You smile too much, you’re dead meat! That’s what my aunt told me, a retired nun, no less, when I started doing my practicums in college. “You’re not there to be their friend. Do your job, and do it well.”

I would just let it go with Conchita, but it’s not fair to the other kids. (I can’t help it, I’m a Libra.) And, if the school district wants her mainstreamed, then she needs to do the things we are doing, including the behavior plan. ‘Cuz that’s really what it is – people who do their work get rewarded with bonuses and the opportunity to buy things, and people who don’t get fines and lose money.

This class would be motivated by a sticker, too. (I mean that in a nice way. They love the stickers I put on their tests – I gave them an index card to collect them on, and we’ll laminate them to make bookmarks when they’re full.) I didn’t do any special activity the first month, and they didn’t care/notice because they were just so excited by the idea of the checks and the checkbooks and buying their desks. They call it “doing their checkbook”. Too cute!

I wanted to try it because my students always have jobs anyway, but with this system there’s an intrinsic reason to put out the trash cans or sweep the floor – not just because Ms. Institutrice said so and keeps bitching about it. It’s also nice that they have the same job all year (unless they get fired) and not switch every week like I used to do which caused problems when kids like Conchita were supposed to check homework. And, they don’t forget what their job is.

It is supposed to teach them responsibility and how to use a checkbook which many poverty-class families do not have bank accounts. I think my class is not that bad off, but they don’t understand how you have to put money in the bank to be able to write a check or use the ATM.

I would love to see your class try it, SunSpray – they would freak out at not having enough money to do everything they want! There are no pony stables in this economy.

No foreclosures because I don’t take credit! I’m trying to teach about saving, saving, saving. They can only buy their desk when they have saved three times the amount of rent. It’s a hard concept, but once they get it, BOY DO THEY GET IT. “What happens to my rent now?” You keep it. “I KEEP IT???” They LOVE that! It works!

This year I’m having my third graders take home AR books to read nightly, as many don’t have books at home. Everyone wondered how I manage this. I showed them how I trained my students to do it. They don’t even print out the reports so we save paper. Most teachers just dismissed it. ” Too much work.” But I can’t tell how excited my students are now about reading.

My third graders are motivated by a sticker (You only get half if you use the bathroom during the day – it helps teach them fractions). It costs three stickers if you lose the clothespin with your number on it too. One girl asked for a bunch of staples to take home and I charged her a sticker for those. Talk about sticker shock!

I also have a student who’s special ed, so I can relate. She “forgets” to pick up her sticker each day. I tell the kids if they don’t care enough to pick their sticker up (I crimp the edges and put them in their pocket chart) then I recycle them and give them to somebody else. >eye roll< You can only move so many mountains.

Do you have property foreclosures? Bank seizures. Just want to make sure you're keeping kids up to date.

I love this system, but it’s taken me a few years to get it tweaked to my situation and I continue to massage it. I’m happy to send you what I have and why I do what I do, if you’d like because I don’t want to put it all down here…

Once it is in place, it’s a great system!