The Nitty Gritty

This week has gone well, but it feels odd only being half-days now.  I definitely felt more involved and a more of the "teacher" when I was there all day.  The schedule also changed on Monday, so when I came in on Tuesday, everything was all switched up!  We were able to get together with the other K teachers and finish the detailed plans for the next two weeks of class...I was involved, but I can't say that I was a part of it really because the literacy curriculum is detailed by day, as is the handwriting curriculum.  The teachers used their plans from last year to inform what they were doing this year.  I was hoping for more constructivism/creativity in the curriculum planning.  I know that we must work with these curriculums, but I wished to see more creativity and enhancement in its implementation. 
We are also working a lot on the behavior management systems that the teacher has in the classroom.  A few children had yellow stoplight circles sent home with a note to parents (must be signed and sent back) and had to sit out 15 minutes of choice time (or for the 15 min of morning recess).  Another child who has more consistent behavioral issues, has been started on a daily "star chart" in which she can either earn a treasure box prize if she earns a certain amount of stars or loses choice time if she doesn't ear enough stars.  The teach also does a tally mark system between herself and the class...if they get to 50 points first, they get ice cream to celebrate.  If the teacher gets to 50 points first, the kids lose choice time that day. 
I am not used to using "system" like these...it seems very time consumming on part of the teacher and doesn't really seem to influence children's behavior in a heartfelt way.  It feels like bribing/punishing for good/bad behavior...I feel that we should be instilling a sense of belonging, community, and responsibility and teaching them how to be members of a community.  To me, rewards and punishments work against creating these values.  However, I want to be open minded and see if these systems really are effective and so I work to reinforce them in the classroom.