I had the chance to enter to grade 1 English class at my school. I was amazed by the perfect class management. And frankly only in a managed class, learning can blossom.
The secret behind that was the " Pay day ". The teacher prepared a set of homemade money, cut and stapled in a durable envelope with the names of the student on the front. Each student then wrote his name on each 1 $ bill.Now each has 20 $ and therefore:
Students can lose money for the following reasons:
- $___ no pencil
- $___ no homework
- $___ being bad
- $___ eating in class
- $___ talking without raising hands
- $___ a clean desk
- $___ a good grade
- $___ bringing homework
- $___ being nice and helpful
this idea was so clever and the students were more than careful. What do you think about it ???
in one of the schools there was a ticket given to students who break the rules and they had to pay a certain amount of money depending on their undesired action, this could be a good action but for me i wont follow in my classes after really looking for what future side effects it might have on students.
ReplyDeleteI say that the schools are fields for you to try
DeleteI think it will make the students appreciate the importance of following the rules and realize the penalty if they didnt.
ReplyDeleteI recommend using it because in a society like ours with no rules and even breaking them is something neutral, i do want my students to break the rule once, pay for it and learn not to break it again
That's really so interesting, Do you think it would work with grade six ?
ReplyDeletebut u also appraised students who made their H.W. or kept their table clean with all the stuff needed, Is it right to appraise students for what they should do ????
we need to show the students what to do , teach them how to do it and appraise them when they do, as well as warn them when they dont
DeleteI really like this activity and yes it could be one of the reasons for classroom management, after all children won’t like to lose money. However some questions popped-out when I read your post, like: What happens if the child spends all the money? If the child collects money, what will he use it for? And the most important question: Aren’t we teaching students to behave and work for gaining material (money in your case), in other words aren’t we extrinsically motivating students to behave and perform tasks? What about teaching students to be disciplined and perform for the sake of learning? How will we end up with having independent learners that have self –control to behave and thus learn for the sake of learning and understanding? I am really looking forwards your reply. Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteThe parents are informed with this activity and its full conditions. the student who spends his money will be sent home with a note to his parents that he is " Bankrupt " because of his violation of the rules. the parents will send back a note for the teacher to refill the students account and give him a new chance. whereas the student who earns the most amount of money will be given a check that has on it special thanks for his parents, and will be given special thing from his teacher. you wont believe how seriously the kids and the parents take it.
Deleteyou are right we want the students to be intrinsically motivated to learn and love the school, but when it comes to small ages we want to shape up their behavior using such extrinsic way, until we are sure that they have shaped up the good behavior. now learning can boost up. then eventually throughout the year the good actions will be imprinted in them because they have practiced it for so long!
It is a good Idea to apply in elementary grades but if the teacher uses another positive rewards will be more effective and can prevent students from keeping in their minds that having money is an aim, and later they will carry this aim in the future when they become responsible persons in the society and when they start working. Do you agree with me at this point?
ReplyDeleteThe money here is not an aim its a tool that you are depriving them of it when they dont do what is expected of them to do.
Deleteeven if the kids are young but you can make them understand that money and other things they will be deprived off as a consequence of not following the rules
Very nice activity and it is really motivating but, Iman is right, extrensic and intrensic motivation were the topic in debate in the last philosophy session after highlighting the importance of reinforcement. In grade 1 this activity might have several important advantages because at this level the students might not be mature enough to do anything for the sake of learning and discipline so, extrensic motivation might be the only kind of motivation that we can use with them.
ReplyDeleteAgain I agree with you but learning can never happen until you shape up the behavior and set the rules in your class
Deletediscipline is a necessity for motivating the class to learn because a chaos class will never be a good medium for good education
It is one of the best ways used. I saw one similar to it in the english class. If a student talks any language other than english he has to pay
ReplyDeletei think it is a good motivation to the students. however we should be aware to its consequences. students might learn by this way that life is all about money, especially ion this age. they think their happiness is to buy a chocolate bar or a chips bag that only can be done by money. the teacher should be careful in using such a method a lot. she/he should teach students at the beginning that life is not all about money.
ReplyDelete