Bribing Children for their Own Good...

[extra dry]

we have system now of online homework/listening exercises. Each time a pupil completes an exercise they get points, and what do points make prizes...really good prizes IMO, like a Sony wii, playstation games, tiny LCD televisions, ipods, and loads of other stuff.

Kids love it and looking at results some of the kids spend two hours or more just doing the exercises. It is really amazing considering they have at least two hours of normal homework from their regular school a night.

 

[stat]

Great indoctrinational move in support for the Western Capitalist Consumerist Society.
Instead of appraisal being the norm, get them used to naked materialism. No self-discipline, dignity and honour needed for that. Just want and greed.

salaam.

In my primary school, our class would get a small bag of penny sweets if every kid in the class had come in on time that week (+ no absences). It didn't happen very often because there's often someone off sick or late in, but when it did happen it was a lovely treat: I never ate much sweets back then, and it was nice to think that the class had all worked together for the communal reward.

Is that nakedly materialistic with no self-discipline, dignity or honour? Nope. In fact, we used self-discipline, dignity and 'honour' to make sure we got in on time so that the whole class would enjoy some penny sweets.

 

[_angel_]

I said it was a less demanding job.

I doubt many cleaners wake up in the middle of the night wondering whether yesterday's work was really clean. Or get phone calls from their colleagues on the weekend asking for cleaning advice. Or stand to get sued huge sums for making mistakes that cost others' massive amounts of money.

Which is one of the reasons cleaners don't get paid very much.

You really don't know much about cleaners. I've been paid far more (and less sometimes) to do far less demanding jobs.

Altough, I wouldn't clean anyone's house for less than £7 an hour (I understand London house cleaners can earn a lot more) so that would be more pay than a lot of shitty office temping jobs.

 

[Aldebaran]

In my primary school, our class would get a small bag of penny sweets if every kid in the class had come in on time that week (+ no absences). It didn't happen very often because there's often someone off sick or late in, but when it did happen it was a lovely treat: I never ate much sweets back then, and it was nice to think that the class had all worked together for the communal reward.

Is that nakedly materialistic with no self-discipline, dignity or honour? Nope. In fact, we used self-discipline, dignity and 'honour' to make sure we got in on time so that the whole class would enjoy some penny sweets.

That is comparing apples with orange.
Instruct children on how to work together as a group is a useful developing their social skills. The "reward" is not the primary goal but it is the end-result and - again servicing social skill developing - equally shared among all.

salaam.

 

[spring-peeper]

I got - 'you've let me down, I'm not angry, just dissapointed' a lot as a kid, it was far more effective at getting me to behave, cos I felt as though I'd let me parents down.

I have lived my life never troubling a Scholarship, and not really knowing what they are. If it means that some kid gets into a Public school for nowt, then I feel uneasy about them, and I'd never want any child of mine to go to one.

No Idea what an Honour Roll is - I has a Siwss roll once. It wasn't given to me for being good.

Sports awards were never really my bag either. I dislike the notion of encouraging children to be competetive, intrisically, but thats just me.


Aldebaran put it better than I did, anyway.

Sorry - I misread your post completely. I read that you were saying that to your children.

 

[spring-peeper]

That is comparing apples with orange.
Instruct children on how to work together as a group is a useful developing their social skills. The "reward" is not the primary goal but it is the end-result and - again servicing social skill developing - equally shared among all.

salaam.

Stets example is not so much a reward as an incentive. Back in the day, we got gold stars for good behaviour. Do you object to using gold stars?

I like the idea that these incentives are based on the class behaviour. It more inclusive that way and all can compete. Occasionally, my kids school will do dress-up day or something along those lines. The class that has the most participation got pizza for lunch.

My kids classes rarely won but they never seemed upset or bitter about it. Comments are more along the lines of "wow, did you see the fourth grade class, they deserved to win".

How many kids do you have, btw?

 

[Jazzz]

It's not a bribe, it's an incentive.

The difference?

In this context, it's a bribe if you actively offer the chocolate to the children to curb their existing misbehaviour, but an incentive if you offer it as an inducement to not engage in such behaviour from the get-go.

MrsMagpie is absolutely right.

Bribery involves a third party ('the one that gets shafted'). That may be an individual or large group, but there's always someone that gets cheated, and that's where the badness of bribery is. There's no third party here so it's a straight deal.

 

[Aldebaran]

Stets example is not so much a reward as an incentive. Back in the day, we got gold stars for good behaviour. Do you object to using gold stars?

It depends: could they be traded for something else or was it just a method of recognition of efforts?

I like the idea that these incentives are based on the class behaviour. It more inclusive that way and all can compete. Occasionally, my kids school will do dress-up day or something along those lines. The class that has the most participation got pizza for lunch.

That is also a shared reward for a shared effort where the reward is of less importance than the effort.

How many kids do you have, btw?

Two alive. Why?

salaam.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I don't think that's the case in this school, with this policy.

No, I don't either, this particular case sounds fine - I was just trying to think in what cases it _wouldn't_ be. It's not as if schools actually have the money to effectively bribe pupils anyway, even if they wanted to.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

It depends: could they be traded for something else or was it just a method of recognition of efforts?

Gold stars are little shiny sticky pieces of paper in a star shape, which you get stuck on your work by the teacher when it's marked if the work is particularly good. There are also silver and bronze stars (and ones of different colours). They are not transferrable.

I actually bought myself a pack of sticky shiny stars recently for use when I write things in my project notebooks. If I come up with an idea that I think is particularly good, or some unusually telling observation, I stick a star (of whatever colour I feel like) by it, partly so that it stands out but also because I'm rewarding myself by making the notebook look pretty. I'm not allowed to just stick stars anywhere. I may also get out some coloured highlighters and gel pens, just to make it even more special.

 

[spring-peeper]

It depends: could they be traded for something else or was it just a method of recognition of efforts?

Trading in stars, huh? When I was in Guides, we could trade them in for badges, but other than that....

I see little difference between give a child a gold star or a chocolate bar. One you eat, the other you stick somewhere. Point is that for a short little while the kid feels good about himself.

The reason I asked about family is you sound more like an uncle than a father. Somehow, I feel that the education system that your children attend is far more formal and structured.

Over here, there are a number of problems with our school system. If they can fix even a small part of it with something as simple as a chocolate bar, then I'm all for it and the gentleman how introduced it should be congratulated.

 

[Aldebaran]

Gold stars are little shiny sticky pieces of paper in a star shape, which you get stuck on your work by the teacher when it's marked if the work is particularly good. There are also silver and bronze stars (and ones of different colours). They are not transferrable.

So it's just appraisal.

I actually bought myself a pack of sticky shiny stars recently for use when I write things in my project notebooks. If I come up with an idea that I think is particularly good, or some unusually telling observation, I stick a star (of whatever colour I feel like) by it, partly so that it stands out but also because I'm rewarding myself by making the notebook look pretty. I'm not allowed to just stick stars anywhere. I may also get out some coloured highlighters and gel pens, just to make it even more special.

*takes notice that there is a child in all of us*

salaam.

 

[Aldebaran]

Trading in stars, huh? When I was in Guides, we could trade them in for badges, but other than that....

I see little difference between give a child a gold star or a chocolate bar. One you eat, the other you stick somewhere. Point is that for a short little while the kid feels good about himself.

No. The difference is that a childcan look at the stars constantly, count them and can feel proud of himself every time again. While the chocolate is teaching him to make a link between having done something and getting instant, but short reward, and one that he can get anywhere at that. There's nothing special to it.

The reason I asked about family is you sound more like an uncle than a father. Somehow, I feel that the education system that your children attend is far more formal and structured.

They are educated at home.
Curious: Why do I sound like an "uncle"?

salaam.

 

[scifisam]

It sounds like some of you think adults shouldn't be paid for their work, either.

 

[Funky_monks]

Sorry - I misread your post completely. I read that you were saying that to your children.

Nope. My child is as yet, unborn. If all goes well, I'll be meeting her in September.

 

[N_igma]

Bad idea. They'll start thinking they'll get gifts in the future for not working properly.

 

[scifisam]

Bad idea. They'll start thinking they'll get gifts in the future for not working properly.

Nah - only if the gifts went solely to the naughty kids (for improvement). That's not what's happening here - all the kids, including the ones who would have behaved well anyway, can get the reward.