Evaluation of Classroom Management Plan

My classroom management plan was fairly typical; nothing out of the ordinary. For my consequences, which unfortunatly come to mind well before rewards, are a name on the board as a warning, followed by a checkmark if the negative behavior does not cease. The checks, of course, represent essays of 250 words for each checkmark. If they do not turn the essay in the following day, I send the student to the principal's office. Now before all of this starts to make sense, I need to give you the other pieces to the puzzle that I call my classroom management plan. I have a class reward system which works wonders! It follows a rubric and if the class is really good, they will earn the maximum number of points per class: 5. If they are having a slightly bad day (i.e. one name on the board) they get a 4 ect. In a 10 day period, if they have 45-50 points, they get a big reward; if they have a 40-45, they get a small reward; if they have 35-40, they get nothing and below a 35 is extra homework over the weekends. So it works as a reward system and a consequence system. It was the best thing I've come up with as a teacher...sad isn't it?

Well, what's the problem? Well, the problem is that I have eased up WAY too early. I basically got sick of stopping class and writing names on the board only to have the students try to argue their way out of it during class (despite the fact that I don't even acknowledge these arguments). Because I don't write names on the board, students talk and I assign them a completely subjective number based on how the class went. This worked for a while but now, I feel as though there is just too much talking. Students can't connect their individual poor behavior (i.e. names on the board) with a classwide consequence (i.e. less points for a day). That has become a problem. I am working on changing that but I haven't had much success as of late.

To further complicate things, I have an individual award system which includes giving the kids tickets and drawing those tickets from a box on Fridays for prizes etc. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, I get so bogged down with all my paper work (IT"S MY LIFE!!!) that I don't have time to go out and collect/decorate shoe boxes! So a month into the year, the students know about this reward system but have never seen it in action. It's so frustrating because I know I'm failing with my classroom management plan but there is no time to fix it! I'm jus tbeing completely inundated with more paper work for special ed kids, or gifted and talented kids, or ESL students...the list goes on. I barely have time for lessons. And now with 10 more students due to the displacement of Lousiana students to Southaven High, I have even more paper work because I have to catch them up on 3 chapters of material.

All in all, I think I had great intentions for my classroom management plan. I think it could have worked very well, but I really need to be more consistent. The only problem is time. I feel like I'm drowning.