COOL TOOL LESSON
Skill: Being respectful to all adults at school…especially those who are not our teachers!
Students sometimes behave differently for their classroom teachers than they do for other
adults in the building. For their teachers, they follow directions, control their actions and speak
respectfully. However, when they are with other adults in the building they do not follow the
expectations to Be Ready, Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. This week we are going
to discuss how to act responsibily and respectfully with adults in the building that are not your
teacher.
Teaching examples:
1. (Monday) Today’s teaching example is about substitute teachers. Mrs. Seward could not come
to school today because she has the flu. All during the day Robert helped the substitute teacher
by telling her how the class did attendance and lunch count. He also followed her directions,
even though she did things differently than Mrs. Seward. Mikah, however, tried to trick the
substitute into thinking that students were allowed to sit anywhere they wanted. He also did
not follow her directions, and complained loudly that she didn’t do things the right way.
Compare the actions of Robert and Mikah. Which one was respectful to the substitute teacher
and which one could have been more helpful?
2. (Tuesday) Today’s teaching example is about respecting classroom aides and interpreters. Ms.
Flanagan was busy helping some students in Mrs. Slifer’s class. Beatriz was talking to Jane
instead of working on the assignment. Ms. Flanagan reminded them that this was a time for
working instead of talking. The girls gave her a cold stare and continued talking. Is this the type
of behavior that we expect from Carrie Busey students? Discuss with your teacher what being
respectful to classroom aides looks like.
3. (Wednesday) Today’s teaching example is about respecting school bus drivers. Faith and Hope
were riding the bus to school on Monday. They were having lots of fun talking with their
friends. The problem was that their friends were sitting four rows behind them and they were
yelling to be heard. The bus driver told them to lower their voices because they were too loud.
Hope told the driver she didn’t think her voice was too loud, and kept shouting to her friends
four rows behind her. As they were driving, the driver could barely hear an ambulance siren at
an intersection. Luckily, the driver heard it just in time to pull over and avoid being hit by the
ambulance. What type of consequence did disrepsect almost have in this situation? Can you
think of other reasons to be respectful to bus drivers (and bus aides)?
4. (Thursday) Today’s teaching example is about being respectful to the school custodian. Mr.
Unzicker was busy cleaning snow off the sidewalks when he noticed Ricardo and Se’veon
throwing a ball back and forth near the cafeteria windows. He asked them to move because he
was afraid they might hit a window and break it. Ricardo said, “Oh, sorry, Mr. Unzicker. We’ll
move over here away from the windows.” Even though Mr. Unzicker is not a teacher, why is it
important to be respectful to him?
5. (Friday) Today’s teaching example is about being respectful to the school secretaties. Mrs.
Barrett and Ms. White, the school secretaries, were busy answering the phones and doing their
morning paper work. Kendell came in and said he wanted to use the phone to call his mom.
Gloria and Josh said they wanted passes to class because they were late. Kyron wanted his
temperature taken because he wasn’t feeling well. Kathleen wanted her medicine before she
went to class, and Bobby had been sent to the office because he hit someone while putting his
coat in the closet. All this was happening at the same time and not one “Please” was said to
either of the women in the office. How do you think Mrs. Barrett and Ms. White were feeling?
How could these students have been more respectful to the secretaries?
Learning Activities:
Use these activities any day of the week:
 Ask students to give suggestions on how to handle the situations Ms. Kelly read over the
intercom.

Using the day’s example, role-play with a few students the right way and the wrong way
of being respectful to adults at school.

Remember to use the “Respect Grid” when students are treating adults respectfully.
Discussion points:
Monday:
 What do you think the job of a substitute teacher is like? What might be some
problems a substitute teacher might face during the day? (job might be confusing at
first, knowing who everyone is in the class, how the class routine is conducted, how to
handle unusual situations, people giving them wrong information)
 How does your classroom teacher expect you to behave with a substitute? (the same,
worse…or better than usual?)
 Why do some students show their worst behavior when there is a substitute? (sub is
easily confused, students might think they won’t be punished for bad behavior, they
think it is funny/fun
 What will the class do the next time there is a substitute? How will the class “Be Ready,
Be Safe, Be responsible and Be Respectful” when there is a substitute teacher?
Tuesday:
 Why do some classrooms have aides and interpreters? (to help students be more
successful in the classroom, to help the teacher, to help children who have trouble
hearing)
 What are some activities classroom aides and interpreters do?
 How do you think a classroom aide/interpreter should be treated? (with respect, just
like any other adult)
 Teachers, discuss with the class how important an aide is to you and how s/he helps
you.
Wednesday:
 How does a bus driver make getting to school easier – or even possible – for some
students? (parents can’t drive because they have to get to work, some families don’t
have a car, students live a long way from school and driving to school everyday would be
too hard)
 What does a bus driver need to think about when s/he is operating the bus? (other cars,
stopping at the right places, watching out for children that are walking rules of the road,
etc.)
 What are some problems a bus driver might have if students aren’t being respectful?
(lack of concentration, might have an accident, longer bus ride)
 What are the expectations for riding the bus? (sit down, talk quietly, stay in your seat,
etc.)
Thursday:
 What are some of the jobs the custodian does? (fixes things that are broken, keeps the
building clean, helps find things – like lost balls on the roof)
 Why are these jobs important? (helps keep things running properly, keeps the school
safe, makes the school a pleasant place to be, etc.)
 Does the custodian deserve the same respect as any other adult in the building? Should
students listen when s/he gives them directions?
 How can we show respect to the custodian? (keep things clean, respect the building by
talking care of it – not writing on walls or breaking things, listen to him/her)
Friday:

How could the students have been more respectful? (asked nicely for help, used “please” ,
waited in line for requests instead of all asking at once)

Are the secretaries important to the school? Why? ( they keep track of attendance,
they count lunch orders and lunch money, they help Mrs. Kelly do her job, they help
children when they have hurt themselves and when they are sick, they keep the school
runing smoothly)
What are some ways that we can show respect to the secretaries? (ask politely, be
patient when waiting your turn, be sure to say thank you, be friendly)
