With this particular student, and other like him, I have to employ more drastic measures to even make a dent. Here's what I recommend you do with your most hardened messy desk criminals:
- Extreme Mess = No More Desk For You - The student no longer gets the privilege of using his desk. All of his books, folders, and papers have been moved to a box in a predetermined location. Actually, he keeps the most essential and often-used papers in a simple folder at his desk, but besides that, he must now make a quick trip to get only the thing he needs for the upcoming hour. This way, his desk is no longer stuffed to overflowing and there's literally no way for him to make a mess because there's nothing there to mess up!
- For Sanity's Sake, Out of Sight Means Out of Mind - Turn his desk around so that the closed up end is facing him. He can't reach into his desk to play with things or to stuff things into his desk. The elimination of this distraction makes a huge difference.
- Appoint a Desk Inspector - Choose one of your tidiest students (who prides herself of being a neat freak and offers to clean her classmates' desks for free!) to take a clipboard and class list around right before school ends each day. Ask her to give each student's desk a grade - E for Excellent, S for Satisfactory, or U for Unsatisfactory. If a student receives a U, he or she must give up the following day's recess in order to clean it up. No class time can be taken for cleaning the desk. One of my colleagues told me about this idea and it has really worked for her lately. (Thanks, Mary!)
