Not to be all oxymoronic, but we had an interesting staff meeting last week. As a failing school, we are required to test our students at the end of each quarter. It's called Progress Monitoring. Our scores had been relatively flat through second quarter, so we decided to ramp it up for third quarter. A committee was formed to create an incentive program for the kids, and their recommendation was to do a raffle. Without going into the specifics, kids could earn raffle tickets by improving their scores in math and reading.
We analyzed data at our last staff meeting, and there were significant gains. The raffle was deemed a success, but one of my colleagues made an interesting point. She lamented that it took a raffle to get our students to perform. She wondered if we were doing our kids a disservice by using external rewards as motivation. Shouldn't they do their best on tests because it's the right thing to do?
The whole intrinsic vs. extrinsic thing.
Ideally, kids should want to do well on tests, or anything really, because success is it's own reward. Of course, as a failing school, success is often hard to come by. That was the idea with the raffle, to create that feeling of success before we take our state tests in April. While I agree with my colleague, I think the raffle was right for our particular situation.
All this has had me thinking about motivation in general. In the good ol' days, did kids work hard just because? Do the kids of today have to have some kind of reward, something concrete, to work hard? Is that even a bad thing? We live in a capitalist society after all. Maybe kids today are just more in tune with their culture. What's-in-it-for-me the only real motivation.
The funny thing is, I usually try not to pay much attention at staff meetings.
I know there are some schools that pay their students for good grades. Not sure how I feel about it. I kind of think the motivation isn't something that can be taught by the school, but maybe is something learned at home through example. It's also possible I have no idea what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteHey, if the raffle worked it worked. Some kids (and adults) will only work for money.
I don't like the idea of schools paying kids for grades. I know parents who reward their kids, be it money or ipods, for good grades. I'm not sure I like the idea, but like you said, if it works, it works.
DeleteConsider checking out Marzano's "The Highly Engaged Classroom."
ReplyDeleteI hear Marzano's name a lot, but I haven't gone into much detail. Thanks for the heads-up.
DeleteBoy, that's a tough one. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all kids were self-motivated? I think a challenge w/rewards is good now and then, but not so good if it becomes the norm. Besides, as a parent, you've probably already figured out that rewards only go so far. Sooner or later, it gets old. Or is it just my kids?! Ha.
ReplyDeleteMost kids have trouble seeing a day ahead, never mind a year, or years to college, but if they don't see the value of a good education, then extrinsic forces won't be very effective. And yes, lively, engaged, multi-media (if possible) classrooms keep the kids attentive. I sure see that with my two. ;)
I think you're right, rewards can be good if they don't become the norm. That's why I thought our raffle was a good idea. It's not something we do all the time, it was a way to get the kids invested.
DeleteI think this lack of motivation comes from having spoiled kids who are used to not having to work hard for anything. No one wants to clean a toilet anymore, no one wants to pick up garbage, no one wants to do the laundry. It's bullshit. Plus there's way too much attention showered on young people simply for being young. It's even worse when they happen to be blessed with beauty. Hanging out becomes more valuable than actually filling up a brain.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be that parents could punish children, that schools could punish them. I recommend that you read Professor Amy Chua's book "Tiger Mom". In it she outlines exactly what is wrong with America's kids and how she (using a Chinese teaching ethic) punishes her kids to get them to perform.
Kids are not supposed to like their parents. That's not the point of making them strong enough to survive in the world. Kids should not necessarily like their teachers. Again...this is not the point. But people want others to like them...it's a popularity contest instead of work work work.
That's just how I see it.
You have been awarded the Sunshine Award. Stop by my blog to collect if you want to participate.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot has to do with the different ways we all learn. It's very difficult for teachers to address all those differences.
ReplyDeleteCollege students I speak with say "its easier to learn in college", meaning that they each find what works for them.
In the same class one may choose the audio, reading or a combination method of learning. Those choices aren't available or able to be addressed in elementary and high school levels.
Love your blog and looking forward to your A-Z.