Teacher goes against admin rules, devises new system to stop misbehaving students that actually works: 'I literally can never win in admin’s eyes'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 7, 2026 2:00 PM EST

No one ever said that school administrators are the ones who really know how to teach children.

We can all just imagine how much teachers have to put up with on a day-to-day basis. Whether it's trying to get kids to behave for the duration of a 45-minute history class or having to argue with entitled parents about how special they think their offspring are, there is a whole lot more to being a teacher than… well, teaching. 

It's why the unbelievably unfair saying that "those who can't do teach" vastly misrepresents the number of things teachers have to juggle in order to effectively do their jobs well. All those graduate school dollars might help teachers devise lesson plans and learn various instruction methods, but we all know those skills end up amounting to a small portion of what the job actually entails. Much of one's time as a teacher, especially at the elementary and high school levels, involves politicking with the administration and with the school community.

This middle school teacher found herself at a crossroads when she couldn't get her kids to stop misbehaving and calling each other names during class. She worked at an institution that prided itself on positive reinforcement. No one was ever allowed to acknowledge that bad behavior was happening in the classroom; they could only promote the good stuff. This inevitably led to a problem because while punitive treatment is, of course, not ideal, students need to learn that they cannot treat one another poorly.

So this author decided to go against the administration's guidelines and instead instituted a new policy in her classroom that would reward classmates who treated one another with respect while keeping track of students who did the opposite. When I was a student, this would have been considered normal and justified. However, that did not seem to be the case at this school. Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from several members of this online community.

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  • It just goes to show that sometimes trusting your gut as an instructor is more important than appeasing an administration whose priorities are all wrong. What's amusing is that the administrators thought they were prioritizing moral integrity, but really, what they were doing was accidentally giving entitled kids permission to behave badly without any repercussions. I think it's pretty clear that in this case, repercussions were actually warranted.

  • A middle school teacher gives a lesson in front of a classroom.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A middle school teacher gives a lesson in front of a classroom.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "Finally seen a drastic improvement in student behavior…by doing the exact opposite of what my admin said to do"

    Flaired success... ish I am a second year 7th grade science teacher in a very large public school.
    via totallabrat
  • I posted a couple of weeks ago about a disastrous observation I had- kids awful, yelling s to each other, S admin not stepping in to help blah blah blah.
    via totallabrat
  • I was convinced it was the worst observation ever and was ready to quit. I didn't quit, I was told they've seen observations way worse, and I wasn't even rated ineffective.
    via totallabrat
  • I was rated developing, which isn't good either, but for a second year teacher who never student taught or had guidance I figure I could be worse.
    via totallabrat
  • The developing rating was for...you guessed it....classroom management. My school is HUGE on praising the good (even the bare minimum) and restorative justice and all those jazzy words.
    via totallabrat
  • So I've been making some drastic changes, but not in the way admin wants. But it's working, so I don't care.
    via totallabrat
  • I've created a tally system. Every time I have to redirect a student, for any behavior, I add a tally next to their name.
    via totallabrat
  • 5 tallies in one class = parent notification and office referral. At the end of every class, I put the total number of class tallies in a chart and at the end of every month the class with the fewest tallies will get a big prize (not b t school prizes they don't care about).
    via totallabrat
  • I'm talking chick fil a catered lunch, Dunkin' Donuts...stuff they actually want. My students have started holding each other accountable because they really don't want tallies.
    via totallabrat
  • I've also come up with ways to take away class tallies from the total so that one class is who is bad doesn't give up halfway through the month (but not individual tallies because students who behave badly still need their parents notified, even if they were angels in the last 10 min of class).
    via totallabrat
  • The students who don't care about the prizes and are acting up anyway are getting told off by the kids who do care.
    via totallabrat
  • They don't give a what I think but they care what their friends think. It's working phenomenally.... better than any other strategy I've ever tried.
    via totallabrat
  • I struggle the most with the kids who have zero intrinsic motivation, and this has helped me finally come up with something that resonates with them.
    via totallabrat
  • They love the competition and I'm finally getting to teach. The students are also getting a visual representation through tally marks of just how often I have to stop doing my job (teaching) to correct their behavior.
    via totallabrat
  • But admin hates it because I'm "looking for bad behavior instead of praising the good."...but that strategy wasn't working for me.
    via totallabrat
  • I literally can never win in admin's eyes...but I finally feel like I'm winning in the classroom- participation is better, grades are improving, and b ing in my room has magically stopped.
    via totallabrat
  • I'm not punishing my classes at all. They aren't getting extra work, they aren't getting recess taken away, they aren't getting lunch detention.
    via totallabrat
  • I'm not punishing the bad classes, I'm rewarding the good ones. Right? The good students in every class have always been rewarded for their behavior through incentives in my class as well as school-wide ones.
    via totallabrat
  • The tallies are for students who display disruptive behaviors and interrupt the education of other students in class because they think it's funny or that they are above the rules.
    via totallabrat
  • A middle school teacher gives a lesson in front of a classroom.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A middle school teacher gives a lesson in front of a classroom.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • njm147 I do this but instead do a movie or a "free day" as the prize, much cheaper
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply That's also an option that's on the table! I've had students already say they don't want chick fil a or dunkin, so I told them to focus for now on earning the prize and then we would agree on one towards the end of the month. The prizes aren't set in stone yet.
    via totallabrat
  • penchevlady I am letting the best classes pick my hair color for the next 2 weeks. It is temp dye. I had my hair guy put in some blond streaks hidden underneath. The Best class votes for the color and next week is green. It worked crazy well.
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply I do this with my nail designs! I let my students pick what I do :) and if I hate it...oh well it's only a couple weeks. I do my own nails so I'm not spending money on something I hate
    via totallabrat
  • Current-Photo2857 I love this idea in theory...but how are you actually going to pull off the chicken or donuts? My school would require permission slips for non-cafeteria food, nurse sign off that there's no allergens, and all other kinds of hoops.
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply Oh mine doesn't require any of that. I would notify parents ahead of time to make sure there were no allergens...but no hoops like what you mentioned.
    via totallabrat
  • ParlaysAllDay You're buying 25 chik-fil-a meals a month?
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply I'm honestly okay with spending my own money once a month to reward the students (focus on the good) that deserve them. I can get one large nugget tray for $100, which should feed about 25 students. So if I have to spend $100-$125 once a month I'll make it work. I've also already had some students tell me they don't want chick fil a, so if they prefer to earn half a class of "free time" or a movie day or whatever then that can happen to. I told them we would a
    via totallabrat
  • Bugbread One simple change to bring the admin over to your side: Instead of tallying the number of redirects, tally the number of non- redirects. If the number of students differs by class, make it a percentage-based score to ensure equalization. The class with the highest score gets the prize. And that's it. You're effectively doing the exact same thing, but now in the administration's eyes you're looking for and rewarding good behavior.
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply I like this! It wouldn't be hard to make the switch. I started out doing it the way I am mostly because I wanted to quantify just how many times I was stopping each class to redirect behavior.
    via totallabrat
  • [deleted] Sounds like it starts over every month?
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply It does start over each month. I remove tallies typically by doing something that takes focus away from behavior and focuses on content. For example, one of my classes has a really hard time behaviorally and racks up tallies. It would be difficult to use behavior to remove tallies, so I focus on academics. Yesterday we had comprehension check questions that students worked in groups on (teamwork is something I'm trying to improve) and every time every team got
    via totallabrat
  • Darkwing DuckHunt Are any of your kids more well off than the others and are the parents nice?
    via totallabrat
  • totallabrat Original Poster's Reply I have kids who live in their cars and I have kids who live in 2 million dollar homes. Very large range.
    via totallabrat
  • SleepyMcSheepy Good/bad/whatever. It sounds like consistency.
    via totallabrat
  • Rising_Phoenix_9695 Your Admin is Developing. They are ridiculous. While finding the positive can be a good thing, it also contributes to a toxic place. Do what works. Good luck.
    via totallabrat

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