In retrospect, I did not publish anything about how the next day went, because there was really nothing much added. We did not create a classroom definition about respect because the regular school end of the year caught up with us. We ended up cleaning out our desks and tearing down the classroom. I was also swamped with record keeping and end of the year paperwork such as creating a file for struggling students among other administrative things.
Even then, I was able to discuss with my students whether we needed a definition or if they understood and created a meaning for themselves. It turns out, that by writing down their meaning of respect, they were able to refine it and think about it form themselves, and for some, for the very first time.
For the end of the year, I asked each student to write a letter to next year's 3rd graders. I asked them to please tell them how much they feel that they learned in a year and to tell the new 3rd graders about the teacher. I said: "Please tell them something you learned about me as a teacher, and how this classroom works. For example, Ms. Monroy, lets you sharpen the pencil only during independent work time. Help them learn about the teacher." Several of my students said out loud: "I learned about respect, with Ms. Monroy." In the end, I was able to trust that they had defined respect for themselves, and learned it with me, instead of from me"
