Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Okay, I have to let this out...

Good Point!
Also - the rewards always seem to penalize someone - like the kid who has to read 6 600 page books in 3rd grade to get the ice cream that everyone else is 'Cat and the Hat'ing through. Or the kid who's fingers got sore from writing down the title and author of every blessed book they read...

Grins

Our teachers have been pretty sensitive about allergies - especially fatal ones! I can't believe there would be some out there who would set up an incentive that would be so completely exclusionary. I guess we are lucky in more ways than one. ( have we mentioned the kids who aren't able to keep up with the reading at all?)

I think that my main problem with the pay incentives is that it assumes it is primarily the fault of the kids that performance and attendence are off. Considering d.c.s problems with poverty, etc., this might just be another way to separate the kids who have a decent home life and those who just don't.
I figure there must only be a slim number who are just 'slacking off' for whom this incentive will make any difference.

Trinkets as incentives were pretty important to GS9 in 1st & 2nd grade. Last year they had no appeal. He still likes acknowledgement of his accomplishments. He is pretty self motivated to do all his assignments and is becoming more motivated to take more care in doing them. He mentioned his teacher complimented him on how neat one assignment was, now almost everything he writes is legible.
Kids are motivated by different things.