chewing gum

kids chew gum in class. but they're not supposed to. it's a school rule, but it's also a classroom rule that i try to stick to (when i catch them) because inevitably some of the gum ends up on the floor. i think there are about 3 pieces of gum on the floor right now. gross, right?

there are 4 things that happen when a kid is chewing gum:
1) s/he spits it out upon walking into the classroom (knows and observes the rules willingly without a reminder)
2) s/he spits it out with no fuss when i ask (knows the rules and is willing to follow them if caught)
3) s/he walks to the garbage can when i ask, stands there to see if i'm watching, and carefully spits out enough so it looks like it's spit out (wants attention)
4) s/he nods when i ask but does not even go over to the garbage can, and i catch the kid later with the same gum.

one of my 7th graders in my afternoon class did #4. when i asked him the second time, he did #3 and just stood there. then, one of my kids said/shouted this to him: "Throw your gum away!! Don't act like it's a million dollars!!" it worked like a charm, and i made him repeat the same thing when the next kid was spitting out gum. he wrote it down. it's laminated and on my board, and is priceless! i love it when kids basically manage the classroom for me!