Sigh, I've been doing some thinking. I cannot expect them to learn anything about respect and behavior by treating them nicely and I hate playing the dictator. I need to evolve since they are not capable.

I surprised them this week with the concept of the negative credit slip. I have been giving extra credit slips for good behavior, academic ability, etc. An extra credit slip is worth one point on their quarter grade. This week I did a book check to see who had come to class prepared. I awarded each student without his or her book one negative credit point towards the quarterly grade. I plan to continue with that for poor behavior too. I will not actually take the points from the grade. I will use them to track the citizenship grade we give them.

The mechanics are as follows. Johnny fails to bring in his book. I have him bring me a stamped slip of paper from the box in the back of the room. He writes his name on it, adds a -1, and the note 'book' and hands it to me. I countersign it and he puts in in the bag for his block. This way he has lots of time to consider what he has done. After a few of these I'll have him count them out for me. At report card time I will give him a grade for citizenship based on the negative slips.

Citizenship is the grade we give them based on their attitude, preparedness, proper wearing of the uniform, cleanliness, etc. It ranges from excellent (E), Satisfactory (S), Needs Improvement (N), to Unsatisfactory (U). Two or more (N)s results in a form of probation that could impact participation in sports or other programs. A (U) automatically removes them from all extracurricular programs.