How to Create Highly Educated Rich Kids- Rewards vs. Punishment

Classroom Management.  (((Cringe))) Everybody in education knows that you can't teach anyone anything without being able to get the kids to obey you.  I work in an urban setting where social norms of school behavior are, well, lets just say that they are not quite the same as I was used to as a child.  You can loose control of a group of students in seconds.  When I first started teaching, I had dreams that everyone was running around, crazy, screaming, climbing on desks, throwing things, etc... (That seems to actually happen when there is a sub, by the way.)  I see people in the store who can't control their school-aged children all the time.  So what do you do as a teacher, when you have TWENTY-FIVE or more kids, many of whom are those throwing temper tantrums in the stores?

For 95% of children, discipline is extremely simple and works on these tenets:
1. Reward for the behaviors you want to see.
2. Punish for the behaviors you don't want to see.
3.  Do WAAAAY more rewarding than you do punishing.
(Sound a bit like Pavlov to anyone?  Well, we are all mammals...)

Other things to keep in mind:
4. Tell the kids accepted social norms prior to any situation (assemblies, field trips, guest speakers....) If you didn't tell them, you can't be mad if they don't act the way you expected, as this is a new experience and they didn't know what you expected.
5.  Be consistent:  If you say something, do it.  "I'm calling your house on the second strike" means nothing anymore if you skip it once.  Also, don't run out of prizes.  Your corrective comments kind of don't mean anything, especially at the beginning of the year, if there is nothing to reinforce them.  And don't do prizes for a week and then stop- you will be right back to yelling at people.

Now there is a lot of research to back this up, but I'm sure you don't want to read it all.  I have had the pleasure of reading many many articles and books on the subject.  Even some research that indicates that children in houses with high levels of education and income have a higher ratio of positive to negative comments about behavior and households with lower incomes and lower levels of education tend to have a higher ratio of negative comments to positive. 

Well, I want to treat the kids like highly educated rich kids, and maybe they will rise to the occasion, right?

REWARDS: There are two types of effective rewards: A reward you know is coming if earned, and rewards that are a surprise for just simply getting "caught" being good. 
For the "caught being good" type of reward I use a lot of peppermint candy or little prizes like spider rings at the beginning of the year.  For instance, "Please take out your reading books and turn to page 12." And the first 5 people who get it done are given a peppermint without comment.  And wouldn't you know it, the other kids look at that and straighten up  and get their book out quickly.  After a week of that, I have them trained and no longer need to reward for that, as they are mostly accustomed to doing what I say in that area.  I do the same for students following along with the story as we read it together, and after a while they are trained on that too- or at least  95% of them are.  I do the same for training them on walking quietly in the hallway, sitting up straight and listening on the rug, etc...
The BEST PART is that while other teachers are saying (or shouting) "Stop that! Don't do that! Get back in line!  Don't touch him!" I, on the other hand, am saying "Thank you, Suzy" and backing it up with some reward, keeping most of my interactions with students positive.
The other type of reward I use as a back up reward system.  It's a system whereby you earn enough points by the end of the day and you are allowed to pick a prize out of the treasure chest.  This helps expose the children to the concept of consistent good behavior over a period of time.  If your name is on the board, that also cancels out any points you may have earned, giving me an option for punishment.  My treasure chest is filled with prizes from the Dollar Tree. I go to the section of party favors, and buy things that are 6 or 8 for a dollar.  (Like bouncy balls and whistles)  I used to think that "bribery" was bad as it did not create intrinsic motivation to behave.  Until I realized that I would pretty much be ill-behaved at work and tell people off and act a fool if my behavior was not linked closely to my pay-check, thus being extrinsic motivation.  (That was a bunch of education psychobabble in case you didn't know.)

PUNISHMENT:
There is always a struggle when it comes to punishment.  There is no recess at most Chicago Public Elementary Schools (are you shocked? call an alderman or Michelle Obama or something.)  So, we can not take away recess as a punishment.  We are not allowed to make the kids write lines, or write things over and over, such as "I will not spit on my neighbor." There is no such thing as detention.  Out of school suspensions are reserved for only the most severe fights and aren't really a punishment anyway, as they just stay home and play video games.  So what are the punishments?  I use a system of steps.  You get your name on the board (which automatically negates your earned prizes) and subsequent infractions earn you calls home, and removal from the classroom, usually to the other 3rd grade class to sit in the back of the room for a bit.  But guess what?!  If you do tons and tons of rewarding and positive reinforcement, you don't have to do too much punishment!