Norms of Experience

Determining students' norms of experience means assessing the patterns of their normal, day-to-day experiences, which requires the teacher to ask questions such as the following:

• Who are the individuals that young people have regular contact with, and what is the nature of that contact? Is it active, passive, positive, negative, important, irrelevant, etc.?

• What do students learn about adult values and ethics through their direct contact with school staff and others, or by simply watching how they behave?

• What institutions - other than schools - are young people regularly involved with? What roles do they play in those institutions? What does that participation mean to them?

• What feedback do young people regularly receive about themselves and from whom? Do they regularly receive praise and encouragement or admonishment and criticism? Do they typically experience success or failure? What language is used to describe them?

• What nonacademic activities do they participate in? What roles do they play?

• What images are they exposed to on a daily basis, in the school, community, and media?

• Where do young people spend their out-of-school time? Doing what?

• Who is celebrated, honored, and valued by the school?

• What messages about their future possibilities do youth receive? From whom and in what form?

• How would students describe a typical day's experience at school?

• What are their typical experiences at home - e.g., what kinds of relationships, responsibilities, and expectations do they have?