Classroom rules and their accompanying consequences are old school; they are crutches used by teachers who are afraid to move into a student-centered, progressive classroom.

Here are my top five reasons for eliminating rules and consequences in the classroom.

5. Classroom rules are about control - The best way to create an adversarial relationship with kids is to control them. Using "if-then" procedures will make for a controlling, combative atmosphere that students will hate.

4. Classroom rules impede freedom - Listing a bunch of Do's and Don'ts creates an environment in which students feel they have no choices. They can't chew gum, can't move from their seat, can't talk to their neighbors. This makes them wonder what they can do.

3. Classroom rules discourage learning - A room that is governed by rules and consequences keeps students on edge. The controlling, combative teacher makes students nervous. They can't move, they can't talk, and they don't dare ask to go to the bathroom. Who on earth could concentrate on learning in this environment?

2. Classroom rules make teaching integrity impossible - French philosopher Albert Camus said, "Integrity has no need for rules." Integrity is a difficult concept to teach kids, and a classroom founded on rules and consequences makes understanding it difficult. After all, as Camus suggests, people of integrity shouldn't need rules and consequences.

1. Classroom rules create disruption - Rules and consequences inspire the very thing that teachers want to eliminate, class disruption. With all of their freedoms taken away and faced with a controlling adult, many students feel challenged to disrupt. After all, they certainly aren't encouraged to learn in a rules-and-consequences world.