Teaching Eachother to Be Proactive

I love to observe the students teaching eachother to be proactive in the art room. There's nothing more that prove's the Habits are working, than watching students in action correcting eachother's behavior. There are days when I have to wait an awful long time for some students to stop talking, before I can continue on with a lesson. I really enjoy seeing a student tell the rest of the class to be quiet and let them know that they're not being very proactive. I see this kind of behavior more and more every week, and it confirms that what we're doing is working. Some kids have a natural tendency to be leaders on their own, they have a confidence within them that other kids tend to respond to. These students are the ones who naturally speak up in class and tell others to be more proactive. Its positive peer preasure! Nothing matters more at this age than to be accepted by your peers, and when a fellow class mate tells you to be more proactive, I think it means more than the teacher saying it over and over. We are changing the behaviors of some of our students, over time that number will ultimately grow. It is hard work, it takes consistency and sometimes I even forget to apply the habits where I could have in a situation, because I am so busy. But its really rewarding to have a student remind you of that 7 Habit teaching/learning opportunity.