Experimental application of classroom rules and procedures

Follow through on classroom rules is an essential part of maintaining a productive learning environment.  Rules mean nothing if they are not accompanied with consequences and/or rewards.  However, the choice of how to proceed when a rule is followed or violated is really up to the teacher.  And since the dynamic of each class is also unique, the same policies may need to change from class to class.  I have used a number of different strategies over the years and seen other teachers use exponential more.  Among the strategies I have used are:

• Candy rewards - this system highlights good behavior with sugar.  Especially effective with younger students, the candy reward system has brimming young faces drooling as soon as I say 'good job today.'  Major drawbacks to this system are the expense, bad teeth, hyperactivity that follow, and that one student that always complains because his behavior is never satisfactory enough to actually warrant a treat. 
• The book - I used the book in conjunction with the candy reward system.  The book is a punitive form of maintaining classroom order.  It was used school wide at the time and each teacher rated the students behavior each class on a scale of 1-10.  Anything less than an 8 was detrimental.  Additionally, if a particular student was being troublesome,  I would write their name in the book and they got detention.  As it was a school wide initiative, it was particularly useful in confronting issues with students that reached across subjects.  On the other hand, the scoring system was subjective from teacher to teacher and the consequences for students were never fully explained to the teachers either. 
• Game building - this is a system I created in my first year of teaching.  I would have students build up points over the week and when they reached a certain number of points we would play a game in class.  The games were always related to the content anyhow, so later I just started incorporating the games into the lesson and class became more fun and there was less of a need for a reward system. 
• Self-established rules - in this system students draw up their own rules and decide on the procedures to accompany it, as well as the consequences of breaking the rules.  It is advantageous in that students take ownership of the rules and they really believe in maintaining them.  On the other hand, at least from my experience, it is often difficult to get students to set realistic rules.  Too often the rules my students set end up being things like "do not kill anyone," which is a good rule, but not often that important for my classroom.  Occasionally, though...

This past week, my middle school students and I paused from our usual instruction to reflect on the classroom rules.  I have two broad rules in the classroom, "respect each other" and "be prepared to learn."  However, both of these rules were being blatantly ignored by all.  Most especially in terms of respecting each other.  Seeing as how the previously set procedures had proven ineffective, we had a class meeting to decide how to address these issues and one of my students proposed an outrageous form of applying the class rules.  It was just crazy enough to get the whole class (including myself) completely on board in about twenty seconds of time.  He suggested we make the class into a giant role-playing game (RPG).  So, each class when students maintain the rules they get experience points and as they build experience they level up.  If they break the rules, then I take away the points for the day.  Additionally, our homework is no longer homework.  Instead, they are monsters and creatures of the deep that they must vanquish in order to build more experience.  It, naturally, has been a phenomenal amount of work prepping, but if it keeps that class learning I will do it!  And I'll admit, I have been having fun building the game, too.