Paying students (in non-money) to behave and do well

[GoldenPoppy]

This sounds to me like a behavior management plan that was written as an assignment in a teacher education class. It looks good on paper, probably got you an A for being well thought out, but isn't going to fly in the real world. As for funding and convincing the administration to make it school wide, good luck. I love the unbridled enthusiasm of (some) new teachers, totally convinced that they have all the answers and no one has ever thought of them before.

[JustMe]

Originally Posted by ChoiceAdvocate

Ok just to clarify, since it really seems that it would be an added amount of work to other teachers participating if I were to convince the administration to make it school wide...

I would be convincing the administration to allow other teachers to participate in a school store by simply receiving a limited amount of tickets which they could issue out to their students in any way that they see fit. This would also include simply not doing it at all. If they wanted additional tickets, they could buy them from me so that I could use the extra funds to purchase more items for the store. This is completely voluntary and would require about 3 seconds of effort from anyone participating and absolutely zero for anyone not.

I would ask for a small $100.00-$300.00 a month to buy items for the school store and pretty much try to organize it to encourage everyone to get to the number one spot. Store day would probably have to be held on a Saturday with me and any volunteers taking the tickets and standing at the displays. So if anything, I would definitely not in any way be in favor of making participation mandatory.

With respect, this sounds absurd. Buy extra tickets from you? A few hundred bucks a month? Store day on Saturdays?

[EdEd]

Just a reaction to the intrinsic/extrinsic discussion, most of which I think has been discussed before on the forum: There are usually both elements (intrinsic & extrinsic) in more complex behaviors like "teaching." I haven't yet found a teacher who would be willing to teach full-time for free, yet I have met very few teachers who don't love their job in at least some way. Likewise with kids' behavior, I think it's reasonable to use both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. The idea that kids should do everything we ask simply out of the love of that task is not made in consideration of how the rest of the world operates.

A bit more technically, there are almost always 2 components of a reinforcement process - an external stimulus (e.g., book, action of reading) and an internal reaction (e.g., finding pleasure in the task, relating that experience to a previously positive experience). As such, even with more valued activities like "reading," there is technically an extrinsic component of that in that the book is something external from the person reading it. I think a better way of considering extrinsic vs. intrinsic is whether the active ingredient in the reinforcement scheme is located internal to the primary activity (e.g., reading) or external from that activity (e.g., candy used to motivate reading). In that sense, it's probably better to consider "intrinsic" motivation from a point of reference of the target activity, rather than the target individual.

[ChoiceAdvocate]

Originally Posted by JustMe

With respect, this sounds absurd. Buy extra tickets from you? A few hundred bucks a month? Store day on Saturdays?

I spend around $50-$75 a month on items just for my class store. I would probably sell 10 tickets for $0.50. And I would also issue more tickets to teachers who have bought used toys from students who had a note from their parents. (Which surprisingly brings in the best toys at the cheapest price.)

The ticket per dollar on prize items is typically around 20 tickets per prize. Some I charge way more than what they are actually worth simply because the kids love a particular item more.

I doubt that I'll really push all that hard for it, simply because I am probably the most enthusiastic about the idea. I almost feel that a Saturday store date would work on a school wide level and encourage parents to meet with their child's teachers and principals more often if the kids knew that these little pieces of paper that their teacher had given to them for being good, and doing well could be converted into toys, folders, and school supplies. I feel that the school would gain even more parental involvement if this were tried. I am not sure that this would even be given serious consideration, I doubt that they would even allow me to do all of the work.

It isn't that large of a school. We have a total of 400 in K-3, for which I teach 34 of them. So an extra $100-$300 in my budget (from the school not the teachers themselves) would probably be ample to handle what would be needed. From what I've seen so far, it has been a real highlight in my kid's day when they see the school as a toy store and their work and behavior as the key to getting what they want. If anything, it will probably just stay at my class alone. It is always surprising to see them scheme and think about ways to make the system more advantageous for themselves.

Tomorrow, will be the first merit based order (grades + behavior average get priority) and I am pretty interested to see how this will work and what the overall effect will be. I'll keep everyone posted. Good Night.

[Linguist92021]

I think it might be easier if you do it yourself, and not involve other teachers. you gotta be careful when you handle other people's money - I would not want to deal with all that.

There is one teacher I know who has a store similar to yours, but much more simpler. She doesn't do the fees / bankruptcy, etc, she just issues tickets. (I'm not sure exactly how much she gives for what.) She has a big cabinet, that is her store. She 'opens the store' on Fridays that's when the kids can cash in their tickets.she has simple items, and some food, like chips, etc. Some things cost 2-3 tickets, some 5 or more. This is in a lock up, where the kids have NOTHING, so anything small is a huge deal for them. We're not supposed to give them food, so she's keeping this under the radar.

I think it's neat, the kids are age 13-18, most of them are under 16, if I was teaching this age group I would consider it. I know when there is a sub, she gives double tickets for those who don't get in trouble.
The kids actually don't keep the tickets (they can't) the TA keeps account of them, of course at a regular school that doesn't have to be like that.

[JustMe]

I guess I'll go back to what I said at th beginning. If it works for you, wonderful. And I mean that. I personally think some of your plans and ideas for school-wide implementation are waaaaaaay out there.

[Roobunny]

To each their own...

I have a ticket system too, but it's not linked to academics. My students receive tickets for behavior and responsibility (i.e. getting their behavior calendar signed when they are supposed to, turning in important office documents on time, etc.). I then have a ticket drawing every Friday where the winner chooses from a "catalog" of prizes. All the rest of the tickets go in the trash and we start fresh on Monday.

I don't have any major behavior issues in my class either, but I could have just lucked out this year. Also, I don't think that my class is well behaved because I hand out tickets every so often. I am a firm believer in giving respect in order to get it and I am very respectful to my second graders.