Can you believe it is already the end of May?  It is amazing how quickly the school year goes!  Some of you are already finished.  Congratulations on another outstanding year.  Some of you have a month left.  Stay focused and work hard.  The end is now in view!

I have recently been asked to explain my views and thoughts on rewarding kids.  At a recent seminar the question came up:  What is the difference between rewarding kids and bribing kids?  There is a huge difference!  Unfortunately, most teachers bribe.  This newsletter will focus on the difference.

What is a reward?

Put simply, rewards only happen after a behavior is complete.  For example, a normally disruptive student behaves in class for an entire day. 

A teacher who wants to reward this student would say…

“I am really proud of how you behaved today.  I know it took a lot of hard for work and because I am so proud of you, I am deciding to give you a free homework pass!  I expect you to behave the same way tomorrow, but DO NOT expect a free homework pass.  And if you ever ask for it, trust you will not be getting it.  I will decide when I want to give you a reward.  Sound good?”

In the above example the action is already complete (student already behaved).  A very clear message is sent that the student should not expect such a reward in the future and if they do expect it, they will not get it. 

Some teachers tell us they “never use rewards”.  If you never use rewards then kids learn they never get anything for doing the right thing.  However, if you always reward, kids only do the right thing because they are getting something for it.  Neither is good.  This is why the best teachers occasionally reward. 

I’ll give you one more example of how I use rewards in my classroom.  As many of you know, I teach a lot of seminars, which means a lot of time away from the classroom.  Good rewarding goes like this:  Sometimes I will say to my class:

“I am really proud of how you all behaved when I was gone.  Thanks a lot and keep up the good work.  You guys are an awesome class!”  And I will leave it at that.  Other times I will say to them:

“I am really proud of how you all behaved when I was gone.  And because you all were so good I have pizza coming today for lunch.  Do not expect pizza next time and do not ever ask for it.  As soon as you do you can trust it will not be coming.  But thanks so much for behaving!  Be sure to come hungry!”

Again, in the above example the behavior is complete (students already behaved when I was gone).  I decided to give or not give something. 

What is a bribe? 

Put simply, bribes happen before a behavior is complete.  Here are two examples of bribing kids (from above).

“If you behave yourself today in class, you will get a free homework pass.” 

In this example the behavior is not done yet and the teacher is telling the student what they will get if they do the desired action.  If a student wants what you are giving then they might behave.  But they are only behaving because they are getting something for it.  This will get you good behavior in the presence of authority.  But what happens when you are gone?  What happens when they are on the bus?  What happens when they are at lunch or on the playground?

Here is the other example framed as a bribe:

“Hey class, if you are good when I’m gone I’ll buy you all pizza!”  Now they are behaving because they are getting something. This is much different from me deciding to give them pizza after they have already been good.

Unfortunately most teachers bribe.  Anything predetermined (if you do this, you’ll get that… if you don’t do this, that will happen) is a bribe.  

We hope this helps.  Good luck and keep an eye out for the next newsletter at the end of June!

Be sure to check out our web site www.disciplineassociates.com .

P.S. Our trainers are available for on-site workshops.  Contact us at 1-800-772-5227 for more information.