Job Discussion Forums

[ncaraway]

Two incidents happened this week that have me questioning what is an appropriate reward to give to students.

1) One of my fellow teachers asked me if two of my students were good in class. He told me he promised to give them a gift if they were good (which they were). I noticed he gave them a small package of cookies.

In this age of allergies and special diets I've been very reluctant to give children any food gifts/rewards for fear of causing a medical incident or getting in trouble with parents who think their kids eat too much candy.

2) I did a demo yesterday and one of the activities I did was a short game. At the end of the game I looked at the winner, smiled, and said, "very good" and clapped. However, she bore a look like, "that's all I get?." I admit, I hadn't considered any sort of prize or reward.

What do you do to handle situations like these? Do you give gifts/rewards? If so, what is appropriate?

Many thanks!

[cmp45]

Praise for a job well done should be enough in itself; however we live in a very materialistic world... youngsters especially... like recieving "something" tangible. ... I think most of us like recieving something to take away when we win a at a competition.
I would recommend wrapping a number of small items and have the winner pick one as their prize for being the best. No need to be expensive ...cheap trinkets or things related to school would be nice. Wrapping them up also makes the gift special and creates an element of suprise.
Games where competition is involved usually have some sort of prize awarded...no? In my opinion, the participants usually expect something.

[Glenski]

Consider the circumstances before offering anything tangible.

Age of students may be important
Previous level of their success
Overall significance of the activity or event
Type of reward (a grade/score, food, drink, certificate, plastic trophy, book coupon, etc.)

Students may come to expect something every time! Beware! They should be in it to learn, not take home a prize, IMO.

[Sashadroogie]

There's no prize to beat a modest hardback edition of Kapital. All my students who excelled received a copy gratefully. These days of course, with everything going digital, I usually award them with a little thumb-drive with a pdf file version.

http://content.csbs.utah.edu/~ehrbar/cap1.pdf

[coledavis]

Sashadroogie: Is a visit to the local collective farm a reward or a sanction?

[Sashadroogie]

It is a joy, a great joy! Of course! How could it be anything else?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqacjY6UfuQ

[coledavis]

Thank you, Sash, that was idyllic. Which reminds me: I was wandering through Lenin Square one morning this week and saw a group of elderly people underneath Vladimir Ilyich's stature. They also had a poster of the sainted Josef Vissarionovich, commonly known as the man of steel. He is so popular in the people's paradise.

[ncaraway]