Blog Rules for Mathlover
Blog Rules–Based on Learning, Respect, Inclusion, Fair Play, Kindness, Cooperation, Courtesy, and Safe Blogging at all times.
The thing that has impressed me the most in the years that I have been teaching at the College level is the interaction between, or maybe I should say among the students, who come from various walks of life and backgrounds, and how there is initially a sort of “dance” to get a feel for what the individuals who are fellow students are thinking and also their various personality types and just who do they want to approach and get to know better. I find this very interesting, even though I have little Social Behavioral Studies in my educational background.
After observing students each new term, I have decided that there really should be a list of “Rules” to follow, even though my students are adult students and have long ago formed their patterns of interraction.  The most important interraction I have observed is that after a time the students begin to act like family, in that they help each other and trade little jokes with each other as many siblings do regularly. It has a bonding effect on the students, and I see this as a good sign.
Now for the Rules:
1. Respect; Everyone is expected to treat their classmates with respect in their daily interractions, whether they are in person or during their posts in the blog.
2. Learning: We are all here to learn, but we all learn in a different manner. Some of us need absolute quiet to be able to learn most effectively, while others are oblivious to sounds around us while we try to absorb new material. Still others have no preference as to what is best for them to have the ideal learning environment. The trick is for all concerned to try to tune in to these various needs and accomodate them, which goes back to respect again.
3. Inclusion and Fair Play: I Â think I can combine these two in the same rule because I feel that they are closely related. No one should ever be excluded, or left out, or ignored. We need to be able to listen to what each person has to say and listen with desire to learn from each other. It really does happen that way. Fair play is something we should have learned in Kindergarten, so we need to draw on our inner knowledge of this and keep an open mind and a willingness to givae everyone the same chance to learn that we expect to get.
4. Kindness: I always was taught that we really need to treat each other with kindness and guard what we might say in order to do no personal harm to anyone elses feelings and perceptions of the rest of us. We all need to get along and this can be achieved most easily through kindness toward each other.
5.Cooperation and Courtesy: We need to work together and help each other especially when one of us needs something extra, such as a more thorough explanation of the material we are studying in the classroom. Courtesy sometimes simply means not speaking out, but to quietly listen to what the other person is asking and allowing whoever is trying to explain it, the time and patience to do so uninterrupted.
6. Safe Blogging at all times: We need to be ever watchful of the information we put in our blogs. Never use your last name or the name of the school you attend or where you live. We do not want anyone put in danger in any way, so we all need to be verycarefull about just what we include about ourselves.
