I have had two very rebellious students this year who both benefited almost instantly from the Bulls eye. I want to share the stories with you.
First, I had a girl who was a completely rebellious and angry 13 year old. She refused to do anything we did in class, picked on other kids, and argued openly with me and other teachers. One day I pulled her from her elective class and explained bulls eye with her. She picked a bag of cheetos for her reward. The next day I saw an instant change. Just talking with me about behavior without punishment attached allowed her to think about what she was doing.
She is not perfect (what 13 year old is?) but she is definitely manageable and will talk with me now.
The second story is a boy who had absolutely no self control. He gets into lots of fights outside of class and is constantly suspended. When he was in class, he often would make fun of other students, yell things out while we are doing quiet activities, and get into arguments with anyone around. When I spoke with him about the bulls eye, he seemed very intrigued. I had to wait until a day when he was not in a bad mood to talk about it. He asked for a good phone call home to his mom as a reward. This broke my heart. This boy feels so bad about himself that he is just starved for some approval. I saw a more gradual change in him, but he definitely loves to stay and do bulls eye and now all I have to do in class when he gets a little wild is say, "remember this is the specific skill you are working on right now" and he will calm down.
Please share your bulls eye stories. I have seen huge changes in the toughest kids with this strategy.

Angela,

Your stories of success with the Bulls Eye game are very inspiring! Last year I had the perfect group of students. My class was a teacher's dream! Therefore, I did not have to use the independents or bulls eye game. I am excited to hear how quickly your rebellious students responded to the game and that it worked very successfully to change inappropriate student behavior. It is good to have a variety of strategies that work in our "big back pocket," as we never know when we will have a student who will benefit from its use!
Thank you for sharing your success stories!

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

I have been lucky in that I haven't had to use the Bull's Eye until now. I let my student choose which goal to work on 1st and naturally, he did not choose the one he has most difficulty with. We are in the second week of this and he is still working on points for his reward. I would like to add a 2nd goal - the one that addresses his biggest problem and causes most disruption. Is it ok to add another goal before he finishes the first? Those of you who have used it a few times, please share your knowledge. Thanks!
Joy Button
WBT Intern
2012-13

It would likely work better to let him feel success with the first goal before you switch or add in a new one.

Thanks Jeff. I had not looked at it that way, and it makes sense.
Joy

The main reason to give it time is that it takes 2-3 weeks to turn a practice into a habit. If you switch too early he'll improve on the next goal but revert on the first.

WBT Intern 2011-2012