I started Power Teaching with my 4th grade class on Monday morning in an attempt to get ALL of my students motivated and to be more involved in their learning. It's amazing how quickly the students picked everything up. I figured we'd spend most of Monday learning the process, but we were ready to go within 30 minutes. By the Monday's dismissal bell, we had been visited by 3 administrators and 6 teachers. On Tuesday, we had resource teachers visiting the classroom on recommendation of others. Today, Wednesday, we moved through so much material that we were able to do a scavenger hunt for Order of Operations. The students are simply amazed at how they are able to best me each day with the scoreboard and the two students that I worried about most academically have completed homework two nights in a row after months of doing none. Since I'm looping to 5th grade with them next year, I needed something like this to give me a more positive approach. I'm considered a master teacher, but the problem I've had is what to do with students who "think" that school offers nothing to them. I hope that these first 3 days are just the beginning of a change in mindset for those students and me.

I do have one question however: What do you do with students who lack empathy and actually enjoy causing others to "fail"? I have one student who is diagnosed as having a behavioral disorder who has had multiple behavior plans and lashes out in rages if he thinks someone is singling him out for redirections but also finds it funny when the class is redirected.

That's great news!

As you move ahead, review our suggestions in the "First Steps" and "Levels" menus above. Also, begin to explore our free downloads described in "Goodies."

As to that one "special" student, we suggest, if possible, to not initially focus too much time on trying to solve your most difficult classroom management problem. Keep working to get everyone else on board with your system, supporting you, buying in to the WBT routine. After a few weeks, then go to Level 2 on the Scoreboard ... but have faith in the system. Your difficult student, in a highly structured classroom, may begin to show subtle changes in behavior ... in the positive direction. However, if the student is really disrupting the learning atmosphere, then look at the Bullseye Game ... and eventually the Agreement Bridge.

Your best classroom management device is to continue to work on your "Teach-Okay" patterns. In other words, you gain control of your students by teaching them more and more ... what is better than that?!!

Keep us posted!