Obedience, Part III

Several years during a long-term substitution job in a public school I was frequently in the classroom of a vivacious, newly-graduated third-grade teacher. She applied the extensive behavior reward systems she had learned during her training quite consistently, regardless of individual needs. One afternoon she passed around a bag of pretzels. A few children who had displeased her earlier didn't get any They had to watch the other children enjoy theirs. When the discussion in the teachers' lunch room turned to field day behavior that spring, everyone agreed that her class was the worst-behaved in the whole school. I still remember her class coming by my station. This young teacher, who was trying very hard to do everything well, micromanaged her class so much that they could hardly play the game!

Later on, at a different school I substituted in a fifth-grade class taught by a newly-graduated teacher. This teacher used a reward system that allowed everyone in the classroom to see who behaved well and who didn't. She also used over-controlling methods for getting in line and packing up at the end of the day. This class had a school-wide reputation for misbehaving in the hall. They also had a reputation for being hard on substitutes, who probably tried to carry out the suggested procedures. I knew that I could never be successful if I did the same. I just asked the students to behave in a reasonable way. I had to remind an individual once in a while, or go stand next to someone, but I never saw the extreme behaviors reported by the previous substitutes The other teachers noticed a great improvement in hall behavior. These children were able to control their behavior. They just couldn't tolerate unreasonable external control and embarrassing public reward systems.

I once knew a person with an extremely well-trained dog. When I asked how he trained the dog, he replied that he used food rewards. Dogs, seals, killer whales, and porpoises learn very well in response to extrinsic reward and punishment, but human children aren't animals. Children have minds, wills, and feelings. When someone tries to over-control their external behavior or hurts their feelings, an interior rebellion begins. Human persons have to learn how and why to behave well. They have to understand the situation, imitate suitable models, and decide internally to choose good behavior.

Children who are behaving badly need calm, reasoned instruction in order to improve. The most effective teachers I've met in special education talked to their students about their behavior calmly and privately. They also stayed physically close to the students who needed extra help with behavior. Charting test scores or other behavioral measures to increase awareness of behavior are also a very powerful techniques for positive behavior change.

Rewards for good behavior increase desirable behavior under certain conditions. If the reward functions as a feedback and awareness system, the reward has a good effect. Grades work that way. If a reward is earned by doing something that requires effort, it promotes good work. Wages operate as this kind of reward.

What kinds of rewards don't work? Rewards for not bothering an adult for a certain period of time are impossible to measure. They can't be distributed fairly, and they produce many negative feelings. Another kind of reward that hurts far more than it helps is a publicly displayed star chart that shows which children aren't receiving many stars. Children whose star lines are short feel devastated and unworthy. Other children often look down on them. The very children who need the most help with their behavior are hurt the most by charts that everybody can see. Yet another mistake in rewarding children is to overemphasize material rewards. Children can become so invested in obtaining as many things as possible that they lose sight of what they are supposed to be doing. If material rewards are overemphasized, children also learn how to obtain rewards without really earning them.

The reward that produces the best behavior of all is the thrill of learning and growing. Students who experience that reward are hooked on learning for a lifetime.

Readers out there, what are your experiences with reward systems? Have you used a reward system that produced excellent long-term results? Have you used any that didn't work or that didn't work after the first few weeks? The comments of many people make this column vibrant and relevant. Contact me at: newskill7@msn.com or call me at: 703-691-0191 (home), or 703-501-9013 (cell). I'm eager to hear from you.

Mary Sue Laing, M.Ed.
Resource Teacher, St. Ambrose School

by Mary Sue Laing, M. Ed., New Skill, Inc. Academic Tutor