It has taken me several years to come to the realization that most of my frustration as a teacher is self-induced. I get frustrated when students do not do things the way I want them to; like push in their chair, pack their headphone bag in a way that I can clearly identify it, throw away their trash, line up a certain way…. What I have come to realize is most of the time, it is not the fault of the student. I have not clearly defined to them my expectations, taught them, modeled them, and reinforced them. I am trying to change that this year, and it is already paying HUGE dividends for me. Before school began this year, I tried to visualize what procedures needed to be in place so no time is wasted in the computer lab. Along with the procedures, I thought about what would motivate the students to complete their tasks the way I needed them to. I came up with two motivators – one reward, and one consequence. If the students follow the procedures and are all lined up in time, I will show a one to two minute funny video before they exit the lab. If a student does not follow the procedure, they will receive a mark on the chart on the wall. I will have a drawing every six weeks with each class in the lab. If a student has more than five marks the first six weeks, their name will not be in the drawing. For each subsequent six week period, the number of marks they may have and still be in the drawing will drop by one. We have just completed two weeks of school, and my frustration level is at an all time low! Here are posted expectations for LEAVING THE LAB!