Rewards

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Home : 2005 : January : 11

Rewards
By Once new like you

I am a second year teacher and my first year was also challenging. You develop and improve your system each year. I noticed in your letter that you did not mention any type of reward system. I know that many people will
tell you that you should not give rewards. I know that as a first year teacher I was very against giving rewards. I would suggest putting in place a system of rewards your first year. The best advice that I have ever been given is "Ignore the bad and pay attention to the good." This is not to say that you should not write a child's name on the board if he is misbehaving, but make

sure that you are giving more attention to good behavior. I would suggest putting the students in groups and giving them group points. A student who constantly misbehaves has their name seperate from the group (so he doesn't ruin it for the other students). Create a reward for reaching a certain ammount of points (pizza party, ice cream party , treasure from a treasure chest). If you are not sure what your students lke, then do an interest survey. Before you give points, discuss what behaviors groups of students can receive points for (i.e. having their books out and sitting quietly when the bell rings). Repeat what you will be looking for over and over again throughout the year. Have students role play appropriate behaviors. Remember this is your first year. Experiment. It is okay to scrap a plan that isn't working in the middle of the school year. If your unhappy with the name on the board then get rid of it. Just make sure you don't change the system every week, and make sure that you have a system in place for negative consequences. Remember that your job is not to control their behavior, but to manage it. When you discipline them do it matter of factly . . . without emotion no disappointment or anger . . the students are making the choice. Do make a big deal about students who are doing the right thing. Also . . . include certain priveleges and jobs that only students that show responsible behavior are allowed to do. I appoint two students to put homework and notices in the student mailboxes.
You may also want to look at your routines and procedures . . because this can also effect behavior. Do you have a quiet activity that the students routinely do when they come back from recess. Is your day balanced . . . between you talking to the students, the students working with each other and the students working independently.
I would suggest keeping a journal. I would write down the behavior and next to it reasons why you think the misbehavior might have occured. For example, perhaps it took you to long to get your materials ready and the students started talking. When you can see why the misbehavior is occuring you can take the steps need to fix it.