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I think my oldest child feels quite a bit of incentive to attend public school and graduate precisely because he has a choice in the matter. He sees the course offerings at school (digital electronics, theoretical chemistry, Spanish III, AP World History and honours science) and other opportunities like the A Plus program (money toward certain colleges if you've tutored 40 hours and keep a decent GPA/absence record) and knows that not everyone gets these chances. I don't consider myself an illeducated person, but those courses are not offered here at the Happy Elf Homeschool.

Plus, I have to admit that there's the fact that my 16-year-old *might* be a little embarrassed by the school name...

Great post, Claus! Though I have to wonder... do you really think that teens are influenced by "reality" TV? You do know they never put 400-pound, 80-year-old diabetics on shows like "The Biggest Loser" for a reason. There is no way they could push those geezers for results like that. :)

I'm considering posting a response, Claus. I'm qualified to do so and capable. What incentives can you offer me?

LOL Robert! *snort*

Returned to post a video URL. Enjoy! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSNLHBj6ENI

Mrs. C--I have to admit that I've found biggest loser pretty engrossing, so I might have to give them a pass. Were the producers a bit more sensationalistic, they might just start seeking out 80-year-old diabetics. Now that would be drama.

Robert--How about $25K? But then you'd have to call me "The Best Blog in Washington" and be sure not to disclose the financial relationship.

You're on, Claus. I was not merely being snide with my comment. I love the idea of paying teachers more, and I really love the idea of improving teacher quality, and if it helps students, I'm in. But I will never love incentives. There's just no way around the perverse logic that incentives suggest--whether for teachers or students-- that boils down to "we know you're capable of doing a better job, so here's a few more dollars to stop you from phoning it in."

What was it that Oscar Wilde said? A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. In this case, I'm not sure who are the cynics. Is it those who expect to be paid for everything? Or those who think they can get everything they want by paying for it?

I agree that the thinking is somewhat perverse. Dan Pink may well have a point when he directs businesses and schools alike to intrinsic motivation. But I do also understand teachers' confidence in carrots and sticks. It's just that those carrots and sticks are losing effectiveness as the ends of education become more difficult to define. The implications for policy are not entirely clear, but we'll have to work harder to understand what motivates people. 

It's considered soft these days to press the importance of, say, the arts, mathematics or poetry, for their own sake alone--especially in policy circles. But I do hope people don't forget their inherent value.

Excellent post, Claus. Yes, as you said in the post and in your comment above, many (especially in policy circles) regard "learning for its own sake" as squishy and soft. But I see no reason for that. Isn't it "tougher" in some ways to study with no promise of reward, except perhaps the intrinsic reward? And don't those intrinsic rewards hold up well when other things fall apart?

Of course there are reasons for education beyond the purely material and purely intrinsic: education gives us more options overall and allows us to participate in civic life and culture; it allows us to form bonds with others over common interests. Even intrinsic rewards have a material aspect--they allow us to enjoy material things like books, machines, musical instruments, paper and pen.

Yes, education can bring material rewards, and they are very important. No one wants to go through 16-20 years of school only to be in debt and relative poverty. The mischief lies in assuming material rewards should and do education. That's not only tacky but dangerous. It becomes the truth, as other ways of thinking about education are pushed to the side.

I do lots of work with first-year teachers, and they all struggle, to some degree, with classroom management issues. Alfie Kohn might get on his high horse about it--but many new teachers initially learn to motivate their classes with small rewards.

The carrot/stick thing is so ingrained in American schools that new, starry-eyed teachers who want to be purists and develop an intrinsic love of learning often need a concrete nudge. I advise new teachers to find rewards that are tied to good practice ("when you all finish your outlines, I'll read you a chapter in 'Harris and Me'") and avoid dramatic public punishments.

I really like this: " carrots and sticks are becoming less effective as the ends of education become more difficult to define." That's precisely the problem with using standardized test scores as bludgeon. Making testing a weapon instead of a diagnostic tool puts the focus on blame rather than solution.

Great piece, Claus.

Agree. You talk about backfire. I was told when I was a senior in high school and as college student, that if I work hard there will be plenty of jobs in the teaching field just waiting for me. Wrong. Recession came and finding a job is hard to come by. And by them encouraging me with that incentive just makes me want to resent them. I am better than that, so I won't.

Correction: in the last paragraph of my comment, the second sentence should read "...should and do drive education."

I appreciate this post. Incentives and punishment are integral parts of many "high-achieving" school models held up as success stories in the US. But even when incentives give us shorter-term results like better test scores, in the longer-term they can cripple students, as you discuss here, and Alfie Kohn argues beautifully in his book, Punished by Rewards.

But we need to delve deeper into HOW we get kids to value "learning for its own sake" -- or at least, learning for the sake of worthwhile, realistic things. I have experienced some success with this (finally!) in my third year of teaching elementary school. Two tools I've used are:
1) Giving lots of concrete examples of what kids CAN do if they getter better at a certain skill. "If you get better at reading, you CAN read that Harry Potter book in the library." "If you learn how to write numbers, you CAN write your phone number down so your friend can call you." As Diana points out above, even these intangibles are connected to the real, "material" world -- but in my mind, that IS often what makes learning worthwhile -- and it's an important bridge for young minds.
2) Using logical consequences, both positive and negative. I think Nancy alluded to this in her suggestion of rewarding students with a read-aloud chapter. Logical consequences are matched in CONTENT to a student's action. So, if a student works hard on solving a math problem using plastic cubes, she might earn the choice of using plastic cubes AND wooden tiles for the next math problem. And if another student goofs off during his math work time, he might need to make up the work after school.

Your post has got me thinking, and I think I'll respond in greater depth tomorrow on my blog, teachingserendipity.blogspot.com. I hope you'll take a look and share your thoughts!

Diana--One could add that, when we don't tie education to material rewards alone, we prepare people better for troubles they may face outside of their jobs--for unemployment, even. That's very important these days.

Schiller's Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Humanity recognized--two centuries ago--that education should prepare people to assume fuller identities separate from their vocational identities. He saw pure vocationalism as "dismembering," especially as work became more specialized. So you're exactly right--It's the intrinsic rewards that remain after the others fall apart.

Nancy--I agree that carrots and sticks may be in order. Your description of how students can "bank" their successes really caught my attention. Everything in moderation?

Randy--Sorry to hear about your own experience. When I entered college in 1987, articles in the New York Times proclaimed that there was a looming shortage of college professors. When I entered graduate school in 1993, cherishing hopes of becoming a college professor, prospects for aspiring professors were about as good as prospects for making it big as a musician.

UseSerendipity--It sounds like you've developed a great strategy. I look forward to reading your post.

Cluas,

What incentives will you offer me NOT to comment? I have the qualifications necessary to not push Submit, but just need the reinforcment.

How about hush money, John? How much would you need?

(Just kidding! Your comments are always most welcome.)

Great, timely post! I've been teaching for 15 years, and the problem is getting worse. BOTH students and teachers are jumping on the incentive bandwagon, and there's no end in sight. Forget about even voicing any concern to administrators, unless you want to hear, "Well, we want to encourage ALL children to learn and do their best, don't you?!"

Here's what I see right now in just my middle school:

1. Hundreds of students getting principal-signed certificates every quarter for having "awesome attendance". They just can't miss more than 5 days of school, or have fewer than 5 tardies.

2. The vast majority of the school receiving honor roll awards, from 2.5 and above. All kids received the signed certificates, plus pencils, candy, gift cards, etc.

3. A reward system where teachers give students incentive slips for being "good". Throwing away garbage in the garbage can, being on time to class, etc. Those slips are entered into a weekly drawing for prizes ranging from In-and-Out Burger certificates to iPod Touch and DVD players.

4. Just this week, 40 of our students (out of 1000) participated in last week's Jump Rope For Heart. For getting out of class to jump rope, they got to miss 4 hours of classroom instruction to walk across town to see a movie.

5. As we near out standardized testing season, the staff is talking about what new incentives we can give students for SHOWING UP TO SCHOOL on those days.

It's absolutely incredible and disheartening.

If you are only providing the incentive without teaching the consequences of failure or the rewards of victory as well then there is no substance to the incentive and it will fail

I know the article was posted last year, and comments have dried up as well, but I felt I might add some incite to the discussion, just on the off chance that someone may read and consider it.

I just graduated high school last year, currently in community college (family made just a little too much to be able to get any of the somewhat large Government scholarships and grants and I refuse to take out any loans) anyways, one thing that I have observed from my experience knowledge of how things used to work (gained from parents and older members of the family)

In the past, one could receive their high school diploma and be off on their way to finding a very decent paying job that could last them for several years. They would be able to live relatively comfortably with the level of employment they could achieve then. Now-a-days, for a person to be able to do similarly, they must at least get an associates (although it's starting to move more towards bachelors) This is troubling to me, as the public education system was setup to produce graduate who could go out and attain a wide variety of jobs, if you wanted a higher level or more career oriented job sooner, then you would go to and PAY for college. I've emphasized the word pay, because back then you would do so with the knowledge that you would most likely be able to achieve that higher level job with relative ease once you had the degree. That isn't the case anymore, and I feel if the education system could return to doing as it used to, then there would be plenty of incentive for students to do better.