Middle school is one of the most consequential stages of development. During these years, students are building the skills that shape how they make decisions, manage impulses, and regulate emotions. ...
Read MoreSeveral years ago, teachers at Ironia Elementary, a suburban New Jersey school with 600 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, began working with their students each September to create classroom rules—simple but powerful guidelines for behavior that set the stage for a productive year of learning. Once all teachers were invested in the yearly rules creation process, bullying and other misbehaviors diminished and the school culture improved.