Paula Yohe wrote:
<<"I guess we need to tell McDonald's -- car dealerships --- Walmart --
etc. and etc. to stop rewarding good employees -- -- they should be
intrinsically motivated ---- let's forget the Employee of the Month -
STar Cashier -- etc.
and i guess when some folks do a good job -- they shouldn't get a bonus
-- another extrinsic motivator and sales persons shouldn/t be paid a
commission for hard work --- (extrinsic motivation)
how about the football team - baseball team --- they shouldn't be given
SuperBowl rings -- another extrinsic motivator ---
now of course someone is going to tell me -- reading and children are
different --- but the irony of it all is rather amusing..." >>
The "extrinsic motivators" that involve money are definitely strong
inspirational forces. But let's face it, money is important to us
because it buys us what we need (or think we need).
Somehow I doubt that football players give the ring they will receive if
they win the Super Bowl much thought. Rather, I believe they will be
thinking about how much more they will be able to earn in endorsements
and future contract deals. I am willing to bet that you will not find
one player who really wants that Super Bowl win so he can get a ring.
In the past I have had secondary school students who have been
embarrassed to be made "Employee of the Month". Most of them see it for
the corporate whitewash that theses programs are. And I have more than
one of these "winners" say, "I wish they'd given me a raise instead."
Having had my pompous rant for the morning, let me just say that I have
mixed feelings about extrinsic motivators. I have used rewards in a
school setting and we are certainly using them in our public library
summer reading program. But I do believe that it is important to foster
the love of reading in children by making it intrinsically valuable to
them. Sometimes all that takes is saying, "That was a tough book to get
into. Good job with reading it all the way through. What did you think
about it?"
One of our most successful programs this year has been the Ontario
Library Association's "Forest of Reading". Children and Young Adult
readers read nominated books, become members of book discussion groups
and have the opportunity to vote for the winner of their age group
category. Letting the kids take ownership of the process and allowing
them to have a legitimate say in which author will win the award seems
to be a powerful reinforcement in developing life long readers. We have
young patrons who have participated in the program since it began and
their younger siblings are following in their footsteps.
Jill Marks
Manager, Popular and Branch Services
Brantford Public Library
(519)756-2220
Ext. 324
jmarks@brantford.library.on.ca
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