Missouri 15-Year-Old Wins Kia for Attending School
One of my concerns about this atmosphere of test-centered reform is the pressure on teachers and administrators to discover that effective cocktail of external motivators to prompt students to attend school, pass their classes, and pass their exams.
It bothers me when my students ask what they will “get” from me for their being kind to a classmate or for going above and beyond on a classroom task.
I respond, “You get the satisfaction of knowing you have done well or have helped another person.”
To this, my students often offer some expression of dissatisfaction. Intrinsic rewards are for losers. If you can’t spend it, eat it, play with it, wear it, or otherwise have hands-on fun with it, then there is no reason to be responsible, kind, or excellent.
I do not think it benefits our society to groom a generation dependent upon external rewards above the internal.
Thus, the following news story from Springfield, Missouri, troubles me. As noted on OzarkFirst.com in May 2016:
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.–One lucky Springfield high school student drove away with a new car Wednesday Night.15-year-old Cameron Hausley was awarded a 2016 Kia soul from Youngblood Kia today for having exceptional attendance.Each Springfield high school selected five students with 95 percentMissouri 15-Year-Old Wins Kia for Attending School | deutsch29: