Chapter 19: The Guff Counter

Write a note to an administrator explaining why you believe the Guff Counter will be an effective classroom management technique.

Dear Administration,

            As you know, I have been busy at work with my amazing class this year! I am so appreciative of the fact that you support my classroom and my teaching using the Whole Brain Teaching system. I have been excited to share each level of the behavior system and I wanted to explain how the next level works. I know you love to hear what is going on in Room 116.

            The next level of the behavior system deals with the students who like to talk back. These students may have not learned that this kind of behavior is impolite. In our school and in my classroom this kind of behavior needs to be changed so we are able to learn at higher levels. This next step is called The Guff Counter. Here is a little run-down of the system.

            You know my student Mack. Well, he tends to talk under his breath in response to me asking him to follow the rules, or work hard. He may even give guff to other students. This may seem harmless but it gives him power in the classroom. The other students hear this and think they too can act like this. Soon, I will have little power and my students will run the class. Well WBT has a solution that actually takes the power away from students like Mack. On the lower half of my scoreboard, I will write a new level. Any time a student like Mack gives me Guff, I will make a mark, taking away a minute of recess from the class for every guff word said. I know, you may think this is harsh, but Mack thinks he has an army of students who back his guff towards us. It is our job to show Mack that we don’t support his behaviors. Now, I don’t plan to turn them against him in a negative way, I just plan to give them the voice to say that our class doesn’t run this way.

            This will not work though unless I train the class to respond appropriately, so I will practice with the class by picking students who wouldn’t be caught giving guff. As a class, we will practice what to say and this will allow for each student to know that we are a united front against anything that takes away from our classroom. We will practice this throughout the beginning of the year when I see that I may have some students with bad habits. I will begin by using the Super Improvers Team, then employ practice cards, then when this isn’t working, I will bring in the Guff Counter. When I say, “That sure sounds like guff,” the students will kindly ask the Guff giver to “Please Stop”. I may even reward the class with an extra minute to cancel out the minute taken away. This allows the Guff Giver to see that their classmates do not support them. Positive peer pressure at its finest! Sometimes, I may say something like, “Oh that sure sounds like guff.” If the students are fast enough and I don’t have the chance to make a mark on the counter, I will not add a mark. This shows immediate feedback and the students may not even know who was guffing. I plan to train the students so that I don’t have to make any marks, ever.

            Please feel free to come, watch, and practice the Guff game with us. You too will see how positive this feels and I hope to show you that the Guff game works for our classroom!

Teaching in Style,

Mrs. Long