Thoughts on "Behavior Bucks" reward system at school - Page 2

[FireWithin]

When I was in third grade my reading teacher promised us a party if we all got 100 percent on our spelling test. By the time spring came along, still no party. One Friday the teacher whispered to me that I was the only one who didn't get a 100. Boy did I feel awful. Still remember it very clearly.

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by zoebird

the common practice is a punishment/rewards system. most children encounter this in the home, and this is the way that they are raised. a minority of children are raised with the "be good for goodness sake" no matter how many times we sing it at christmas time.

heh. Just noticed the irony. We sing that in a song ("Santa Clause is Coming to Town") that praises the rewards and punishment system.

Be good for goodness sake....or else you won't get a present.

[darcytrue]

The reward system my DD's kindergarten teacher used a couple years ago was one where they got a dot for each day they did well in class. They had a picture on the wall and could put a dot on the picture at the end of each day for doing good all day. As they filled up their dot sheets, usually it took one to two weeks, then they were allowed to go to the treasure chest which was filled with $1-$3 toys and trinkets (usually provided by the parents of the students).

I thought it was a neat approach to encourage good behavior, especially considering there were a few children in her class that didn't behave well most of the time. It was good for them to see that not only could they be disciplined for their bad behavior but they could also be rewarded if they chose to be good each day.

[beedeekay3]

Reward System at School - Self Managers

I just now found out that my son's school is participating and promoting a "Self Manager" program and below are the details that was outlined by my son's teacher. This really just does not bode well with me and I welcome any insight. The long and short of it is that this is inappropriate for his age (6) and I feel it is creating a bias and they are teaching children that others can be treated differently based on this status. They state that there is no punishment as they are not taking anything away, but seems to me that might be taking a little bit of their self esteem.

"The process for a self manager is: (1) In December each year, students receive a self manager intern badge for showing respectful, responsible, and safe behavior. (2) If they still have the intern badge after two weeks (haven’t gotten it taken away for not following the school rules) they receive a paper to collect signatures from teachers/counselor /principal/cafeteria staff/recess staff/bus driver, ect. (3) After they collect all the signatures they receive their self manager badge. Self managers get to be at the front of the line, are allowed to go to the restroom or get drinks of water anytime, sit in the cafeteria at the self manager table, and go to surprise self manager celebrations once a quarter. "

I've never blogged or replied to a thread but I don't see much out there on this particular program.

[elisheva]

Originally Posted by beedeekay3

I just now found out that my son's school is participating and promoting a "Self Manager" program and below are the details that was outlined by my son's teacher. This really just does not bode well with me and I welcome any insight. The long and short of it is that this is inappropriate for his age (6) and I feel it is creating a bias and they are teaching children that others can be treated differently based on this status. They state that there is no punishment as they are not taking anything away, but seems to me that might be taking a little bit of their self esteem.

"The process for a self manager is: (1) In December each year, students receive a self manager intern badge for showing respectful, responsible, and safe behavior. (2) If they still have the intern badge after two weeks (haven’t gotten it taken away for not following the school rules) they receive a paper to collect signatures from teachers/counselor /principal/cafeteria staff/recess staff/bus driver, ect. (3) After they collect all the signatures they receive their self manager badge. Self managers get to be at the front of the line, are allowed to go to the restroom or get drinks of water anytime, sit in the cafeteria at the self manager table, and go to surprise self manager celebrations once a quarter. "

I've never blogged or replied to a thread but I don't see much out there on this particular program.

I'm sorry but a) this is disgusting :Puke and b) programs like these ONLY WORK FOR KIDS WHO DON'T NEED THEM! Think about the kid whose mom and dad have a massive fight at home. the next day that kid goes to school pretty freaked out - maybe he doesn't listen as well, maybe he even "acts out" - perfectly understandable at this (or frankly any) age. But he's no longer a Self Manager. What.A.Load.Of.Bull.

[SunshineJ]

Yeah I'm thinking the self manager is a nightmare waiting to happen and I would be expressing some serious concerns about it.

The behaviour bucks doesn't sound too bad as far as reward systems go. It's not random, and it does teach some skills like mentioned previously. Since it sounds like the bucks are only for a few select acts, not just every little thing, so I think the opportunity to self motivate is still there. Sure we all want our kids to do their best and be internally motivated on everything, but I'll be the first to admit that I've had jobs where my ONLY motivation was to get that paycheck. The pride of mopping a floor perfectly or cleaning the mens urinal until it was shining just wasn't there for me. So right or wrong, sometimes external rewards do help to motivate.

[JayGee]

DS has a student teacher this term who has instituted the same kind of system. But instead of spending their earned bucks at a "store", they are encouraged to save $100 and when they get to that point the prize is lunch in the classroom with the student teacher and a friend. DS is psyched since he got to $100 this week and will be having lunch in the classroom with his best friend and the student teacher (who is apparently quite attractive, according to DS !)