latter method is so common that beginning teachers are often assigned an experienced "buddy" who serves as a resource person to answer questions and to provide general support during the first few weeks of classes.) Preschool meetings for new teachers also serve as orientation sessions in which many questions are answered.
Obviously, the environment for learning encompasses much more than the classroom itself. Students are products of the entire community and school social system, and the teacher should be familiar with the neighborhood and the school prior to entering her specialized domain within that environment. Too, teachers should be acquainted with school policy and procedures before classes begin.
The physical environment Teachers also have the responsibility for overseeing their classroom and its contents. Following are some areas that will need attention.
Preparation for the coming school year is the fall room cleaning of the school. Shelves are cleaned, materials are organized, inventories are prepared, and all supplies needed are acquired or ordered.
Teaching aids, both auditory and visual, need to be located, put in good working order, and placed in a convenient spot in the room. In the case of those teaching aids not kept in the room, teachers should know what the school has available and how and where to get them for use in their classes. Teachers may also plan to ask students to assist in the preparation of new teaching aids.
The bulletin board can be a valuable asset in the classroom. A good bulletin board display requires considerable attention and a great deafl of work. Students can relieve teachers of much of the work of preparing the bulletin board display while at the same time learning from and enjoying the experience. The materials on the bulletin board should be changed regularly, they should be relevant to class content, and they should make a contribution to learning. Bulletin board displays should be filed and saved for future use. Also, commercial materials are available, and handbooks containing numerous ideas and suggestions can be found in educational libraries.
The seating arrangement is normally the teacher's prerogative, although it is determined to a large extent by the physical facilities and the prevailing types of activities to be employed in the class. Seats may be arranged in rows, circles, U-shapes, or in small groups. The current preference seems to be toward having the students face each other in order that they may relate better to each other during recitation sessions, in small groups, or individually in order to break down the feeling of rigidity prevailing in some classes. As helpful as these different arrangements may be, teacher attitude probably has more to do with class tone than does the seating arrangement. The important point is that teachers may feel free in most schools to experiment with the seating flexibility needed to implement their particular type of classroom activities.
Within the limits of teacher control, the temperature of the room should be comfortable. Students who are uncomfortable cannot be expected to concentrate on their studies. For those days on which the temperature cannot be kept within comfortable limits, teachers should try to include some occasional special activities to stimulate student interest.
The teacher should also be cognizant of the noise level. It may be necessary to close the door or ask for quiet if there is too much noise in the hall. Similarly, it may be necessary at times to decrease the volume of noise in the classroom itself if it reaches the level of disturbing the teacher or the learning activities of the other students. Sometimes the students themselves will ask those creating a disturbance to be quiet. If they do not, the teacher should not hesitate to do so. Noise must not be permitted to exceed a permissible productive level.
The emotional environment New buildings and unlimited facilities in and of themselves are no guarantee of a productive learning environment, and teachers should recognize that productive learning situations can be developed within the contexts of almost any physical environment. The more important part is the sum of the emotional elements present in the classroom.
Voices play an important role in the classroom. As they speak, both teachers and students indicate the purposiveness of what they are doing and the respect they have for each other. All verbal exchanges should have a
learning objective in view, and all members of the class should be kind and courteous to all other members. Silence may also be desirable at times, depending upon the objective of the student activity, and teachers should not hesitate to insist upon silence at those times. However, students who are always silent normally reflect some problem, which teachers should seek to resolve and eliminate.
Expectations are important in any class. The teacher knows what to expect from each student, and each student knows what to expect from the teacher. Teacher assignments are realistic, but high quality work is expected. Both the teacher and the students regard themselves and each other highly and expect high returns on efforts put into the course.
Tempo refers to the pace of the class. Some teachers speed through the activities and the materials; others follow a more leisurely pace. The tempo itself is not so important as whether or not the teacher and the student can adjust to each other's style. In this sense, homogeneous grouping may permit a certain degree of matching of teacher and student styles. Teaching tempo may need to be adjusted to varying conditions, such as different types of students, different hours of the day, different seasons of the year, different climatic conditions, and even different days of the week.
Humor , if it is not made the objective of the course and occurs naturally in teaching-learning activities, can enhance the emotional environment of the class. If the teacher and the students can learn to laugh together often and even at themselves occasionally, chances are they will be able to work together better.
Within the physical and emotional environment the teacher plans for instruction and schedules teaching-learning activities. She asks herself how maximum learning may be achieved, how classroom procedures may be handled more efficiently and more smoothly, and how trouble spots may be avoided. In this process the class develops systematic routines that enable the teacher and the students to work together harmoniously and productively.
Some problems are recurrent. Students seem always to need to sharpen a pencil or to dispose of a piece of paper in the wastebasket. However, pencils can be sharpened and paper discarded without disrupting the class. At no time should such trivia be allowed to impede or interfere with ongoing teachinglearning activities, and the teacher and/or the class should develop a system, known to everyone, for handling such small matters.
No teacher can expect to teach without the interruptions that accompany the school scene. He must be prepared for school programs, absences, irrelevant comments by students, changes in the daily schedule, etc.
Passing in papers is such a common class activity that the novice may tend to overlook the potential for disruption and inefficiency. Where are students to write their names? How are papers to be folded? There is no reason that the passing in or return of papers should become a disorderly melee. As with other matters relating to classroom conduct, there should be a system that can be accomplished with a minimum of time and noise. One tested procedure is to ask the students to pass the papers to the front of the room where one student can collect all the papers and give them to the teacher. They can be returned by a similar system, except in the case of examinations.
The teacher should have her lesson plans and all teaching materials ready prior to the beginning of each class. Otherwise, the flow of the class activities will come to an unnecessary halt, and the students will tend to lose their concentration on and interest in the subject matter at hand. In individualized classes, all materials including new LAPs and tests should be ready for student use, and they should be systematically filed and clearly labeled. The students should be familiar with how to use LAPs and the materials available in the classroom. They should be familiar with the system for indicating progress and the system for taking tests and recording test scores.
The teacher should have a system for giving the assignment. During what part of the class hour is it given? How is it given, orally or written on the chalkboard? Do the students know exactly what they are to do? When is the assignment due? Is it to be oral or written?
Records are kept for present and future reference by teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, students, and prospective employers. They are useful not only to record what has happened but to provide insights into quality and trends of the educational program.
Formal records include attendance records, grade books, and report cards. Attendance records are required by law, tax-funds being allocated on the basis of the number of students attending the school. Calling the roll is too time-consuming to be used in class. The teacher can either check the attendance at the bell or designate a student to do so. The names of those absent are then relayed to the principal's office. The teacher records absences, grades, and other information related to grades in his grade book. The material in the grade book should be legible, systematic, and comprehensible. Report cards are the measure of student class progress that the teacher gives to the students and the parents. In this sense, the report card is the student growth report. Formerly, the report card concerned itself primarily with conduct and academic record. Presently, especially in elementary grades, many aspects of the affective-social domain are also reported.
In many schools, informal records are kept continuously or as the occasion requires. These informal records include everything from lunch money, to money received from receipts of a money-making project, to anecdotal records of student behavior. In some cases, folders are prepared for each student. With an individualized program, for example, a folder in which each student records her progress facilitates the record-keeping chores associated with this approach. The students indicate work done, and the teacher can add additional, informal information.
Most teachers maintain an ever-growing collection of materials useful in their classes. However, to be usable, these materials must be organized, cataloged, and stored in such a manner that the teacher knows what he has and where it is. Some of this responsibility is shared by the central resource center , of course, and the teacher should have a list of relevant materials and teaching aids contained there. However, most of the textbooks and teaching materials that the second-language teacher uses are in his own classroom or that of a colleague. (Teachers, especially beginning teachers, should remember that sharing is an excellent way of increasing the amount of teaching materials at one's disposal.) The problem of handling classroom materials in an efficient manner is multiplied in an individualized program. Not only must the teacher know what he has and where it is, but the material must also be readily available to students at various points in the course outline. Such a program requires extra storage space, an operable system understood by all the students, and student assistants or monitors, or an aide, to see to it that everything is returned to its appropriate location.
Once the administrative and logistic classroom chores have been taken care of, the teacher can begin to concentrate on each individual student in class and on each student's self-concept. One's opinion of self is the single most critical factor in determining attitudes, values, social relationships, academic achievement, and goals. Thus, the development of a positive self-image is important in the school setting and for a productive adult life. Since self-concept is derived to a considerable degree from the feedback the individual receives from relationships with others, a change in the treatment the individual receives can over a period of time modify his opinion of himself. The question for the classroom is whether or not teachers can develop attitudes and behaviors that improve student self-concepts. Brown and MacDougall (1973) found that, with
training, teachers were able to modify their classroom actions in ways that did result in students regarding themselves more positively.
Teachers do not intentionally plan to diminish a student's self-concept. However, they may at times do so simply by teaching as they were taught without seriously considering the consequences of their actions. Tolar (1975) lists three major ways in which teachers may hinder student emotional development. The first is the use of threat to coerce students into classroom conformity. This practice may be counterproductive in that students may reach the point at which they are dependent upon external authority for direction. Too, this practice may produce feelings of fear and anxiety, and these feelings can lead to psychological and social maladjustment problems. The second is the practice of appealing to guilt feelings. Students are made to feel that their self-worth is dependent upon classroom achievement, and they are shamed in order to elevate performance. The third is the classroom that places students in the position of a captive audience participating in unchallenging classroom experiences. Tolar (1975, p. 72) states that teachers contribute to "students' sense of inadequacy by offering classroom experiences which are not challenging. Some teachers unwittingly confuse respectful empathy with sympathy, and invite self-pity by offering sympathy." He adds that self-reliance and independence are crucial to healthy emotional development.
Another way in which teachers may damage a student's self-concept is by using him in various ways as a scapegoat for their own inadequate self-images. Many of the articles listed in the Selected References section of this chapter refer to the widely held belief that the teacher must have an adequate self-concept in order to develop positive self-esteem among students. Oliva (1972) maintains that teachers should be aware of the importance of a positive self-concept both in themselves and in their students. He gives examples of teachers with low self-concepts as being those who see students as monsters or vegetables, who avoid controversial issues, who think students are opposed to their subjects, who are afraid to try new ideas, and who talk about the students in the teachers' lounge.
Teachers may also fail to take steps toward improving student self- concepts because they are not informed as to what the problems and the signs of the problems are. In an interesting study by Sack and Sack (1974), teachers and mental hygienists were asked to rank, in order of importance, the fifty greatest student behavior problems. Teachers tended to select acts, while mental hygienists chose undesirable emotional or social traits. The top five selected by the teachers were: (1) stealing, (2) destruction, (3) cheating, (4) lying, and (5) defiance. The top five chosen by the mental hygienists were: (1)
unhappiness and depression, (2) fear, (3) unsocial and withdrawing behavior, (4) cruel and bullying behavior, and (5) domineering behavior.
Schwartz (1972) believes that self-concept is based on four factors: competence, significance to others, virtue (doing the right thing), and power (influence in the individual's social structure). Ellsworth (1967) lists two types of negative self-concept: feeling of inability to cope and feeling of being unlovable. The importance of each of these factors on self-concept, of course, depends on the individual. In some cases, significance to others will be most influential, while in others competence will be, and so forth. From the teacher's point of view, the important consideration is what she can do in her class to improve self-concept.
As the teacher attempts to supplement her regular classroom behavior with ego-enhancing procedures and techniques, she should keep in mind that modification of the self-concept is a slow metamorphosis rather than a sudden conversion. Too, she should be aware that the self-image of her students is influenced as much by her actions and her manner as by what she says. Mattocks and Sew (1974) suggest specific ideas for shaping self-concept.
1. The teacher is sensitive to each student.
2. She attempts to promote consistency of self-concept.
3. She focuses on the promotion of student confidence and the integration of each [student] into classroom activities.
4. She is aware of the student's body image and self-acceptance.
5. She selects teaching-learning activities that involve learning by doing as well as thinking.
6. She makes clear to the students that mistakes are not tragedies.
7. She is tolerant, understands student limitations, and avoids unreasonable demands.
8. She takes advantage of natural student curiosity.
9. She dishes out generous quantities of reward and judicious amounts of punishment.
Piaget feels that growth develops from egocentric limitations and that each step in this process is dependent upon the successful completion of the previous step. What can be done in the case of those students who have gotten stuck in the process of developing a healthy self-concept? How can the teacher help the student bridge the gap between failure or stagnation and success? First, he must be willing to accept the student as a worthwhile person. Second, he must get the student to talk about the problem. Together they should identify exactly what the problem is. Third, he should try to get the student to understand that other students have similar problems. Fourth, he needs to try
to get the student to accept himself as he is. Together they can find the student's strengths and build upon them. Next, he should attempt to encourage the student and to build up his confidence. And last, he should involve the student in some activity at which he can be successful (Cowan, 1974).
In relation to the fourth point in the preceding paragraph, the teacher should realize that only self-images based on realistic self-appraisal can in the long run be beneficial to the student. Self-esteem means that the student knows his capabilities and accepts himself as he is. In fact, the greater the gap between the student's capabilities and his self-image and self-expectations the more likely he will be subject to psychological problems. According to a practicing clinical psychologist who works with adolescents, one of the most common problems of adolescents is that they have not been told the truth. They do not know what are their strengths and weaknesses, their potentials and limitations. Tolar (1975, p. 73) stresses that student mental health depends on frank and genuine appraisal by teachers. He criticizes teachers in general saying, "It is common for students to go without accurate feedback, because some teachers are not genuine enough to provide a realistic picture of students' performances. Sometimes they lack courage enough to carefully confront inconsistencies or provide constructive criticism." Therefore, teachers should not misinterpret teaching for self-concept as meaning that students are always patted on the back whether or not the praise is justified.
As she works with those students who have self-concept problems, the teacher needs to develop a problem-solving attitude. She should be objective, help students realize their potential, consider student goals, permit freedom of expression, develop a flexible stance toward student problems, and encourage any evidence of response and growth. Above all, she should not expect stupidity and failure (LeBaron, 1974). In short, the teacher commits herself to assisting student affective-social growth in ways that seem to be productive. Exact procedures develop out of the specific circumstances surrounding each individual student.
The self-image that is weak but adequate in other classes in first-language exchanges may become uncomfortably fragile in the second-language class. For this reason, second-language teachers, more than teachers working with students in their first language, should be sensitive to self-concept and to its effects on the students and their work in class.
Stern (1975) mentions three problems common to students in initial stages of second-language study, each of which may create problems with student self-concept. First, the learner must learn to tolerate the frustration of being unable to express himself. Second, he has to learn to deal with the necessity of
accepting the new sounds, forms, and structures of the second language. And third, he must learn how to operate linguistically in a system in which momentarily he is disoriented, in which he does not know what to expect. Nor do these three constitute all the emotional strains that second-language study places on student self-concept. Brown (1973, p. 233) states that any language acquisition process that results in meaningful learning for communication involves some degree of identity conflict regardless of the age and motivation of the learner. (Classroom culture shock is discussed in chapter 14, page 387.) Stevick (1973) mentions the fact that second-language learners are forced temporarily to operate at an infant linguistic level and to accept corrections from someone else. Too, students may feel that they are not learning as rapidly as other students or as fast as they had anticipated, and they may not see the relationship between second-language study and their career plans. (This latter problem is discussed in chapter 1, pages 9-11.)
Second-language teachers should become sensitive to the insecure emotional state of their students, especially in the initial stages of second-language study. They should consider what they expect of their students and how they correct student errors. They should become familiar with procedures for building student self-concept and practice them in their classes. They should seek to establish a supportive, encouraging atmosphere for second-language acquisition. Curran is of the opinion that the teacher must abandon his natural questioning, doubting manner toward the learner and replace it with unconditioned positive regard and try to respond in a warm, secure, reassuring way that will convey a deep understanding of the learner's anxious, insecure state (Stevick, 1973, p. 262).
The acceptance of "person" education entails a much broader spectrum of responsibilities than those previously associated with the classroom. "Person" education with regard to self-concept means that the teacher commits himself to the goal of helping students grow in self-esteem and self-awareness. In working toward this objective, the teacher should realize his need for and the difficulty of obtaining objectivity in dealing with his students. He should not expect students to reward him, for instance. Willis and Brophy (1974) state that students who do not reward teachers are avoided and/or rejected by them. Friedman (1973) found that teachers are much more likely to praise student responses to teacher initiated interchanges than student originated comments. Neither should he fail to remember that students are individuals, and some do not need the teacher as much as others. Too, he should realize that ascertaining student feelings and attitudes may be practically impossible in many cases. For example, Ducette and Wolk (1972) found that, in general, teachers are not very good judges of student attitudes. They assume that students making good grades have good attitudes and vice versa. However, this feeling does not correspond with data collected on student
attitudes. Thus, teachers tend to overestimate the attitudes of good students and underestimate the attitudes of poor students. As they become better acquainted with the students, their assessments become more valid. The crucial factor affecting student self-esteem seems to be the teacher himself rather than the curricular organization of the class. Harvey (1974), Black (1974), and Humphreys and Townsend (1974) report that types of classroom organization apparently have little effect on self-concept.
Once the individual has reached a functional level in self-concept development he can begin to work toward the realization of his potential. The actualization of inherent capabilities on an individual basis requires a productive values system, motivation to grow, and discipline.
In chapter 7, page 193, five different approaches to values acquisition are mentioned: socialization, behavioristic, humanistic, values clarification, and developmentalist. To a greater or lesser degree all these approaches are present in any given classroom situation whether or not the teacher consciously chooses to incorporate them into the teaching-learning activities. Each student absorbs values from the class social structure. In the normal course of conducting the class, each teacher reinforces some values and inhibits others. The varying psychological and emotional states of the students cause them to accept some values, reject others, and change those they already have. Values are clarified during discussion sessions, and problem-solving strategies and cognitive skills that lead to an increasingly mature and complex values system are acquired as part of the educational process.
However, more can and should be done. All students need to develop a personal values system, and classroom activities can help meet this need. The position taken in this book is that the values clarification approach offers the greatest potential in education at the moment. In the first place, proponents of this approach seek to clarify values, not teach them. This is probably the only approach acceptable to the various elements in a pluralistic society. Therefore, values clarification is a practical and acceptable classroom procedure as long as the teacher does not use clarification procedures to pry into personal and sensitive matters. In the second place, techniques developed for clarifying values in recent years permit students to examine their own values in respect to the values of others without feeling obligated to take certain positions or be ashamed of their choices. In the third place, this approach serves very well as a
Meeting Student Needs
vehicle for examining cultural similarities and differences without threatening the students' own cultural values. (See chapter 14, page 387.) And in the fourth place, values clarification techniques can be used in second-language classes as the basis for meaningful communicative activities. (See chapter 10, pages 300-2; chapter 11, page 322; and chapter 12, page 349.)
The main tenets to be followed in including values activities in class are restraint and freedom. The teacher must limit the topics selected in order that delicate and inappropriate subjects can be avoided. An anything-goes philosophy might be damaging to the emotional health of individual students. Values activities are not substitutes for sensitivity sessions or psychological counseling. Too, the teacher must put values activities in perspective with other class needs and activities. Values clarification can be an important asset in the class, but it should not be allowed to dominate classroom activities. Once the questions or activities have been selected, any member of the class including the teacher should feel free to participate or not participate. An atmosphere of tolerance and nonjudgment is essential if values activities are to be successful.
Before the teacher undertakes values clarification activities, she should make the ground rules clear to all students. They should understand that there are no correct answers, that they are free to answer or not to answer any questions, and that they have the right to ask the teacher any question she asks them.
Simon et al. (1972) have prepared a handbook containing seventy-nine values clarification strategies. One example is the "proud whip" (pp. 134-35). In this activity, class members consider what they are proud of regarding some specific area or issue. The point is made that "proud" in this activity refers to things they really feel good about. The authors also stress that skipping questions is all right, since one cannot be expected to have values concerning all questions.