I just got back from a field trip with Jacob's class. We went to an indoor water park.
What was so special about this trip? I'll tell you.
This trip was a reward for children that maintained good citizenship in the first semester. Every child that went was being rewarded for good behavior. It was a gift, to the students, from their principal. The principal is tough but fair. He is a kind man that makes a point to know the kids and their parents. Not just the misbehavers but all of them. At the grocery store recently, I heard someone call out "hello Mrs. Esmay!" It was the school principal.
What I really liked seeing was the principal in the water, really playing with those kids. He also "played" with the adults but some weren't too keen on getting wet. Not that it stopped him. :-)
As the kids were preparing to board the bus, the principal shook the hand of each child and congratulated them on their achievement. He also told them he expected to reward them again, in the spring. It was really nice. Those little faces were beaming. They all had fun and they all deserved to be praised.
Positive reinforcement. It's a good thing.
Please note:
My son attends public school. I like this school, the faculty and the staff. I make a point of being involved. It's hard to know if your child's school is a good one unless you are involved. I take my job, as a Mom, very seriously. I've complained about teachers and public schools on many occasions. I feel honor bound to point out when I know good ones exist. Jacob's school is one of the good ones.
Loved this post Rosemary! Good for young Mr. Esmay!
That's fantastic! But, it's sad, at the same time: my family knows a middle-school counselor who is very much against positive reinforcement.
This counselor, unfortunately, thinks that rewarding good behavior is actually negative: that the child is being bribed, not allowed to think for themselves.
Total B.S.
Anyone want to go through life where good is never rewarded and bad is always punished?
Those poor kids...
If the good is never rewarded and the bad is always punished, they'll turn out to be rotten delinquents just to get some attention. (They'll also turn out to be rotten delinquents if the bad isn't punished.) Besides, it's just plain UNJUST, immoral, unethical not to reward the good.
Cornball
Obviously your councelor failed the course where they taught B F Skinner, the pioneer in research on positive and negative reinforcment. For any human being to only receive negative feedback, you can bet your paycheck, that person will come to a bad end and live unhappily. It's a horrible thing to do to a child.
It's strange how some people are against positive reinforcement. But I suspect even more people in the education world will be against positive reinforcement for the Principal!
Try suggesting that he be paid more because he's good at his job, and that other principals should be paid less, or even laid-off....
Or that inferior schools should have to imitate successful ones and improve, (like businesses do) or face the possibility of closing....
Then you will see "Liberalism" in its essence.
Luckily, positive reinforcement is quite prevalent in today's teacher training. Also, "good citizenship" means meaningful participation and learning now, not merely "sit down and shut up" as it once sadly did (and still does in my fourth-grade teacher's classroom.)