The Spirit and the Letter

During one period of the day, my students have had a very difficult time getting along.  They point fingers at each other and begin so-called "friendly" comments with phrases such as, "Now I'm only going to say this once, so listen, and listen good!"  It's been Tension Island for the past three weeks, so I decided to call a time out and incorporate some team and esteem building activities.  One activity was the Compliment Question Card.  Each student wrote his or her name on the front of a card.  Then, we passed the cards in a circle so that each student had the opportunity to write one compliment and one "what I still want to know about you" question inside all of his or her classmates' cards.  Overall, they did a pretty great job of focusing on the positive and showing an interest in one another's lives.  And one student in particular followed all directions and still managed to break the spirit of the assignment when she wrote, "Kevin, I like it when you're quiet.  How long do you think that will last?"