• Use of Incentives
Use of Incentives!
I do believe in incentives, but with some reservations. I do understand that there are external motivation and internal motivation. An example of an external motivation for children might be a prize for accomplishing something the teacher wants them to do. An example of an internal motivation might be the desire to discover the answer to a problem for them selves, without help or reward.
I am personally familiar with the historic Sunday school reward system for perfect attendance, bring your Bible, learn your memory verse and bring a friend, which was rewarded with an annual perfect attendance pin, etc.
In more recent years, it seems we have moved away from this, but what I now appreciate about that form of incentive is that it was uniform, all the teachers did that, not just one.
So here are a dozen problems I see with the giving of incentives.
- There needs to be agreement about what kind of incentives should be given for your whole program.
- There should be a policy about incentives that applies to all the teachers.
- We should understand that some programs are designed for achievement and use incentives, i.e., Boy Scouts and Awana.
- We should avoid external incentives for things children cannot control, like being a twin, or being the tallest.
- We should not provide incentives for moral development.
- We must realize that external motivation can lead to internal motivation when the behavior becomes a habit.
- We need to distinguish the difference between a gift and an incentive. One is the result of an accomplishment. The other requires no accomplishment, (except turning eight! Ha)
- Having an occasional contest or competitive challenge of teams, gender, or classes produces some fun. Learning how to win and loose is really a life lesson.
- I would not advocate that children “get something” for everything they do. There are many behaviors in life that have no external motivation attached to them.
- We must not neglect the power of praise, recognition, appreciation and acknowledgement as re-enforcers to desired behavior.
- Conversely, the power of guilt, shame and/or public accusation can, but may not, motivate persons to right behaviors.
- Avoiding any incentives is one extreme, and excessive use of incentives is the other extreme. Balance and moderation is desirable, with an occasional use of incentives being a real option.
So the unification and moderation, I believe, are preferred for incentives.
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