There are three new messages that I feel I need to respond to ...
1. Deb Stafford is concerned that we are confusing rewards, awards and praise. I
DO know the
difference but my response was based on a sentence from Mary's post which I assume
to be accurate
... "Kohn discusses why rewards, including praise, fail to promote lasting
behaviour change or
enhance performance and frequently make things worse".
I also believe that the greatest reward in structured commercial "incentive"
programs like AR goes
to its publishers. I have yet to see any independent research that shows that
there is a LONG TERM
ATTITUDE CHANGE towards reading (and therefore, what I term success) because of
such a program as
opposed to a short term "reading age" gain which is an absolute mean-nothing term.
2. Jill Marks is so right when she says "that it is important to foster the love of
reading in
children by making it intrinsically valuable to them" because THAT is the attitude
shift we need and
"letting the kids take ownership of the process" is one of the key ways to help it
happen. And it
works. I have been working all year with groups of reluctant readers from our Yr
5/6 class, and
this term I asked the teachers if I could work with a group of independent
committed readers on a
particular program (reading the latest releases and reviewing them for my national
website -
http://www.yara-online.org) ) and guess which students are the basis of that group!
3. Rebecca's quoting of Kohn's story about the man's response to the rowdy youths
only confirms my
belief that if I were ever able to access and read the book, I would be doing it
with a very
critical eye. She says the outcome was "It wasn't worth the effort for them to
continue. They
looked upon the idea with scorn. Why should they give it away... ?" I have to
say it - "What a
load of bollocks!" If tormenting the old man gave them more satisfaction than the
money, they would
be back the next day. If scoffing the box of chocolates gives you more
satisfaction than a drop on
the scales, you will continue to eat. If reading the latest Harry Potter gives you
more satisfaction
than reading an AR book for points, you will continue to read HP.
If we only do things because there is an extrinsic, tangible reward, why do we all
share our time,
experience and expertise via this list, especially on philosophical discussions
like this one, for
starters. It is a beautiful, mild late-winter, early spring Saturday morning here,
and I could be
doing anything, but I am choosing to spend over an hour reading and responding to
messages from all
over the world. And I don't see my pay packet getting any fatter.
I believe that if we pay children for every household chore they do (rather than
expecting them to
do it because they are a member of the family) or reward them tangibly for doing
things that they
should do because that is what they go to school for then WE are responsible for
the selfish,
avaricious society we will end up with ... in fact, may already have. And given
that the leaders of
that society will be the ones making the decisions about my old age, I'd much
rather encourage a
more compassionate, selfless attitude.
And, if I may continue for just a little longer ... here in Canberra, we have a
"New
Apprenticeship" scheme that allows senior high school students to combine work
experience with their
school, earning them both credit towards their Yr 12 certificates and a few dollars
per hour. We
have two such students come each Thursday to work with our ICT tekkie, but that is
the day Dave
doesn't come in till 10.30 because he is at Uni. Because they are based in the
library, I saw them
last week just sitting doing nothing at 8.50am, and I reminded them that Dave
wasn't there till
10.30 so they needed to check with the ICT Co-ordinator for their work schedule.
The response?
"Oh, we will but we are waiting till 9.00 when we start getting paid." My response
doesn't need to
be repeated, but they skedaddled quicksmart.
But where are we headed if that is the attitude we are instilling in our kids!
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON ACT 2913
AUSTRALIA
T. 61 2 6205 6162
F. 61 2 6205 7242
E. barbara@iimetro.com.au
W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
"Together we learn from each other."
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