We have been in school only 3 weeks and this is the first year I am trying WBT. I know I have a long way to go with a very challenging group of kids.
I plan on starting to score my classroom (consistency, tone of voice, etc) hopefully that will help me see growth.

Here is my question:
I feel like the kids who aren't listening and are not buying into the scoreboard are getting away with too much! I have been repeating the rule # and the kids will repeat it to me, but on a consistent basis a few are getting away with way way more than I would have allowed last year on a different behavior plan. Am I doing something wrong? Or not implementing something that I should of WBT?

btw I have LOVED reading other posts on here!! I know I am not alone and I know it will be worth it in the end!!

Tell us a little more about the whole situation:
What grade are you teaching?
How many students are you concerned about?
When a student isn't following the rules and you feel like they are getting away with too much, how are you currently responding? How do they respond to you?

Give us that update, and then we can pitch in with some ways to help turn it around. Don't worry... I've seen a class that was EATING ME ALIVE turn into a class that I actually was happy to see when they walked in each day...so there's hope!

What grade are you teaching?
-3RD GRADE
How many students are you concerned about?
-25 students in class
-6 CHALLENGING and 6 FENCE SITTERS (almost 1/2 my class)

When a student isn't following the rules and you feel like they are getting away with too much, how are you currently responding? How do they respond to you?

-I realize I am not as consistent as I want to be about this, I guess I am not sure the best approach...... Sometimes I try to over look it(which seems to empower some as they realize they didn't get into trouble), many times I say a rule # and the class responds (sometimes visibly annoyed as they know what is going on and are annoyed at the student). I have also started pulling kids aside and trying "short conversation/long conversation".

About 5 of the kids LOVE the negative attention they are receiving for being the ones to not follow the directions/rules.

I guess I feel like I am all bark but no bite. I don't want to take the negative approach (which makes me remember that I should "never scold, just rehearse" but I need the class to buy into this and desire to make the right choices.

my other current thought is that breaking the day into two scoreboards isn't enough and that I need to change the rewards as there isn't enough buy in.

tomorrows a new day and I haven't lost hope just yet

I'm delighted that you're trying to follow our system step by step ... next, read the "Procedure Rehearsals" example in "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids" download ... it gives a superb picture from Andrea Schindler of how to ping-pong on the Scoreboard ... work on mastering this technique for a week ... keep the rewards very small and the result of the Scoreboard unpredictable ... follow the plus/minus three rule ... Here are several more suggestions, follow any that seem sensible ...

Keep pulling kids aside with short talk/long talk ... see if you can move a few Go-Alongs up to Alphas and a few Alphas up to Leaders ... find something insanely fun for a reward ... like Mind Soccer ... and then only let them win one or two minutes of it once in awhile ... work on increasing your consistency and tone of voice self measures ... practice, for you and the kids, makes permanent! And, always finish posts with a few positive remarks ... and you'll bless us all.

Personally, the rehearsal technique that Andrea explained so beautifully has worked WONDERS with my first graders! The other day just happened to be "one of those days" where it seemed like I could have swung upside down from the ceiling painted purple, and my students would have continued to chit-chat!!! Anyone else hear me? I followed Andrea's advice, and it helped to rein them in and prevent utter frustration for ME! They did have to spend a minute at recess watching everyone play, and that one minute was enough to make them realize they would rather listen and follow directions instead of earning Frownies. The rest of the week has been peachy! My Alpha's keep gently reminding the class to participate and follow directions, citing our one minute of sitting at recess as a reference. Now, that is teacher heaven!!!

My challenging students know what to do to "push my buttons", but rather than losing my temper, I calmly drop on one knee and ask him/her if s/he would like a short talk or long talk. This really does diffuse the situation!

When I began teaching many, many moons ago (LOL), my mentor held me accountable to say something positive to each student every day. Some days, I really had to rack my brain to come up with a positive thing for my challenging students! Guess what? The longer I applied this principle, the more natural it became! My point is, all of us cherish genuine praise. It is like a deposit in our "love bank". Our challenging students may be used to receiving negative looks and comments, which act as withdrawals from his/her bank. Let's control our tone of voice, breathe, and do everything we can to speak positively into our students' lives. You might be surprised when one of those challenging students returns in a few years to thank you for not giving up on him/her, and shares how your positive comments turned him/her around!

Deb Weigel
WBT Intern

thank you all so much for your ideas and support! the last two days have been the best yet in my classroom. I am more focused on enjoying WBT myself, and it is contagious for the kids. I started to self evaluate and identify my alphas, go alongs, etc. I now quickly recognize who to acknowledge and praise to get the desired result that I need to support and persuade the whole class. I am breaking my day up into more scoreboards which also really seems to help.
The most important thing that I have been doing is rehearsing the class-yes. The script provided by Andrea was so helpful!

My class loves to hear and tell jokes....so as one of our rewards for having more smilies than frownies was to hear a few jokes - what a motivator (who knew) I am learning to use small, easy and free rewards to motivate and encourage my entire class. As we all know it is a long year, but I am more equipped for whatever comes.

Oh - and I cannot tell you how many other teachers in my building want to know all about my new management plan - our librarian now uses it with the students and loves the quick responses she gets with only having to say a few words.

Thanks again for helping me get the power back in my classroom!