Red or Green: Learning
A classmate is trying to read, but you are humming and tapping your pencil loudly on your desk.
Red Light. It directly interferes with someone else's concentration and learning.
Rolling your eyes and saying "Just kidding!" after telling a group member that their project slide looks terrible.
Red Light. Using "just kidding" as a shield doesn't stop a comment from hurting someone or weakening the team's trust.
Making a mistake, getting caught, and immediately blaming someone else or making an excuse to get out of trouble.
Red Light. Taking responsibility for your actions is key to being a Reflective Thinker. Denying it holds you back from growing.
Putting your head down on your desk for three minutes because you feel a massive wave of anxiety or frustration.
If you are taking a temporary, silent "brain break" to self-regulate so you can try again, it's a Green Light. If you are doing it to completely check out of the class for the whole period, it becomes a Red Light.
Having your laptop open to a game of Minecraft under your desk while the teacher is giving instructions.
Red Light. Even if you are quiet, it interferes with your learning and is a distraction to people sitting behind you.
Seeing someone sitting by themselves at lunch or during a group-forming activity and inviting them to sit with your group.
Green Light. This perfectly models being a Collaborative Contributor and Caring Family Member.
Quietly letting your two group partners do 100% of the work on a project because you "don't care about the grade anyway."
Red Light. It prevents you from developing accountability (Independent Work) and unfairly burdens your peers.
Whispering to a friend during a quiet independent work time.
If you are quietly asking them a quick question about the assignment, it’s a helpful Green Light (Collaboration). If you are chatting about weekend plans and stopping them from working, it's a Red Light.
You didn't finish the homework, so you quietly copy your friend's answers right before class starts so you have something to hand in.
Red Light. This is a shortcut that interferes with your actual learning and bypasses the Responsibility learning skill.
Talking about a major weekend party right in front of a classmate who you know was not invited.
Red Light. While you have the right to talk about your weekend, doing it insensitively hurts others' feelings.
Choosing to partner with someone who is quiet and hard-working, rather than your best friend, because you know you'll actually get the work done.
Green Light. This shows incredible Self-Regulation and maturity by setting yourself up for success.
Telling the teacher about a classmate who is breaking a minor rule (like having a phone out).
It depends on the motive. If you are doing it to get them in trouble ("snitching"), it doesn't build community. If you are doing it because their behavior is actively unsafe, hurting someone, or severely disruptive, it is the responsible thing to do.
Your teacher is explaining a math concept. You don't understand it, so you politely raise your hand and say, "I'm lost, can we do one more example?"
Green Light. This is an awesome use of Initiative! Asking for help ensures learning keeps moving forward.
You disagree with a classmate's opinion during a class debate, so you say: "I think your point ignores this specific fact," instead of saying "Your idea is dumb."
Green Light. Disagreeing is completely fine and healthy, as long as we challenge the idea with respect, not the person.
Standing up for a peer who is being gossiped about in a group chat, or leaving the group chat entirely because of the negativity.
Green Light. This represents a Discerning Believer who makes moral decisions and acts with an informed conscience.
Staying up until 2:00 AM to perfect a creative project because you "just want it to be absolutely perfect."
While high standards are great (Initiative), sacrificing your physical well-being and sleep prevents you from being your "best, rested self" the next day. Balance and self-care are part of Self-Regulation.