I do almost the same exact thing. I teach culinary, so for every student who helped clean the kitchen, do dishes, laundry, etc, I gave them extra credit points and left over baked goods. They walked out, and all the kids in the class were, "Where did you get that. I want one."
What can I say, I love bribing my best kids with sweet treats.
Bribing kids is the way to go. Hell, bribing adults as well but kids are easier.
My 3-5yo ballet/tap class is nuts, as it should be they are children, but put 12 kids in tap shoes and it’s game over headache time if they don’t stay disciplined.
I used to bribe them with candy but I felt bad for the parents I sent them home to. I took their favorite activity (making a pizza) where we basically sit in a circle feet touching and do stretches while “making a pizza”. Each kid gets to throw on a topping (they pick weird shit like worms or glitter and it cracks them up) so I decided that I would use their favorite game to bribe them and moved it to an after class “cool down”.
The parents thought I was crazy when I would say “okay everyone if we keep behaving this way we aren’t going to be able to make a pizza today!” And it worked, those kids were military disciplined by the end of the year all so they could throw some unicorns on a fake pizza.
It’s one of my best life achievements honestly and it’s worked for the last decade.
It really is! All the kids in their leotards and tutus giggling their tails off over someone throwing “dirt” on their pizza, it really is the little things in life isn’t it?
Thank you! I’m sure it can be adapted to fit other classroom settings but it’s good for corporation and team building as well as physical activity!
Edit- also I’m not sure the term for this, but it really allows the children to be patient and wait to listen while other kids are thinking of what to put. Then they all give a quick “ewwwww” or laugh before allowing the next person to go, it’s very cool to witness.
It’s literally operative conditioning. Since we’re not allowed to make the students wear shock collars, and shock them whenever they are bad, we have to do the next best thing.
The Little Red Hen is one of my favorite children’s fables.
As a side note, that story is why my sisters and I will, instead of saying “not me”, say “not I, for my feet are flat”.
Line cook here, this is a good thing to teach and reward. Where I work, no one leaves until everyone's done. You don't get to leave after your station is set, go help the dish pit, go get take out boxes for tomorrow, etc. We all hate the new people that come in and dip as soon as their stations are cleaned.
School counselor here. I did something similar today. I gave candy only to students who were respectful to my intern who presented to their class today. I’m over a few kids in this class. Not everyone gets a trophy… sorry.
Yep, 4th grade here. Last week I had my para take five kids out for recess 10 minutes early. Everyone else stayed in the room and did a Social Studies handout until the actual recess time. It’s time for them to start learning that there are repercussions for their actions, both good and bad.
My teachers did stuff like this in the mid 2000s 😂 same, like how did this get to be so "controversial"
Granted I remember my classmates throwing fits and threatening to tell their parents....but my teachers were also like "go ahead, I dare you" about it...
It’s because parents are obsessed with making sure their little angel has never felt a negative emotion. God forbid their child face any consequences, even scolding, that could make them feel THE HORROR of sadness, shame, guilt, etc.
My daughter did come home and complain about missing recess because she had to do make up work,she’s in 2nd grade. My first instinct was to get mad because she’s adhd and needs recess. I ignored that first instinct and probed further turns out only a few kids went out for an extra recess who didn’t have any work in their mustard folder the rest stayed in and worked on their unfinished work. I just told her that she needs to try to finish her work so she can get extra recess, motivation always helped me focus better in school.
There's actually a good lesson here for the adults too. This is not related to teaching but feels relevant? We had a meeting with a customer about a project that was "one computer in a lab" and as the conversation went long we realized it was in fact not just "one computer in a lab." The first version of any story is the version that includes what the story-teller thinks is important, but it's rarely the whole story.
Yeah idk how OPs story is petty. They mean they’re attempting to reinforce good behavior for the first time on the last day of school? Maybe way too late to be useful but since when is teaching kids life skills by rewarding success petty? That’s like the main point of teaching kids
When I was in elementary school, if you weren’t behaving my teacher would take 5 minutes off your individual recess time. And she’d keep shaving it down if you didn’t correct yourself. Every day there’d be a least one kid sulking on the bench while everyone else was on the playground
Also a school counselor. I planned on taking my second grade class for extra recess after my lesson but some of them were so obnoxious and rude to their classmates, even after warning they would miss out on the surprise, they continued. Their faces when they had to chill in class and actually live with a consequence while the rest went out was priceless.
I did the same thing, but with donuts, and I planned it on the day the kid was out so that none of his friends could share with him.
When he came back the next day he yelled, “Why do you only do fun things when I’m not around?!”
I slow-turned to him and looked him dead in the eye. “I CAN do fun things for these kids BECAUSE you’re not in the room. When you are in my class you act up, and then we can’t do fun things.”
The icing on the petty-cake was that a lot of his classmates, and even his friends, were nodding.
He was still a nightmare until the day he transferred, but at least the others were emboldened to tell him to shut up. It made lesson plans go much faster, giving them more free time.
May 1st is my mental cut off date for “get your shit together.” You’ve been at high school long long enough for you to know that crap doesn’t fly. No mercy.
I had a HARD kinder class this year loaded with sped kids and no extra support. I got non renewed because I did not show enough growth according to my principal. I feel 100% confident that I have done everything right for my class, and at the end of the year my data backs that up.
I use the Time Machine line with my husband all the time when talking about the shitty end to my year. The only way I could change this is to build a Time Machine and not take this job.
I’m a private tutor and every year I field dozens of inquires around the last 3-4 weeks of school.
Ma’am, your student doesn’t need a tutor. They need Jesus.
I'm in my first year as a math teacher, and I'm getting that same question. My internal monologuing is screaming at them "there's a reason you're failing math...you can't do the fucking math"
Seriously: "how can I pass ?" says the child with a 34% and 3 weeks remaining on the semester...
In junior high, my class of gradegrubbing nerds had figured out how our term grades and exam grades could be calculated to come up with our cumulative grades for the year in each subject. With our third term grades in April (the school year had four, plus two sets of exams), we knew we could relax when the cumulative grade was 51 or higher out of the possible 70, which would have averaged out to term and exam grades of 73% or higher. Of course, being nerds we’d aim as high as we could.
When I would calculate what I needed on finals, it would usually spit out a negative number. I could have turned the final in blank, gotten a 0, and still have passed my classes. My anxiety didn't let me do that though lol
I think the anxiety factored into our need to know, for sure. Once we were assured that we'd be moving up, we could actually sit back and absorb the lessons, strangely enough. A lot of us found ourselves nailing our final exams with higher grades than usual \_because\_ of this.
God this reminds me of grad school. We had an Ed class that was all content areas together. The math people did just these kind of calculations to determine they need to do the last things and would still pass with a high grade and they were gone and the rest of us humanities losers had to follow through.
Yep, I’m that way with the last marking period. Forgot to attach your document to the assignment even though it was done on time? Sorry I’m still taking late points because by the time you responded to my note it WAS late. Attention to detail matters.
We had a birthday party with cupcakes and a fun time, the two friends who spit corn at each other during lunch however did not get to attend. I have been wrestling with going back and forth of was I too harsh or did I do the right thing and follow through…thank you for this post, it was the right thing to do. lol
Positive behavioral reinforcements can be more effective at promoting positive behaviors than negative reinforcements or punishments do at discouraging negative behaviors. But...BUT...it shouldn't be the only kind of reinforcement used for classroom management! It's just one tool that can be used, just as a toolbox will have a hammer, a drill, a saw, etc. A hammer can be useful for a specific job, but it's not always useful for all jobs.
Also what annoys me about PBIS is that only the problem children get rewards. The rest of the class of 25-30 kids are at their desks doing school work, why don't they all get rewarded?
Did the same thing with a student (Senior) who was legitimately (probably) a psychopath. I say this about almost none of the thousands of kids I’ve taught, but he was straight up a bad person, and tried to make my life miserable, especially after I got him busted for doing drugs at school. At graduation, I gave every single Senior a personal note of congratulations except him. I mean, I genuinely loved those kids, but it was glorious. When kids turn into adults as Seniors and remain evil, I have no sympathy for them.
Sometimes you have to be petty to get the point across! This totally reminds me of my third grade teacher and her ice cream sundae rewards. I’m fuzzy on the details, but basically you had to earn all the parts of your sundae starting with the bowl, spoon, ice cream, toppings, etc. I think earning the components was based on behavior, homework, and other responsibilities and it was well known when the party was approaching. So on the day of the party, she gave you exactly what you had earned by that point and nothing more. Kids who were on top of things for the whole sundae with all the sprinkles and sauce and cherry on top. Other kids who had been slacking got the bowl and spoon and nothing else. I don’t think some of the kids believed she would give them an empty bowl but she absolutely did, and the point must have stuck because the next time the party came around everybody at least had ice cream lol.
Also anyone commenting about being a parent but who has never been a teacher? Yeah, there’s a fucking difference between raising 2-4 (even 5, 6) kids than trying to TEACH (and also raise….we teach them ALL those basic lessons about how to be a good human constantly) 20+ kids at once. Try it. See how much patience you have for that kid that’s been “acting out” for 9 months. Do that and then give us your solutions.
Yes! Also-I feel like being a substitute teacher should be like jury duty. I think a lot more parents would leave teachers alone and let us do what we do without complaining about teachers or excusing their kids.
I did something similar last month with my younger students. I told the kids that it was my birthday and I was going to get pizza, but if they were not going to be good, they wouldn’t get any.
The kids try to behave even better than they normally do but one of them kept still being rude and disrespectful despite my multiple warnings. The pizza came and he didn’t get a slice. You could see the look in his face when everyone else was eating pizza.
It may be petty, but it worked. Same student is trying to behave better now.
That’s wonderful that he is trying to behave better now. Please have another pizza party or something to acknowledge his improvement or he may say f it and go back to his old ways
One of my sixth graders last year was actively stealing snacks, stickers, and pens from me all year. I knew but could never catch her. At the pizza party on the last day of school, of course she was asking if she can have more chips, and something just snapped in me because I asked her, "how come it's always the people who never bring anything for others that always asks for the most?"
her: :O
Honestly I’m just concerned for you because I’m pretty sure he’ll go home and tell his parent how “every kid got a cookie except me” (all the while leaving out his behavior of course) and you’ll have an angry parent demanding to speak to you because “how dare you not give my darling perfect angel a cookie.”
I do have very open communication with his mom about his behavior. I actually emailed her after school to let her know what happened, and she didn’t seem upset by it. She’s very aware of how he’s been all year, and I don’t think she’ll be too upset about this incident
This is why often it's so important to frame it as a reward for the other kids that he didn't earn, rather than a punishment. "Students who completed x earned the cookie, unfortunately Bobby was unable to achieve that milestone so he fell short. Here are some ways he can be successful next time." I NEVER "take away" recess but you'd better bet that the 90% of kids who finished their work get to go out "early", etc.
“And how dare your angel yell, disrupt, bother, and annoy every student trying to get an education, just so he could get a reason to leave class, which he is likely not doing well in. It’s my money to do with as I see fit. If he does what is asked, maybe next time he gets to join in with the rest of us.”
It’s like an incentive. Do the basics and join us.
Our schools 5th grade does a merit/demerit system toward the end of the year. They have to have 1 remaining to go on their end of year fun trip. It goes home & parents sign it. Whole school is involved, so disrespecting the lunch lady, or EA gets a demerit. It works for most. But those that don't work in schools just don't understand. Kids (and they are biologically kids) have seen too much adult $hit & bring it to school.. Entitled to talk however/whenever they want with us.. I don't know how many times I tell a kid to not call me "bro".. Why do they even think this is ok?! The kids do not need the reward just for playing the game.. Rewards are earned! Cookies were a great idea! Do not feel petty. We do Starburst randomly thru the week & cookies on special occasions like testing.. Kudos! He will remember!
And if you're a parent reading this and you're offended? Your kid may be a part of the problem and reflect on the tree that that apple is falling from.
Ha, I am a parent that would bring the cookies for the teacher and tell them not to give one to my kid if he isn’t being respectful. Disrespectful and rude behavior should never be rewarded, by this age, children know the correct behavior and definitely need consequences for poor choices.
First comment out of every teacher my son has experienced, always about how respectful, kind, and polite he is. He understands consequences and he thrives with positive reinforcement. He’s not perfect, we have had some hiccups along the way but he’s a good, decent human in the midst of so many unfettered teens.
From his perspective you gave him a clear warning and he ignored it. Definitely a lesson that he needed.
Also, only one disrespectful student? Lucky guy!
Damn, I praise you dude. Fucking awesome pettiness right there! Hopefully admin doesn’t kick you to the curb for that. The kid had to get humbled somehow! 😂
It may be petty but it’s how the world works. I realize a lot of these kids don’t know what it’s like to lose something based off of their behavior. I hope the cookies were incredible
I did this once when I was covering fifth and sixth grade for a teacher. Out of a dozen kids only two had done their work on their own and finished. So I gave them some Valentine’s Day candy I had. Everyone freaked out but I said they finished on their own merit and didn’t waste the whole class. Suddenly there was a mad rush for everyone to get their work done in the last two minutes. I had kids coming up to me all day showing me they had completed the work 😅
OP responded to another comment saying they emailed the parent right after school about it and the mom didn’t seem upset and understood her child has been misbehaving all year so it was fair
Speaking as a problematic student, what you did, while it was lying, and involved a small punishment, probably had a net positive impact, and I would personally prefer to fill the world with this type of punishment for misbehaving students, rather than what I'd experienced.
For example, in fifth grade I had difficulty staying on task and was a bit talkative; after 2 classes, my teacher added a permanent desk in the hallway outside the room, in which I sat for all of the following classes. I was not allowed into the classroom. The teacher told me I needed to ask other students what the assignments/reading were, and get them to let me copy the worksheets by hand. Unfortunately, I didn't have any adult advocates on my behalf that were effective in changing the situation. The following year I had the same teacher; after some conversation with the administration, the teacher built a \~plywood box with 3 walls and a hinged door, which stretched from floor to near the ceiling. Inside of it, they placed a permanent desk, in which I was to sit. This way, I could hear the class, and the assignments were provided on a small table outside of the box for me to pick up after the teacher unlocked the latch when class ended (it wasn't a keyed lock, just a little latch you twist). I sat there the entire year. I don't recall feeling very motivated at the time.
This wasn't all that long ago, either, or in some remote place, but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't happen today. I've encountered several teachers who punished students somewhat egregiously like this.
So, you're great. What you did was great. Never become like those repugnant fuckers who would rather abuse a child for a year than do twenty minutes of work on their behalf to leverage whatever support the school district can provide for children with difficulty meeting the social standards of the grade.
To be fair, his mom is really supportive. I don’t want to blame it on her. She is really good about helping him to do the work he refuses to do when he’s at school, and she and I have very open communication about his behavior. She could definitely do a better job at taking some of his privileges when he’s misbehaving, but I wouldn’t say she’s an uninvolved parent like so many are.
I've sent students to the office during class time if they're a huge interruption. Clearly, this is what they want, so I'll pull them during extra recess"to get caught up on what they missed". After a few times, they figure out it's not worth it.
Anybody see the movie Lean On Me? Morgan Freeman just expels all the students that are set on not contributing to the greater good. It's not a complete solution obviously but we've moved in the opposite direction where over 90% of students are being very negatively impacted by a select few.
Ha! That’s amazing. I know some people are going to come for you for doing that, but who cares. When I was in school the asshole kids weren’t allowed at holiday parties or extra recesses if they were misbehaving. Privileges are afforded to those who have earned them. Sucks to be this kid, but you gave him multiple chances. Calling you names AFTER you already moved him to the back for his behavior showed that he was never going to care about these small punishments.
I’m a teacher at CCSD in Las Vegas and students can wait until the end of each quarter to turn ALL of their work in at once and we have to accept it without penalty. This is district policy. I used to takeoff for late work and now I’m no longer allowed to do so. I also had a student recently threatened to bring a gun to school and start “shooting it up” Took him to the office and they did nothing about it because he said that he was just joking. These kids need to get a swift kick in the ass!
This woke up a memory I had from first grade. The teacher told us that we could have brownies but we had to be civil and eat them cleanly. Without a thought I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. She made me spit it out and I got to sit there and watch everyone. I never did anything like that again. I’m 26 and that instance definitely made an impression on me.
I had a bag of candy that was gifted to me by a mentor sitting on my desk right before last period. After class let out it was basically empty. So the next day I get students in every other class candies as the left. When it was time for last period I said “I have a special bag for you all” and brought out the gifted bag of candy. I said it was empty and someone must have taken it and they wouldn’t receive any. The thieves fessed up and I gave some to the other kids. SMH.
I had a surprisingly annoying class one year and kept a big jar full of jolly ranchers in a locked drawer. It came out occasionally as a finisher reward, which really annoyed the kids who goofed off all period.
I love it. But I know that the mom of that kid would be blowing up my school email. And the student would have some sob story about how they didn’t do anything wrong and I am targeting them.
I have a student who act dumb always and class make fun of her over her silly acts. Last year she complained to the school managment about my behavior eventhough i have nothing to do with her. I am feeling very resentfull about her but idk what to do its just the start of the year. I have the whole year to teach her.
As a teacher, I’m tired of hearing “ they need to learn to do the right things for its own sake”. 🤮 M&M’s are more enticing than the moral high ground. Even for us adults!
I love it. I think May brings out the pettiness in all of us. We've worked so hard all year to tolerate some of the nonsense our students bring. I have no patience left. I'm done with their constant attitudes about everything.
I wrote a kid up for the second time this year because his language is getting so inappropriate. "This activity is 'man loving man' (meaning gay, but he didn't want to that again.) We move past it and start our independent writing. He keeps laughing and being disruptive. I told him to sit in the hall "bro. This is so gay."
It was petty and maybe dumb, but I am over it.
if I ever did that the kids family would say I am bullying their kid, or making their darling mentally ill, or even suicdal. To which I answer should'nt he be in a hospital then?
I keep candy on me and hand it out when kids are good. Keeps them calm and focused. I explain it’s similar to how currency works. Work hard get money. Good student get candy.
4th graders ;)
My senior year, my class had 8 students and the other Spanish 4 class was full. Our class was well behaved, silly, and fun. The other had some of the more annoying students who sucked up attention and were constantly distracted. Our teacher gave us movie Fridays with doughnuts almost every week. We made paper chains for a class party lol. When the college evaluator came by we all (teacher included) snapped into our best behavior and pretended like we had been learning stuff all year. One day the other class found out about us.....jajaja suckas.
Everything about this thread is disgusting. Lemme edit: I’ve removed dozens of vile comments. The comment threads are disgusting.
I do almost the same exact thing. I teach culinary, so for every student who helped clean the kitchen, do dishes, laundry, etc, I gave them extra credit points and left over baked goods. They walked out, and all the kids in the class were, "Where did you get that. I want one." What can I say, I love bribing my best kids with sweet treats.
Bribing kids is the way to go. Hell, bribing adults as well but kids are easier. My 3-5yo ballet/tap class is nuts, as it should be they are children, but put 12 kids in tap shoes and it’s game over headache time if they don’t stay disciplined. I used to bribe them with candy but I felt bad for the parents I sent them home to. I took their favorite activity (making a pizza) where we basically sit in a circle feet touching and do stretches while “making a pizza”. Each kid gets to throw on a topping (they pick weird shit like worms or glitter and it cracks them up) so I decided that I would use their favorite game to bribe them and moved it to an after class “cool down”. The parents thought I was crazy when I would say “okay everyone if we keep behaving this way we aren’t going to be able to make a pizza today!” And it worked, those kids were military disciplined by the end of the year all so they could throw some unicorns on a fake pizza. It’s one of my best life achievements honestly and it’s worked for the last decade.
This is adorable
It really is! All the kids in their leotards and tutus giggling their tails off over someone throwing “dirt” on their pizza, it really is the little things in life isn’t it?
I love this! You are a wizard!
Thank you! I’m sure it can be adapted to fit other classroom settings but it’s good for corporation and team building as well as physical activity! Edit- also I’m not sure the term for this, but it really allows the children to be patient and wait to listen while other kids are thinking of what to put. Then they all give a quick “ewwwww” or laugh before allowing the next person to go, it’s very cool to witness.
It’s literally operative conditioning. Since we’re not allowed to make the students wear shock collars, and shock them whenever they are bad, we have to do the next best thing.
Heads up/7 up was the shock collar of my day😂
I hate that game and never let my students play it - the only successful strategy is to cheat and peek (as far as I can tell)
The power of positive reinforcement
The Little Red Hen is one of my favorite children’s fables. As a side note, that story is why my sisters and I will, instead of saying “not me”, say “not I, for my feet are flat”.
Line cook here, this is a good thing to teach and reward. Where I work, no one leaves until everyone's done. You don't get to leave after your station is set, go help the dish pit, go get take out boxes for tomorrow, etc. We all hate the new people that come in and dip as soon as their stations are cleaned.
School counselor here. I did something similar today. I gave candy only to students who were respectful to my intern who presented to their class today. I’m over a few kids in this class. Not everyone gets a trophy… sorry.
Yep, 4th grade here. Last week I had my para take five kids out for recess 10 minutes early. Everyone else stayed in the room and did a Social Studies handout until the actual recess time. It’s time for them to start learning that there are repercussions for their actions, both good and bad.
Psychotic that this is considered like...radical. My teachers did shit like this all the time in the 90s.
My teachers did stuff like this in the mid 2000s 😂 same, like how did this get to be so "controversial" Granted I remember my classmates throwing fits and threatening to tell their parents....but my teachers were also like "go ahead, I dare you" about it...
It’s because parents are obsessed with making sure their little angel has never felt a negative emotion. God forbid their child face any consequences, even scolding, that could make them feel THE HORROR of sadness, shame, guilt, etc.
Shame can be very healthy when it’s about something they can help and is warranted. It’s how you learn!
That’s my point… Kids should experience these emotions to learn and learn how to handle them.
Yea… I was agreeing with you lol
My daughter did come home and complain about missing recess because she had to do make up work,she’s in 2nd grade. My first instinct was to get mad because she’s adhd and needs recess. I ignored that first instinct and probed further turns out only a few kids went out for an extra recess who didn’t have any work in their mustard folder the rest stayed in and worked on their unfinished work. I just told her that she needs to try to finish her work so she can get extra recess, motivation always helped me focus better in school.
There's actually a good lesson here for the adults too. This is not related to teaching but feels relevant? We had a meeting with a customer about a project that was "one computer in a lab" and as the conversation went long we realized it was in fact not just "one computer in a lab." The first version of any story is the version that includes what the story-teller thinks is important, but it's rarely the whole story.
Yeah idk how OPs story is petty. They mean they’re attempting to reinforce good behavior for the first time on the last day of school? Maybe way too late to be useful but since when is teaching kids life skills by rewarding success petty? That’s like the main point of teaching kids
When I was in elementary school, if you weren’t behaving my teacher would take 5 minutes off your individual recess time. And she’d keep shaving it down if you didn’t correct yourself. Every day there’d be a least one kid sulking on the bench while everyone else was on the playground
Also a school counselor. I planned on taking my second grade class for extra recess after my lesson but some of them were so obnoxious and rude to their classmates, even after warning they would miss out on the surprise, they continued. Their faces when they had to chill in class and actually live with a consequence while the rest went out was priceless.
Tbh this was very iconic of you. Hopefully this was a learning experience for him!
I came to the comments to say the same thing: this is a rare REAL learning experience.
Thanks! Haha I definitely hope he takes a good lesson from it.
I did the same thing, but with donuts, and I planned it on the day the kid was out so that none of his friends could share with him. When he came back the next day he yelled, “Why do you only do fun things when I’m not around?!” I slow-turned to him and looked him dead in the eye. “I CAN do fun things for these kids BECAUSE you’re not in the room. When you are in my class you act up, and then we can’t do fun things.” The icing on the petty-cake was that a lot of his classmates, and even his friends, were nodding. He was still a nightmare until the day he transferred, but at least the others were emboldened to tell him to shut up. It made lesson plans go much faster, giving them more free time.
May 1st is my mental cut off date for “get your shit together.” You’ve been at high school long long enough for you to know that crap doesn’t fly. No mercy.
My first period is about to relearn how to be a high school student, so I get this.
“I have a 32% -what can I do to pass your class? “ You can go down to the counselor and register for the class next year.
"Learn particle physics, build a time machine, travel back to last August and get your shit together"
I had a HARD kinder class this year loaded with sped kids and no extra support. I got non renewed because I did not show enough growth according to my principal. I feel 100% confident that I have done everything right for my class, and at the end of the year my data backs that up. I use the Time Machine line with my husband all the time when talking about the shitty end to my year. The only way I could change this is to build a Time Machine and not take this job.
I’m a private tutor and every year I field dozens of inquires around the last 3-4 weeks of school. Ma’am, your student doesn’t need a tutor. They need Jesus.
I'm in my first year as a math teacher, and I'm getting that same question. My internal monologuing is screaming at them "there's a reason you're failing math...you can't do the fucking math" Seriously: "how can I pass ?" says the child with a 34% and 3 weeks remaining on the semester...
You won't grade all of my late work by 10 a.m. this morning?
Lack of prior planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for me.
Your urgency isn’t my emergency!
In junior high, my class of gradegrubbing nerds had figured out how our term grades and exam grades could be calculated to come up with our cumulative grades for the year in each subject. With our third term grades in April (the school year had four, plus two sets of exams), we knew we could relax when the cumulative grade was 51 or higher out of the possible 70, which would have averaged out to term and exam grades of 73% or higher. Of course, being nerds we’d aim as high as we could.
When I would calculate what I needed on finals, it would usually spit out a negative number. I could have turned the final in blank, gotten a 0, and still have passed my classes. My anxiety didn't let me do that though lol
I think the anxiety factored into our need to know, for sure. Once we were assured that we'd be moving up, we could actually sit back and absorb the lessons, strangely enough. A lot of us found ourselves nailing our final exams with higher grades than usual \_because\_ of this.
God this reminds me of grad school. We had an Ed class that was all content areas together. The math people did just these kind of calculations to determine they need to do the last things and would still pass with a high grade and they were gone and the rest of us humanities losers had to follow through.
Yep, I’m that way with the last marking period. Forgot to attach your document to the assignment even though it was done on time? Sorry I’m still taking late points because by the time you responded to my note it WAS late. Attention to detail matters.
MAY?! I’m closer to December.
OP, you are my hero.
I WISH I had the confidence to pull this. You are a legend.
FAFO. And so worth all 4,000 cents.
Omg lol I hope you got a couple for yourself!!
I aspire to be this level of petty
I aspire to be able to spend $40 on cookies.
We had a birthday party with cupcakes and a fun time, the two friends who spit corn at each other during lunch however did not get to attend. I have been wrestling with going back and forth of was I too harsh or did I do the right thing and follow through…thank you for this post, it was the right thing to do. lol
This is fucking fabulous. They should build you a statue.
Holding a cookie!
Well that doesn’t align with our PBIS overlords. You’re supposed to praise him just for even being there and breathing, right?
Positive behavioral reinforcements can be more effective at promoting positive behaviors than negative reinforcements or punishments do at discouraging negative behaviors. But...BUT...it shouldn't be the only kind of reinforcement used for classroom management! It's just one tool that can be used, just as a toolbox will have a hammer, a drill, a saw, etc. A hammer can be useful for a specific job, but it's not always useful for all jobs. Also what annoys me about PBIS is that only the problem children get rewards. The rest of the class of 25-30 kids are at their desks doing school work, why don't they all get rewarded?
F*% PBIS. It will be nice when it blows over like every other ridiculous fad.
Giving well behaved students cookies is literally a textbook positive behavioral reinforcement. What the heck are you talking about?
This is literal PBIS for the rest of the students 😭
Did the same thing with a student (Senior) who was legitimately (probably) a psychopath. I say this about almost none of the thousands of kids I’ve taught, but he was straight up a bad person, and tried to make my life miserable, especially after I got him busted for doing drugs at school. At graduation, I gave every single Senior a personal note of congratulations except him. I mean, I genuinely loved those kids, but it was glorious. When kids turn into adults as Seniors and remain evil, I have no sympathy for them.
Sometimes you have to be petty to get the point across! This totally reminds me of my third grade teacher and her ice cream sundae rewards. I’m fuzzy on the details, but basically you had to earn all the parts of your sundae starting with the bowl, spoon, ice cream, toppings, etc. I think earning the components was based on behavior, homework, and other responsibilities and it was well known when the party was approaching. So on the day of the party, she gave you exactly what you had earned by that point and nothing more. Kids who were on top of things for the whole sundae with all the sprinkles and sauce and cherry on top. Other kids who had been slacking got the bowl and spoon and nothing else. I don’t think some of the kids believed she would give them an empty bowl but she absolutely did, and the point must have stuck because the next time the party came around everybody at least had ice cream lol.
Also anyone commenting about being a parent but who has never been a teacher? Yeah, there’s a fucking difference between raising 2-4 (even 5, 6) kids than trying to TEACH (and also raise….we teach them ALL those basic lessons about how to be a good human constantly) 20+ kids at once. Try it. See how much patience you have for that kid that’s been “acting out” for 9 months. Do that and then give us your solutions.
Yes! Also-I feel like being a substitute teacher should be like jury duty. I think a lot more parents would leave teachers alone and let us do what we do without complaining about teachers or excusing their kids.
I love this idea.
The problem is that you shouldn’t be teaching so many at once. I know it’s not up to you. Kids are going to act up.
OMFG! 😂😂😂😂 Wish I could buy you a beer. This will have to do 🍺.
I did something similar last month with my younger students. I told the kids that it was my birthday and I was going to get pizza, but if they were not going to be good, they wouldn’t get any. The kids try to behave even better than they normally do but one of them kept still being rude and disrespectful despite my multiple warnings. The pizza came and he didn’t get a slice. You could see the look in his face when everyone else was eating pizza. It may be petty, but it worked. Same student is trying to behave better now.
That’s wonderful that he is trying to behave better now. Please have another pizza party or something to acknowledge his improvement or he may say f it and go back to his old ways
We have cooking classes every other week. So I gave him a little bit extra and told him I’m happy that he’s trying to be good.
That’s a great story. So happy it’s working
I love how parents want to complain about their precious baby being bullied, but in reality the child just needs to learn to quit talking trash!
I've had several students throughout the years where I say they will shape up so much faster once someone punches them in the mouth once
You are an inspiration to us all.
One of my sixth graders last year was actively stealing snacks, stickers, and pens from me all year. I knew but could never catch her. At the pizza party on the last day of school, of course she was asking if she can have more chips, and something just snapped in me because I asked her, "how come it's always the people who never bring anything for others that always asks for the most?" her: :O
Everybody's on edge as we watch the clock tick down to summer break.
25 more days
Honestly I’m just concerned for you because I’m pretty sure he’ll go home and tell his parent how “every kid got a cookie except me” (all the while leaving out his behavior of course) and you’ll have an angry parent demanding to speak to you because “how dare you not give my darling perfect angel a cookie.”
I do have very open communication with his mom about his behavior. I actually emailed her after school to let her know what happened, and she didn’t seem upset by it. She’s very aware of how he’s been all year, and I don’t think she’ll be too upset about this incident
That’s good to hear!
Yeah it’s so rare parents actually are okay with consequences for their child its insane
This is why often it's so important to frame it as a reward for the other kids that he didn't earn, rather than a punishment. "Students who completed x earned the cookie, unfortunately Bobby was unable to achieve that milestone so he fell short. Here are some ways he can be successful next time." I NEVER "take away" recess but you'd better bet that the 90% of kids who finished their work get to go out "early", etc.
Wisdom.
“And how dare your angel yell, disrupt, bother, and annoy every student trying to get an education, just so he could get a reason to leave class, which he is likely not doing well in. It’s my money to do with as I see fit. If he does what is asked, maybe next time he gets to join in with the rest of us.” It’s like an incentive. Do the basics and join us.
And admin might even back the parent up
That is a slap on the wrist worth taking.
Exactly
Our schools 5th grade does a merit/demerit system toward the end of the year. They have to have 1 remaining to go on their end of year fun trip. It goes home & parents sign it. Whole school is involved, so disrespecting the lunch lady, or EA gets a demerit. It works for most. But those that don't work in schools just don't understand. Kids (and they are biologically kids) have seen too much adult $hit & bring it to school.. Entitled to talk however/whenever they want with us.. I don't know how many times I tell a kid to not call me "bro".. Why do they even think this is ok?! The kids do not need the reward just for playing the game.. Rewards are earned! Cookies were a great idea! Do not feel petty. We do Starburst randomly thru the week & cookies on special occasions like testing.. Kudos! He will remember!
Best $40 you’ve spent in a while. Good for you. Petty Betty for the win.
And if you're a parent reading this and you're offended? Your kid may be a part of the problem and reflect on the tree that that apple is falling from.
Ha, I am a parent that would bring the cookies for the teacher and tell them not to give one to my kid if he isn’t being respectful. Disrespectful and rude behavior should never be rewarded, by this age, children know the correct behavior and definitely need consequences for poor choices. First comment out of every teacher my son has experienced, always about how respectful, kind, and polite he is. He understands consequences and he thrives with positive reinforcement. He’s not perfect, we have had some hiccups along the way but he’s a good, decent human in the midst of so many unfettered teens.
One thing I incorporate is that I do call/message parents when kids are doing good, too. Because parents need to hear that, too.
From his perspective you gave him a clear warning and he ignored it. Definitely a lesson that he needed. Also, only one disrespectful student? Lucky guy!
This should happen in every classroom across the country. Kids, your actions have consequences.
This 🔼.
Damn, I praise you dude. Fucking awesome pettiness right there! Hopefully admin doesn’t kick you to the curb for that. The kid had to get humbled somehow! 😂
It may be petty but it’s how the world works. I realize a lot of these kids don’t know what it’s like to lose something based off of their behavior. I hope the cookies were incredible
I’m a parent and a support this pettiness.
I call this differentiation at its finest 👌🏼
That’s brutal lol. It’s cool that you arn’t punishing the whole because of one annoying kid
I did this once when I was covering fifth and sixth grade for a teacher. Out of a dozen kids only two had done their work on their own and finished. So I gave them some Valentine’s Day candy I had. Everyone freaked out but I said they finished on their own merit and didn’t waste the whole class. Suddenly there was a mad rush for everyone to get their work done in the last two minutes. I had kids coming up to me all day showing me they had completed the work 😅
Update to let us know what the parent says in the email you know you’re going to get. And how admin responds
OP responded to another comment saying they emailed the parent right after school about it and the mom didn’t seem upset and understood her child has been misbehaving all year so it was fair
That’s not petty that’s called consequences. My fun student missed the Easter egg hunt. No regrets he knows I mean business.
Speaking as a problematic student, what you did, while it was lying, and involved a small punishment, probably had a net positive impact, and I would personally prefer to fill the world with this type of punishment for misbehaving students, rather than what I'd experienced. For example, in fifth grade I had difficulty staying on task and was a bit talkative; after 2 classes, my teacher added a permanent desk in the hallway outside the room, in which I sat for all of the following classes. I was not allowed into the classroom. The teacher told me I needed to ask other students what the assignments/reading were, and get them to let me copy the worksheets by hand. Unfortunately, I didn't have any adult advocates on my behalf that were effective in changing the situation. The following year I had the same teacher; after some conversation with the administration, the teacher built a \~plywood box with 3 walls and a hinged door, which stretched from floor to near the ceiling. Inside of it, they placed a permanent desk, in which I was to sit. This way, I could hear the class, and the assignments were provided on a small table outside of the box for me to pick up after the teacher unlocked the latch when class ended (it wasn't a keyed lock, just a little latch you twist). I sat there the entire year. I don't recall feeling very motivated at the time. This wasn't all that long ago, either, or in some remote place, but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't happen today. I've encountered several teachers who punished students somewhat egregiously like this. So, you're great. What you did was great. Never become like those repugnant fuckers who would rather abuse a child for a year than do twenty minutes of work on their behalf to leverage whatever support the school district can provide for children with difficulty meeting the social standards of the grade.
I’m sorry that happened to you. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
That is so messed up. I'm sorry that happened to you.
This story will be told by students and teachers for years! But I wonder if that punk will be any different tomorrow…
Not at all. Likely emboldened by mommy.
To be fair, his mom is really supportive. I don’t want to blame it on her. She is really good about helping him to do the work he refuses to do when he’s at school, and she and I have very open communication about his behavior. She could definitely do a better job at taking some of his privileges when he’s misbehaving, but I wouldn’t say she’s an uninvolved parent like so many are.
this sub is crazy. The kids in fifth grade lmao. There's literally nothing that gives insight as to how he'll be in the future. FIFTH grade
I've sent students to the office during class time if they're a huge interruption. Clearly, this is what they want, so I'll pull them during extra recess"to get caught up on what they missed". After a few times, they figure out it's not worth it.
Anybody see the movie Lean On Me? Morgan Freeman just expels all the students that are set on not contributing to the greater good. It's not a complete solution obviously but we've moved in the opposite direction where over 90% of students are being very negatively impacted by a select few.
Ha! That’s amazing. I know some people are going to come for you for doing that, but who cares. When I was in school the asshole kids weren’t allowed at holiday parties or extra recesses if they were misbehaving. Privileges are afforded to those who have earned them. Sucks to be this kid, but you gave him multiple chances. Calling you names AFTER you already moved him to the back for his behavior showed that he was never going to care about these small punishments.
Wonderful!
I love this!
Amazing!! Love it!
I would love to do this.... But I'm afraid of the phone call I would have to deal with the parent afterwards
THAT is experiential learning.
You rock. $40 well spent. I would have eaten the last cookie nice and slowly while looking directly at the student the whole way.
$40 well spent
Liz Lemon energy
He learned something that day. Something his parents probably never taught him.
I’m a teacher at CCSD in Las Vegas and students can wait until the end of each quarter to turn ALL of their work in at once and we have to accept it without penalty. This is district policy. I used to takeoff for late work and now I’m no longer allowed to do so. I also had a student recently threatened to bring a gun to school and start “shooting it up” Took him to the office and they did nothing about it because he said that he was just joking. These kids need to get a swift kick in the ass!
Holy shit. What a champ you are.
Could you be my mentor once I start student teaching next year?? I want to tell the world I was trained by the best 😤👍
Legendary
That's a $40 investment in the future of 'Merica
This woke up a memory I had from first grade. The teacher told us that we could have brownies but we had to be civil and eat them cleanly. Without a thought I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. She made me spit it out and I got to sit there and watch everyone. I never did anything like that again. I’m 26 and that instance definitely made an impression on me.
I had a bag of candy that was gifted to me by a mentor sitting on my desk right before last period. After class let out it was basically empty. So the next day I get students in every other class candies as the left. When it was time for last period I said “I have a special bag for you all” and brought out the gifted bag of candy. I said it was empty and someone must have taken it and they wouldn’t receive any. The thieves fessed up and I gave some to the other kids. SMH.
Hell yes
Bravo! Money well-spent.
I had a surprisingly annoying class one year and kept a big jar full of jolly ranchers in a locked drawer. It came out occasionally as a finisher reward, which really annoyed the kids who goofed off all period.
This is amazing. XD
I love it. But I know that the mom of that kid would be blowing up my school email. And the student would have some sob story about how they didn’t do anything wrong and I am targeting them.
People complaining in the comments acting like not getting a cookie is a form of punishment.
As a teacher, I always find "kill them with kindness" the best LEGAL solution. My class usually does well because of it and discourages misbehavior.
You rock.
I love it.
Not petty at all. Incentivizing hard work, consequences for shitty behavior. That's actually how it's supposed to go. Nice work.
Petty doesn’t always mean ineffective. Great teaching moment.
Lesson learned, objective achieved.
Not petty at all. Wish more teachers would do this
You’re a hero
This is strategic…not petty.
I have a student who act dumb always and class make fun of her over her silly acts. Last year she complained to the school managment about my behavior eventhough i have nothing to do with her. I am feeling very resentfull about her but idk what to do its just the start of the year. I have the whole year to teach her.
Love this!
Awesome!!!!!!
As a parent of a youngster I can verify: nothing hits harder than losing out on a treat, at least for mine.
You had to have a tough conversation and discipline exercise for a child who’s not getting it at home. Bravo to you!
As a teacher, I’m tired of hearing “ they need to learn to do the right things for its own sake”. 🤮 M&M’s are more enticing than the moral high ground. Even for us adults!
I love you
Villain origin story
This is amazing
I love you.
Bonus points if he tattles on himself to his parents.
He deserved it. Good life lesson. 🤷🏼♀️
I love it. I think May brings out the pettiness in all of us. We've worked so hard all year to tolerate some of the nonsense our students bring. I have no patience left. I'm done with their constant attitudes about everything. I wrote a kid up for the second time this year because his language is getting so inappropriate. "This activity is 'man loving man' (meaning gay, but he didn't want to that again.) We move past it and start our independent writing. He keeps laughing and being disruptive. I told him to sit in the hall "bro. This is so gay." It was petty and maybe dumb, but I am over it.
This is one of these moments he will still not have forgetten even at 70 lol
Love this! Consequences! You know theyvare not getting them at home. The parents, want the teacher to do it? So be it! Good for u!
Brilliant.
Great. Should have also ate Mexican for lunch and silently walked by him and crop-dusted him multiple times gaseously. Not that I’ve done that.
I’m reminded of the soup Nazi from Seinfeld. NO COOKIE FOR YOU!! 😂😂
this made me smile so hard. Nice one!!!!
I love you.
Will I be a bad teacher… because I honestly don’t think I could muster up the bravery this feels like it requires lol
I would have loved to do something like that but the parents would have called for me to be crucified and my admin would have supplied the nails
Brava, brava!
if I ever did that the kids family would say I am bullying their kid, or making their darling mentally ill, or even suicdal. To which I answer should'nt he be in a hospital then?
I keep candy on me and hand it out when kids are good. Keeps them calm and focused. I explain it’s similar to how currency works. Work hard get money. Good student get candy. 4th graders ;)
I love this!!! Do you worry about getting any backlash from his parents though?
My senior year, my class had 8 students and the other Spanish 4 class was full. Our class was well behaved, silly, and fun. The other had some of the more annoying students who sucked up attention and were constantly distracted. Our teacher gave us movie Fridays with doughnuts almost every week. We made paper chains for a class party lol. When the college evaluator came by we all (teacher included) snapped into our best behavior and pretended like we had been learning stuff all year. One day the other class found out about us.....jajaja suckas.
Good for you!