In the beginning...

...I was a doormat. 

When my students didn't behave as I wished, I let things slide.  Why? Because I couldn't get myself angry with my students.  I just didn't have it in me and I wouldn't want them to dislike their teacher.

But when they continuously come unprepared...

...talk while my back is turned...

...speak Thai after I ask them not too...

...fail to follow directions...

....pretend to understand...

...smile and nod when I haven't asked them a yes or no question...

...and essentially take advantage of my good nature...

SHIT HITS THE FAN

But first...

All week I was baffled why I couldn't get them academically 'going' and why my system of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement was failing so hard.  I chatted with other teachers and no one seemed to have the answer.  All I could determine was that both teacher and student were still in the feeling things out phase and eventually they'd warm up to me.

At the end of my rope, I asked Rob what the heck I had to do.  First he went into more detail about Thai culture and the differences between my own ideas and their own.  The important point was the culture's view of mistakes.  Publicly making a mistake to a Thai feels the same to a Westerner as being the pallbearer at a funeral, dropping the coffin, and then vomiting on the corpse in front of the grieving family.

So I needed to start considering that.

Second, I was being too damn nice.  I rewarded desirable behavior but essentially did not punish undesirable behavior.  (Also for both, the rewards and punishments that did exist weren't strong enough to have a reinforcing effect).

So my students wouldn't get 'going' in part because my system was failing.  The room wasn't as straight laced as it needed to be so things weren't conducive to learning and plain old paying attention.  My system needed reworking and I needed to come down hard on them for not doing what they needed to do.  The room lacked balance.

So I shit canned my old system of warnings that weren't working and bagged everything else.

This morning my student's stepped into a new room.

I pounded the ever loving crap out of the morning routine, making them do it over and over until they got it right.  One classmate out of step?  Do it again.

Speaking Thai when I'm in the room?  BOOM. 50 lines (write "I will not speak Thai in Kru Adams class)

Forgot your book?  BOOM. 25 lines ( write "I will not forget my math/english books)

Speaking while I'm speaking? BOOM. Detention.

I've asked you all to sit in silence while reading, allowing just whispers and the volume rises too high?  AGAIN.  Okay fine, put all your stuff away and we'll all just sit here in silence so you can all learn what it sounds like.

I doled out more lines than a coke addict and now have enough students in detention to start a baseball team.

But it worked. 

They soon stepped in line and things started to get going.  I got through way more lesson material than usual and they were actually much more responsive.  Their responsiveness I chalk up to the room being conducive to learning and forcing them to pay attention!  Awesome!

Things aren't perfect yet and I have much to enhance and fix but the changes today alone will improve the classroom environment as the reinforcing effects take hold.