Technique 35 – Use a reward as a positive part of your guidance system.

Following directions is the best! It carries with it it’s own natural rewards system. Not following them sometimes has built-in discomfort. However, other times it does not.

For those kinds of situations when they do not have any automatic consequences, it is helpful to have rewards that you can take away. An appropriate example would be something like this, “After you clean up your books, you can go out to play.”

In this way the possible loss of a reward is presented in a positive way. Guiding your class in this way is fair, firm, and positive. It is proactive, not reactive, and includes the perspective of teaching.

Insight…

When you do a good job, you feel great! However, if you do not live up to your own standards, the situation becomes less rewarding. If you do not hold a glass carefully, it might fall. This is the same for your students. If they do not take good care of their papers, they might get crumpled on the way home. Many times these disappearing rewards are built into a situation. However, sometimes they are not.