After our National Conference in Pineville Louisiana recently, our fabulous colleague Jeff Battle said something that made me think about character education. He pointed out several times that older students are more likely to go along with our WBT strategies if they know why we are doing it. In addition, it is easy to explain that students will benefit most from the scoreboard, and reinforcing the rules with each other because the alternative is that the teacher must reinforce discipline with detentions and referrals.
I am thinking that in the beginning of the school year, I will do some serious character education by having students identify the traits they like in adults whom they feel are responsible. Then we can introduce one WBT strategy at a time and link them. This way students can feel more ownership. I have done this type of lesson before, but not until later in the year.
For example, we can implement a writing assignment or discussion that has to do with traits they see in adults. I am an English teacher to it is easier for me, but I'm sure you can all do this no matter what your subject is and somehow connect it to content.
Let's say students identify the trait of honesty or something like that. Then we can link this to WBT strategies by saying that enforcing the rules with your friends is like being honest with them about what they need to improve. So when you tell your friend, "Rule 2" you're being honest and helping them out before the teacher has to do so. I will be adding to this topic after school starts to tell you all how it goes.
Let me know what you all think!

I completely agree. I have students with Emotional Disabilities; I pretty much have to explain my reasoning for everything I do to get their trust or they'll just refuse. One thing I would emphasize is something from the book: "Students follow our rules because our rules are fun to follow!" One thing I point out to my students is that I don't want them to be bored while they're in school, and that sometimes we may have to learn stuff that they find boring, but we don't have to learn it in a boring way. I try to connect this to larger ideas of how we live life. I point out that I don't like writing IEPs, but I love other parts of my job, and so I connect those good feelings to the parts of my job I don't like. We connect the boring parts of school to greater goals, like graduating high school, or going to college, or even shorter-term making the soccer team.

The idea that we all have to do some distasteful work in order to do the stuff we love is a weird lesson to be teaching, but one I find essential to getting my kids to really commit to work they don't like. What we're really getting across is that everything is what we make of it. Something is only boring because I haven't chosen to make it fun.

WBT Intern 2011-2012