Sunday, April 5, 2009
"A lot of Fat Kids who Don't Like to Read"
I found this article extremely interesting and surprisingly very true. I remember being in elementary school and earning countless book it coupons for reading, yet I obviously didn't find it strange until I was older. But honestly, what benefits are children gaining if they have the mindset that you read to earn pizza. It really does result in "fat kids who hate to read" and that is a sad phenomenon facing society. Reading or learning in general should not be a negative habit, but by offering prizes for reading it is not encouraging students to read for enjoyment whatsoever. If children grow up constantly expecting to be rewarded for either learning, completing tasks, or good behavior, they are surely in trouble. As the article says this problem arises because these reward devices are used to manipulate behavior and it is a scary thought for teachers. If my students have no motivation to learn without being handed a "treat", we as teachers have quite the goal in front us to change the mindset of students. Overall, this article brought up good points that do need to be addressed and we need to show students that the feeling of pride is enough for earning a good grade, it is not just about earning money for succeeding.
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I think reading would interest children more if they could read the kinds of books they love instead of all reading the same book as their classmates every year. By offering a choice of two or three different books, children could form their own book talk groups and learn more about a specific genre. Personally I do not like science fiction books, they just don't interest me, so maybe by giving me a choice of science fiction or historical fiction to read, I would not give up on reading altogether.
ReplyDeleteThis article talked about how teachers are using a lot of extrinsic motivation to get children to do certain work in school. It says how taking away from children's wanting to do work for the benefit of knowledge instead of just the reward. I am indifferent when it comes to this article because I agree and also disagree with several parts. I do think when you do something that is your passion and get graded on it so much you do get fed up with the activity and don't want to do it anymore. But I do not believe that using an extrinsic motivator will not have children be interested in a certain subject. Being in certain teaching classes I have a lot of chances to do extra work with kids which will give me extra credit. I don't just do it for the fact of getting extra credit but I do it because it will benefit me in the future and I really enjoy doing it. For this reason I think it does depend on the student and what the reward it geared towards. Some students love to do the extra work because it is fun for them but at the same time some students do it just for the grades.
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