We are all looking for positive outcomes in everything we
do, adult and child. What is important to realise is that there are adult and
child traits in all of us, whether we are big or small people. Positive
outcomes make us feel good, get us positive attention and let ourselves and
others know that life is good. Is this always the case?
No not always
Guess what, sometimes being good and positive gets the opposite - lack of
attention, consequent lack of feel-good factor and the message that we are
small in many ways. This can give us a feeling that good is bad and
that perhaps bad is good!
Watching others get attention in different ways - some not positive, can sway
even the best behaved student to try the "Dark side" of negative
behaviours. It often seems a temptation too good to miss - "Let's give it
a try" can be the classroom battle cry.
People will then start to reminisce "What happened to Jordan,
he wasn't like this last year?"
So, it is vital to the success of any programme, that there
is a strong ethos of positive reinforcement on a regular and evenly distributed
basis. It is also important to note that reward isn't just given for high
level performance, but also for improvement compared to the context for a
particular student.
This could be given for standard of work, attitude,
behaviour, social skills, helpfulness, cheerfulness, attendance, effort despite
poor progress, teamwork and a whole range of other skillsets we should wish to
engender in our students.