A Year Without Using 'Rock-Paper-Scissors' to Decide Things ◎ Classroom Management for First-Grade Elementary Students ◎

I worked at an elementary school in Osaka City for about nine years.
It has been two years since I left the teaching profession.

Although I have left the field, I still holdpride as an educator◎

As a self-proclaimed 'Educational Environment Planner', I have continued my activities since retiring.
Currently, I am focusing on 'food education', but for the sake of future children, I have decided to start outputting the experience I gained working as a teacher on note!!

I truly hope that active teachers will incorporate anything they find worth a 'like'!

Deciding things with 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'

For classroom duties and assignments, I think 'rock-paper-scissors' is often used to decide things within classroom management in elementary schools.

I, too, have adopted 'rock-paper-scissors' in various situations.

Not just for classroom management, but when deciding order or during play, it allows you to decide things easily and quickly, from small matters to big ones.

The 'win' and 'loss' are obvious at a glance.

You 'lost,' so it can't be helped.

There is no need for follow-up.Since it is done with mutual consent, it is natural that you cannot complain if you 'lose'.

H, o, w, e, v, e, r, ! ! ! ! !

You might say, 'Let's decide with rock-paper-scissors!!', but children are not satisfied with that, aren't they?

In the end, the homeroom teacher has a hard time with the follow-up afterwards!!
Things like 'They played late!!' or 'I said I didn't want to use rock-paper-scissors!!' and so on...

No, no, you played 'rock-paper-scissors,' so it's no use saying anything now.
Even the 'winner' isn't satisfied.

Stopping the use of 'rock-paper-scissors' to decide things

I was a first-grade homeroom teacher.

It was when we were deciding on our first 'classroom duties'.

Since I myself had doubts about using 'rock-paper-scissors' to decide things, I asked the children.

'How should we decide??'

This is my own method, but I always ask the children when I'm in a bind!! and do that.

"Rock-paper-scissors!!!"

Right? We decide things by "rock-paper-scissors."

So, once again,

"If we decide by rock-paper-scissors, the winner is happy, but is it okay for the loser?"
"Is there any other good way??"

I ask the children things like that, and I end up asking them again!! Haha.

Making them "do" what the teacher decides is not as important as having them "do" (with the children in the lead) what they decided themselves. That is what's important.

Then,
"We'll decide by discussion!!"

and a wonderful idea came out.

"That's great!! Adopted!!!!!"

Since then, in my class, we stopped deciding things by "rock-paper-scissors."

Deciding by "discussion"

takes time. Haha.

Things that could be decided in seconds by "rock-paper-scissors" are discussed one by one until everyone is satisfied.

The children have strong egos, so they cannot give up on what they want to do.

But since we decided to do it, we absolutely will not use "rock-paper-scissors." No matter how little time we have, no matter how small the matter, I made sure to decide everything by "discussion."

This is also an important point. A teacher must not easily change what has been decided. And this is something we decided by thinking together with the children. It is a class promise. No matter how difficult or time-consuming it is, the promise should take priority over everything, even over moving forward with textbook learning!!!

"Oh well, that's fine."

is fatal to classroom management.

It is necessary to increase or decrease the number of slots. Here,
the teacher's quick-wittedness is tested.

For example, when deciding on "class jobs,"
"Library Monitor" is popular, isn't it?
But there are very few spots available.
You get something like 10 people for 2 spots.
On the other hand, there are jobs that nobody wants to do.
Like 0 people for 4 spots.

In those cases, you need to be flexible, such as:
◎ Create two groups of four to make 8 spots. "Library Monitor A" and "Library Monitor B"
◎ Eliminate unpopular jobs and rotate them among the daily monitors.
◎ Instead of sticking to fixed jobs, have the children think of what they want to do as their work.

Ultimately, whether it's "rock-paper-scissors" or "discussion," the important thing is for the teacher to guide the children so that they are satisfied with what they have decided (or what has been decided), and that it is something they "did (as the main actors)" rather than something they were "made to do."!!

If they can be satisfied with it, then "rock-paper-scissors" is fine.

But, "rock-paper-scissors" lacks the children's agency.

All it has is pure luck!!!!

By having a "discussion," the children's agency is born.

"Why do you want to do that?"
"What do you want to do there?"
"Why don't you like it?"

By discussing these things, they can think about the fact that the act of deciding isn't what's important; what matters is what happens after the decision is made.

A year of stopping "rock-paper-scissors" and deciding through "discussion"

By the time the second semester passed,

I don't like "rock-paper-scissors." I want to decide through "discussion."

Even without me saying anything, the children started to willingly choose "discussion."

Of course, there are children who throw tantrums, saying, "I absolutely don't want that!" In proportion to that, there are also children who yield, saying, "I'm fine with this one!"

"You don't have to be the only one putting up with it; let's decide properly through discussion."

When I say that to them,

"It's okay, I've come to want to do this here!!"

That child wasn't just trying to yield by putting up with it at that moment; they were able to clearly imagine their own future activities.

When such voices are raised,
"I want to do that too!!"
"Then, can I do this here??"
The children think proactively with free ideas, unconstrained by boundaries, and move into action.

Once you reach this point, everything else just flows along◎

The time spent on discussions was increasingly shortened, and everyone was able to proceed comfortably.

We also decided on play roles through
discussions.Without anyone feeling bad, they were able to choose the roles they felt were the one for me!! and work on them willingly.

Listening to others' thoughts
Expressing one's own thoughts
Finding common ground
Being considerate of others
Thinking proactively
Creating one's own future activities

By stopping rock-paper-scissors and deciding things through discussions,I never realized it was an activity that could pack in so many things!!!!!

This is the result with first graders.
That is why I really want everyone to try this, so I have summarized it on note.

I will continue to put out more content, so please check it out!