At PNA, we believe in the value of social-emotional learning, which is why we use Responsive Classroom as our curriculum. An especially important part of this program is having students discuss their hopes and dreams, and then collaborate in creating the classroom rules. This encourages students to take ownership of their environment and understand the expectations of their behavior. It creates a strong classroom community, and we have seen this process work in classrooms from Kindergarten to 8th grade. The process of creating classroom rules starts with a discussion of why rules are important. Then students have the opportunity to brainstorm their individual ideas about what makes for an ideal classroom environment. After sharing these ideas, the class works together to compose a list of rules. By being directly involved in this process, students gain a sense of pride and belonging, and they are better prepared to follow the rules that they have created.