There is an old saying that states, “Hard Work Is Its Own Reward.” The implicit message: that the motivation toward success in any endeavor is found within, in the satisfaction of having done one’s best; not in the promise of a reserved parking space, gold plated plaque, or hefty Christmas bonus. Nice sentiment, but the truth is that employers have been coming up with incentive programs to motivate employees since antiquity. Remember the old “The Princess goes to he who is brave and strong enough to slay the dragon …” bit? What is this if not the oldest and best known “incentive program” of all?
More recently, incentive programs have been utilized to boost morale, reinforce positive behavior, and proactively address problems in the workplace. This type of program is extremely popular in the business world, and it is a motivational tactic that has spilled over into our educational system as well. Some parents pay their children for good grades. Gone are the days when you got yourself to school, on time, and behaved appropriately because to do otherwise would have meant punishment. Such negative reinforcement is now seen as arcane, if not inhumane. How valid is this new approach to discipline in our schools? So far, the results seem to support the theory.
Throughout the Richardson Independent School District, incentive programs are used extensively to elicit, or suppress, a variety of behaviors from students at both the elementary and secondary levels. Lake Highlands High School made headlines recently for it announcement that one student who qualifies will win a brand new Jeep Cherokee. Are these programs truly causing children to behave differently and, if so, for what reasons?
Principal Keith Forte at Jess Harben Elementary uses the BUG (Being Unbelievably Good) Program to encourage and reward good behavior. Teachers and staff give BUG cards to anyone caught being unbelievable good during the school day. BUG cards are given to the children and returned to the BUG box with the child’s name on the card. Explains Forte, “Once a month we draw about 25 names of students who have been caught being unbelievably good. Prizes are donated by neighborhood businesses and include pizza parties, cookie bouquets, posters, and movie and video certificates.”
The BUG program extends to faculty and staff at Jess Harben as well. Teachers and staff members give each other BUG cards for their help and teamwork. Forte believes the program has proven a successful method of dealing with discipline management at the school. “Teachers and staff members no longer look for things that students are doing wrong,” he says, “instead they look for positives and are eager to reward students for their outstanding behavior.”
Closer to home, Moss Haven Elementary is similarly committed to inspiring its students to act as good citizens at school. The emphasis of their incentive plan is to develop positive social interactions by practicing acts of responsibility, courtesy and, most importantly, kindness. Teachers and staff pass out “Good Citizen” slips to students who are observed displaying this type of good behavior. Principal Carole Kilduff says, “We really focus on rewarding acts of kindness and unselfishness, because ‘good behavior’ means so many different things at each individual grade level. For a kindergartner, simply being still in line can qualify as outstanding behavior.”
Each Friday, one “Good Citizen” is drawn for each grade level . Winners receive a token for a treat at lunch, as well as having their name published in the weekly “Principal’s Report.” Kilduff believes the program has a very real effect on the students. “This is a program we implemented a couple of years ago.” she explains. “We dropped it for awhile, but have recently gone back to it because of the positive feedback from the children. When I announce the winning names, all the children cheer for the winner from their group. It builds team spirit.”
Other schools utilize incentive programs not merely to encourage positive behavior, but to address specific problems which the school is experiencing. At the RISD Academy, for example, students last year were often non-compliant regarding the dress code. Explains Principal Rita Latimer, “We are trying a new motivational twist for getting students to wear their uniform. Classes with the highest percentage of students wearing uniforms participate in a drawing for a special field trip to Barnes & Noble to buy books. The winning class receives $200 to buy books for their classroom libraries.” Principal Latimer sees a benefit to this new positive approach to discipline. “We are hoping that this special way of rewarding classes will help us increase school spirit,” she says. “Last year dress code violations were dealt with in a rather negative way. We are trying to approach the problem from a totally different angle.”
Lake Highlands Junior High has enjoyed overwhelming success with its program, which combines mandatory detentions with voluntary tutoring opportunities. The “Saturday Enrichment Program” was developed last year by Principal Bob Duvall. Every other Saturday morning from 9 to 11, faculty members and parent volunteers are available to help students with specific subjects and TAAS skills. Some students are assigned to Saturday Enrichment as punishment, but many come voluntarily to take advantage of the extra help provided.
“I would estimate that at least half, if not three-quarters of the students who come on any given Saturday are there on a voluntary basis,” says Duvall. He developed the program as a way to address two specific problems. “For one thing, it keeps kids who have acquired many detentions from being removed from the classroom and placed in In-School-Suspension. They are able to work off the time on Saturday mornings.”
In addition, Lake Highlands Junior High was recently named a priority school. “We have some specific factors here, such as a high mobility rate, which cause our students to be more at-risk. Also, our TAAS scores needed some extra attention.” Duvall believes that bringing everyone together on a Saturday morning makes more sense than traditional after-school programs. “At the end of the day, everybody is tired. On Saturdays, the atmosphere is more relaxed — the teachers and I are in blue jeans, which is not how they usually see us. It seems like there is a little more bonding on Monday morning for the teachers and students who have come to Saturday Enrichment.”
As a reward for hard work, Duvall opens up the basketball gym for free play from 11 to 12. The program has seen astonishing results so far — an average of 70 students show up on any given Saturday morning.
Of course, pizza parties, treats, and gym time are a far cry from a new car. But then, what could possibly mean more to a teenager? And, according to the students and faculty at Lake Highlands High School, the chance of winning the Jeep has measurably changed attitudes and behaviors at the school.
The current LHHS incentive program was developed by assistant principal Leorah Mims as a way of addressing a growing problem with tardies, and was modeled after a faculty incentive program she had started the previous year.
“Attendance at faculty meetings was not always high,” admits Mims, “ so I began to look for ways to encourage better participation.” To give teachers something to look forward to at the meetings, she implemented a drawing for gift certificates to area restaurants and movie theaters that takes place at every meeting. The feedback was positive, and Mims saw the idea as a way to generate positive results in student behavior as well.
Mims spent the summer tirelessly approaching local businesses to contribute goods and services as prizes. And, after many calls to Big Billy Barrett, she finally secured the grand prize — a new Jeep Cherokee. Gena Bailey, owner of the Dallas Big Billy Barrett dealership and daughter of Big Billy, admits that she was somewhat reluctant when first approached by Leorah Mims.
“When someone calls and asks that you give them a new car, your first reaction is to be wary,” says Bailey. “But then I began listening to what Leorah had to say and I started getting that warm, fuzzy feeling.” Bailey says that her sons, one a recent Lake Highlands graduate and the other a sophomore, encouraged her to be part of the program. And, the donation has generated some business for the dealership. “We’ve had people come in from Lake Highlands to buy new cars, and they mention the Jeep. To me, that is the mark of a good strong community — a kind of trading of services among the people who live there.” In the end, though, she credits Mims’ persistence. “I decided to go for it because she kept twisting my arm, and it hurt!”
Once she had the Grand Prize in place, Mims was ready to implement the program. For the program to be successful, she believed that all criteria considered for qualification to win are in the full control of the student. “The criteria are that the student can have no tardies, no unexcused absences, and no suspensions for a six-week period,” she says. Thus, students do not need to have perfect attendance to qualify. “A student can’t control factors such as getting sick or a family trip, and I didn’t want those students penalized for those types of excused absences.”
At the end of each six weeks, students who have qualified enter their name into a drawing for prizes such as dinners, gift certificates, and cash. Each six weeks is a new chance to qualify, and all students who qualify during the various six weeks are entered in the grand prize drawing at the end of the year. Mims believes it is important to give students a new chance to qualify every six weeks, and the students agree. Says Lisa Flach, a senior who has both qualified and won a prize, “I think it’s good that every six weeks you get a new chance. Otherwise, a student may get one tardy and just give up because they wouldn’t have a chance to win.”
Students at Lake Highlands High School like the incentive plan. Junior Carolyn Westfall describes herself as someone who fell victim to the “occasional tardy.” She says the incentive plan has changed the way she schedules her time at breaks. “Before, I would try to get something extra in before the bell rang,” she explains, “but now I look at the clock and think ‘uh-oh, I’d better get going to class or I’ll be late!’” She says that this is the prevailing attitude among her classmates. “You overhear people in halls saying things like, “I’ve gotta run, I can’t be late.”
Such respect for the tardy bell has not always been the case at LHHS, and Junior Kelly Kepley believes that the incentive plan has visibly changed things at the school. “There are not near as many people loitering in halls,” she says, “and there are hardly ever any hall sweeps.” A “hall sweep” is a tactic that had been used last year to clear the halls of lingering students. Anyone caught in the hall after the bell rang was given “Saturday School” — a detention/study hall on Saturday morning. Although Kelly never experienced a problem with tardies, she prefers the new system. “Positive reinforcement works better,” she says, “both teachers and students are excited about the new plan.”
Perhaps the biggest testimony to the influence of the plan on students comes from Lisa Flach. “I didn’t even skip on senior skip day because I didn’t want to ruin my chance of qualifying for that six weeks.”
Is there a down side to these kinds of reward tactics? “You bet,” says Dallas based family psychologist Honey Sheff. She is firmly opposed to practices such as parents paying for grades. “The philosophy is that you do not want to extrinsically reward someone for a behavior you want them to intrinsically develop.” She notes that while it is perfectly acceptable to reward good behavior, the goal should be to help children find internal motivation for such good behavior. Certain types of incentive programs can work contrary to this goal. “There is a concern that if you always give a child an external motivation to do something, you can kill their ability to internally motivate themselves. They lose the desire to simply do something good for themselves.”
Are the students at Lake Highlands grappling with that fine line between external reward and internal incentive? While it is hard to predict the long term effects of this new approach to discipline, the short term effects are clearer. Senior Shanelle Guillory is trying hard to mend her ways in order to qualify for the Jeep, and although she hasn’t quite made it yet, she remains optimistic that she will qualify in future six-week periods.
“I’m going to try my best and hardest to make it next time,” she says.
