Reward and Punishment Systems

A recent theory I had for children is that they either respond to the carrot or stick and you should tailor your management system to the style that works best for them.

For those that don't know the carrot is the idea of a reward motivating a student while the stick is the idea that a punishment motivates the student.

There is already a lot of material out there regarding both ideas. The thing is both are said to have negatives. Rewards, students shouldn't be motivated by being rewarded, but by their desire to learn. Punishment, students shouldn't be motivated by fear of losing something. And sure both of these statements make sense, but ask these experts then how do you get a student to do what the teacher asks? How do you motivate this student to learn? And you won't get a solution. They just want to point out the negatives with no further advice to give.

With the above paragraph written here is my system. I also believe this system works well for parents.

I use a smiley face system. Smiley faces, could be stars, ticks, or any other positive symbol. The student does something good they get a smiley face. All students at the beginning of class during circle time will get their first smiley face. It helps get students talking during the conversation time. It also gives something to take away if their behavior is getting out of hand.

After that smiley faces are rewarded for doing something before the other students. Such as repeating sentences at a good volume while others are saying them quietly or not at all. As soon as one student is rewarded for talking loud all the others will as well.

The one secret is to keep handing them out. Don't stop. If you stop using the system the students won't believe they can earn your reward. Be consistent.

For punishments, I believe giving students a chance to fix their behavior. If for example you say no talking and some students are still talking. Start counting down and put your hand next to where the smiley faces are letting all students know you are serious. 90% of the time all students will correct themselves. If they don't however, follow through and take the smiley face.

For my class 3 smiley faces = 2 stickers while the rest of the students get 1 sticker. It's a simple reward that isn't too special, but it's the competition to have that one more sticker than your friends that also helps push the students to be the best they can.