Since the beginning of time, rewards were a part of life. If a child did something good or noble, a reward usually came–generally a good thing, right? Yes, it is. It does have an effect, which falls in line with a teacher or parent’s expectations. It’s a system that still, to this day, works in schools all over the world. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re doing it. Whenever a kid does something right, we reward them with something. Simple as that.
Be careful, though. Because a child doesn’t get everything he or she needs from a reward system. Here’s the thing:
While the automatic response from a child or student is the ability to do good things, it doesn’t last long in general and ultimately still keeps all kinds of disruptive behaviors ingrained in a child’s psyche. What a reward system does is promote a student’s ‘extrinsic motivation’–in other words, I do this, I get that–without promoting any lasting effect an ‘intrinsic motivation’ would have on a child–such as pride, confidence, or a sense of accomplishment. In other words, it’s miles more important that a child recognize for his or her own sake that she did something good without the expectation of any reward. A student will do it regardless of anything else. That’s the ideal situation.
The correct system tied to rewards is careful direction, instruction, and communication about why it’s important to do what is right. Be clear about the directions. Constantly tell them why it’s important. In addition, allowing any student or child the ability to choose any kind of reward helps develop an incentive toward creating goals, which is also important on an intrinsic level. It no longer becomes an “I do this so I can get that” scenario; it becomes an “I do this because it’s the right thing to do, and I get rewarded for it!” scenario.
Take great care in instructing children on the right and wrong. The rewards are just the cherry on the top.