[MRSPOTTER]

I am going into my 11th year of teaching and most recently my principal has retired. He was a very laid back man who basically told his teachers to teach to the test, pass the test, and that was pretty much it. For the most part, he left us alone.

Our new principal is the complete opposite and a bit of a micromanager. Although I welcome the change (I like order and leadership..our school has been lacking it for quite some time), I'm worried that I will not be able to get all of the things done that I have planned. My schedule this year is very rigorous and I wonder how I am going to manage/incorporate my new Class Economy and am having doubts about doing it. I feel like I need to make a decision before school starts (9/7) because I don't want to start something and not be able to see it through. Because of the lack of "wiggle" room in my schedule, will I be able to pull off this Class Economy thing?

[whipper snap]

I tried a system last year that I absolutely love and it requires very little work on my part. I got the idea from whole brain teaching. It is like a teacher/student game and I give extra credit or dexter credit throughout the day. You can watch a video of Chris Biffle using it at this site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBeWE...eature=related
I give chat time or music time at the end of the day for however many extra credit points my students have over and above the dexter points. Over the course of the year, I change the rewards and I keep a running tally of the extra points they have earned each day and reward them on Friday. The key is to make sure that you don't let the students win every day and especially don't let them win the first couple of days. Make them work for it. Make sure their behavior is exactly the way you want it before you let them win. It's awesome because, it is so universal. I give them feedback everytime that I give them points so I can use it to work on all kinds of things.

[minteacher]

that trying to do classroom economy like beth newingham (i think that's who it is) and others was too stressful for me as well. Those who do it the way she does, are Super Teachers. Is it possible for you to only use certain portions of the plan so that it won't be so stressful. For example, when I used it, I did not have students rent their desk. So my suggestion is to implement on a smaller scale, then increase or add to it as the year progresses.

[msrafuse]

I have found that the way I run my economy system has actually made life easier for me. I try to streamline things as much as possible so that it will be effective but still simple to manage. I feel like this system teaches them countless skills, gives a little extra math practice, and gives me a great opportunity to easily and quickly give them positive and negative consequences.

In my room, the kids keep track of their earnings and expenses themselves. They each have a transaction record book from a local bank that they keep in their desk so they can quickly record things as they pop up. In the beginning, I have them turn them in to my desk as they leave for the day. I quickly look through them after school just to make sure their writing is legible and everything looks right.

It really doesn't take up any of my teaching time other than when I first introduce it and and the end of each month when we have an auction. The auction takes us about 30 minutes, but you can make it as long or as short as you want.

Good luck with whatever you do!

[Rumagereader]

Last year I was overwhelmed with doing a whole economy all year...so I added it as part of a unit--(like mini-society) and did it that way. It was great fun for the kids, and for me was much more manageable because it had a beginning and an end. I did it in the spring when the kids needed something new and exciting...that might be a thought for how to try it before you jump in for a whole year. And, actually, I am sticking with the unit again this year.

[nmadorno]

I've looked at several economies that teachers used and then I tweaked those to work for me. My students get paid for their "job" on Monday. They receive their credits and pay their debits on Fridays. It works very well for me. I do my store on the last Friday afternoon of the month. I have a student who pays my students on Mondays. Since their salary is the same each week, this works well. Then on Friday for credits and debits, I work out the totals for each student the night before or during my free period on Friday afternoon and put it into a chart with each student's name. Again, I have a student take care of this using the chart. This works for me but it may not work for you. You have to do what works for you!