A letter to my teaching comrades about quick wins, shared goals, and the life skills your students will carry forever.
If you’ve ever stood in front of your class and thought, “How is it only 10:04 a.m. and I’m already one ‘Please sit down!’ away from losing my voice?” — you are not an isolated phenomenon. They even made a movie with a scene pretty close to that....
I have the privilege of working alongside some exceptional teachers in my full-time gig. Throughout the year, we laugh, we cry, and — most of all — we do our best to support each other to keep that enthusiasm and positivity alive.
It’s no small task. With reduced staffing and budgets, increased classroom sizes, and a rising tide of mental health concerns in the generation before us, teaching has moved far beyond the tidy academic focus most people picture from those feel-good classroom movies.
Kids today are juggling more than ever.
Peer pressure has moved from the playground to the ever-present realm of social media.
Economic, environmental, and global issues loom large in their awareness.
The classroom is often the safest (and sometimes only) place where they can practice the skills that will help them cope.
One of the most underrated ways we can support that?
Teaching them how to thrive within a community that has rules.
When students learn the “how” and “why” behind expectations — how to navigate shared spaces, respect boundaries, and work toward common goals — we’re not just preventing chaos.
We’re giving them tools they’ll carry into every friendship, workplace, and relationship for the rest of their lives.
Clear, consistent, and fair rules aren’t about control; they’re about creating a space where everyone feels safe, included, and able to participate without fear.
That stability is a quiet but powerful protector of mental health.
When everyone is able to follow the rules, behaviour within the group becomes predictable — and so do the responses to it. Predictable responses, rather than erratic, angry, or aggressive ones, help students feel secure and respected, even when corrections or redirections are needed.
And here’s a little ABA secret:
If you want kids to follow the rules, make the rules contagious.
That’s where group contingencies and peer reinforcement come in. Think of them as your classroom’s immune system against chaos — once you set them up, they start protecting the whole environment.
And the best part? Done right, they make the kids do half the work for you.
Choosing the Right Rules (and Why It Matters)
Before you start rewarding, you have to decide what you’re rewarding — and that choice will shape your classroom culture.
Not every expectation is worth turning into a major focus.
1. Think big picture.
Ask yourself: Will this skill still matter in six months? Six years?
“Sit perfectly still for circle time” might look great, but is it building attention, engagement, or participation? Or is it just compliance?
Compliance for the sake of compliance is about control. It teaches students that success is keeping your head down and your voice quiet — which is the opposite of what we want if we’re raising thinkers, problem-solvers, and collaborators.
Instead, focus on the underlying skill: “Participates in circle time” (which could mean sitting, answering questions, singing along, or listening respectfully).
2. Prioritize skills that support learning and community.
The best classroom rules teach students how to be in a community, not just how to avoid trouble.
Examples worth reinforcing:
Listening when others speak
Following multi-step directions
Transitioning calmly between activities
Helping a peer
Taking responsibility for materials
3. Start with what’s most impactful, not what’s most annoying.
It’s tempting to target the behaviour that makes your eyelid twitch (yes, I see you, chronic pencil sharpener). But if it’s not interfering with safety, learning, or relationships, it probably doesn’t need to be a top-tier rule.
4. Keep it clear and observable.
If you can’t see it and measure it, your students can’t track it.
“Be respectful” is a value.
“Use kind words with classmates” is a behaviour you can catch and reward.
5. Limit the list.
Three to five clear rules are better than a scroll-worthy list. Too many expectations dilute the focus and make wins harder to come by.
Once the group has mastered a rule and is doing it consistently without reminders, you can switch it out for another.
When you choose rules with purpose, you’re not just managing behaviour in the moment — you’re building the social, emotional, and self-regulation skills your students will need for the rest of their lives.
You’re showing them that rules exist to help us live, work, and learn together — not to keep them silent, small, or unquestioning.
Group Reinforcement 101
At its heart, group reinforcement is about this:
When we succeed together, we all benefit together.
It’s not bribery. It’s not dangling candy like a carrot (although… Skittles can be powerful in the right hands).
It’s harnessing the basic human drive to be part of something successful.
Examples:
Group reinforcement makes the desired behaviour the default behaviour — because no one wants to be the one who costs their group the prize.
Peer Reinforcement: Your Secret Weapon
Peer reinforcement is when students start doing the reinforcing for you.
Example: Table groups get points when they help peers stay on task.
Result: Your talkative group leaders start quietly whispering, “Hey, eyes on your paper, we’re almost at five points!” instead of, “Pssst, what’s for lunch?”
Want to supercharge it? Let peers catch peers being good.
When Student A notices Student B following the rules, you award double points:
One for Student B doing the right thing
One for Student A recognizing it
This creates a classroom-wide “kindness economy” where the currency is noticing each other’s strengths — and cashing that in for rewards.
Start Small (Win Early)
ROOKIE MISTAKE: Setting the bar so high on Day 1 that your students feel like they’ll never get there. That’s a no no.
In ABA, we talk about shaping — starting with small, achievable goals and gradually increasing the challenge. This is key in group reinforcement.
Why it matters:
Students get quick wins early on.
Success breeds motivation.
It’s easier to raise expectations than to lower them without losing credibility.
Example progression:
Week 1: “If we line up quietly in under 3 minutes, we get a marble.”
Week 2: “Let’s see if we can do it in 2 minutes.”
Week 4: “Two marbles if we beat our record.”
Rotate Reinforcers Like You Rotate Seating Charts
If your reinforcement system is losing steam, it’s often because the reinforcers went stale.
Rule of thumb:
Swap them out weekly for younger grades.
Monthly for older grades.
Fresh rewards keep motivation alive.
Ideas for reinforcer rotations:
Special chair for the day.
Extra time for art, music, or read-alouds.
Lunch outside.
Class-wide dance party.
Teacher switches jobs with a student for 10 minutes.
Be creative and think outside the box! Sometimes the zaniest ideas are the ones that work.
Why Points & Token Systems ‘Don’t Work’ (and How to Fix It)
You’ve probably heard a colleague say: “I tried a point system once — total flop. Kids stopped caring by October.”
Here’s the truth: it’s not that token systems don’t work. It’s that they weren’t built to last.
Common pitfalls:
Reinforcers never change. The novelty wears off.
Expectations are too big. If it takes a month to earn the reward, the connection to the behaviour is gone.
Reinforcement is too far away from the behaviour. Kids need to see the cause-and-effect quickly. Daily, or even morning/afternoon wins work better than long-term goals. You can incorporate daily small wins that accumulate towards a really big win.
One-size-fits-all. Some students need the bar lowered — just like you would modify an education plan, you can modify a points system.
Quick fixes:
Keep reinforcers exciting by rotating often.
Start with small, easy-to-earn goals.
Give feedback and tokens immediately after the behaviour.
Adjust for students who need more attainable benchmarks (break the day into smaller win blocks: morning, lunch, afternoon, end-of-day)
Adjusting for Students Who Struggle
Not every student can jump the same hurdles at the same height.That doesn’t mean lowering the bar for everyone — it means tailoring the bar so each student can reach it.
Examples:
Let them earn “helper points” for handing out materials, collecting papers, or leading line-up.
Pair them with a peer who models the behavior well (hello, natural peer reinforcement).
Give them shorter time frames or smaller goals to hit the same reward.
If a student never experiences the “win,” they’ll stop trying.
Morning Wins & Afternoon Wins
Instead of one long road to the prize, break the day into smaller blocks.
Why it works:
Keeps motivation alive all day
Gives more chances to reset after a rough patch
Doubles your opportunities to celebrate wins
Example:
Morning Goal: Everyone turns in homework by 9:00
Afternoon Goal: Everyone cleans up in under 5 minutes at the end of the day
Real-Life Teacher Hack: The Compliment Chain (Caelah’s favourite)
A spin on the compliment jar:
When a student gets a compliment from a peer or adult (inside or outside the classroom), the class earns a link in a paper chain.
The chain hangs where everyone can see it growing.
When it reaches the floor — class party or big group reward.
It’s visual, it’s collaborative, and it uses peer recognition in the most wholesome way. It also gives students a chance to reflect on the times they were recognized for shining — memories that can help cushion the harder days.
Final Thoughts: The Classroom as a Team
When you run a classroom-wide reinforcement system well, something amazing happens:
You talk less about rules and more about goals.
Peers start reinforcing each other’s good choices.
You feel less like a referee and more like a coach.
These systems aren’t about achieving compliance. They’re about teaching cooperation, empathy, and self-monitoring — skills that will serve your students far beyond the classroom.
Because at the end of the day, rules aren’t there to make our jobs easier (though that’s a nice bonus).
They’re there to make our students’ lives easier — to give them a framework for navigating a world that’s not always predictable, fair, or gentle.
When we teach rules with purpose, we’re showing kids that the goal is not to silence their voices or create blind obedience, but to help them think critically, collaborate, and stand up for what’s right — even when it’s hard.
And in a time when so many children are quietly carrying big, heavy things outside these four walls, that feeling — that they matter, that they have a role, that their voice counts — might be the most important lesson we teach all year.
So, this year, let’s make the rules contagious, the wins frequent, and the reinforcers fresh. Let’s watch as your class learns that success is sweeter when it’s shared — and that cheering each other on is the quickest way to get there.
Here’s to a year of kindness, predictability, and purpose — where compliment jars fill quickly, marbles clink loudly, and students cheer each other on like their favourite sports team.
Godspeed,
Caelah
