Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read"
After reading this article, I really tried to understand where the author was coming from. However, I still think that many of his arguments seem unrealistic. In this world, we will always have to do things that we are not intrisically motivated to do; and reading is definitely one of them. So, how can one motivate someone to do everything? To me, it seems like wishful thinking. As we know, this world is based on rewards and consequences. Therefore, it's better for kids to learn the results after good or bad behavior so that it prepares them for the future. From my own experiences, I have seen results from rewards and consequences. In my Sunday school elementary class, I have a reward system where they earn stickers for good behavior. The students earn stickers every week and can use them like money to purchase prizes. Yes, it does manipualte their behavior at first. But, after they take that prize home, they are happy, proud of themselves, and intrinsically motivated to have good behavior in my class room. Likewise, if a student misbehaves in class, they do not receive a sticker for the day. Most of the time, they are disappointed but eager to try again. So either way, they are motivated to do better. I agree with one of my classmates who mentioned that kids can be forced into reading at first but sometimes find out that they really like to read; so they become motivated on their own. My point is that I think kids and adults will always need a little push with the help of incentives. It keeps us on our toes and reminds us that this is just the way the world is. There are plenty of rewards in this world for the people who do good. And there are plenty of consequences for the ones who do bad. So why can't we just stick to that?
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2 comments:
I think that incentives are necessary for motivating children who are not interested in the subject or task. My parents actually paid my brother and I for our grades all throughout elementary, middle and high school. If we received an A we received a certain amount less for a B, nothing for a C and we actually had to give money back if we received a D or F or negative comments from our teachers. Although, our primary goal was to be rewarded as much money as we could, good grades followed which were achieved because study skills were developed and carried out. The skills that my brother and I developed because we wanted the monetary reward, are study habits we still use today and have proved successful at making us thriving learners/students. So for us the benefits from the incentives to do well in school surpassed the monetary value.
I like what you said in your post, Amber; It was very thought provoking! I agree that an incentive is necessary and appropriate for children and reading. I connected your idea to a psychology concept that I learned called Operant Conditioning, which forms an association between a behavior and a consequence. There are four different consequences: Something good can start, something good can end or be taken away, something bad can start, and something bad can end or be taken away. If a child reads they get a reward...something good is being gained...if a child chooses not to read, they dont receive a reward. If a child reads for once and gets a reward and then stops reading, he/she will no longer receive a reward, so they will hopefully read. The more you read, the better it gets and the smarter you get, so it is important to find a way to get a child reading.
Those who argue that children will begin to expect a reward and they wont be reading for pleasure and knowledge, but instead for reward prove a good point as well. This reminds me of a concept called Classical Conditioning. I will use the famous example...Pavlov gave a dog food, then he rang a bell before he presented the food...at first the dog did not drool until the food was shown, but eventually everytime the dog heard a bell he thought he was getting food and he would drool. The dog expected food when he heard the bell, just like a student may expect a reward for every good thing they do after receiving one consistently after reading...
I don't agree with this idea so much. I feel that if a child is reading novels, they are old enough to understand the importance...maybe something to add would be a quiz at the end of the book. The child would HAVE to read then so he would get two rewards..good grades and a "treat." I know when I have a quiz in a class for reading or a peer review for writing I make sure to get the work done...
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