Fast Llama's,
New Post, post-deep freeze! We are starting a new series, again based on Doug Curry's free resources. This time around we are using his "Make School Fun" article. You can find it and other resources at freeresources. Today we will talk about the "why" and making school fun for kids. Learning is hard, but it doesn't have to not be fun. Be mindful, he is being very sarcastic at the beginning. Very tongue in cheek...
Here's Doug Curry:
Let’s talk about making school fun. You heard me. Fun.
[some people may believe]
“School shouldn’t be fun! These kids should learn how to work. That’s what’s wrong with this country today. No one knows how to work. When I went to school, we had to walk in the snow uphill both ways to get to school. Our teachers beat us daily, and we were grateful for it.”
“Are you talking about giving these kids something? That’s the problem in our country. Everyone expects a handout. When I went to school, our teachers never gave us anything except a good whomp up side of the head.”
“I want my kids to be intrinsically motivated. I am against any kind of reward. Rewards or prizes of any kind cause kids to become extrinsically motivated. Therefore, they should never be given anything in their lifetime. They should learn to be pure like me. I only work for the pleasure of accomplishing something. I drag my sorry tail out of bed every day, do my job, and refuse any type of compensation.”
“When I go to Vegas and win a jackpot, I refuse the money. On poker night in my house, we play for no prizes. It’s a world of fun.” “And by the way, prizes and rewards of any kind are for babies. Don’t go telling me we need to do this kind of stuff in junior high or high school. These kids are grown. They don’t deserve any fun. The last time I had any fun was in 1965, and it only lasted a while.”
If this is you, just go away. I can’t help you.
Along with having interesting and fun lessons, school can be made fun in simple ways by injecting some rewards, prizes, and chances for rewards and prizes.
“Are you saying I should spend my own money on prizes and trinkets for my students? I have fourteen kids of my own at home to take care of along with five dogs, three cats, a finch, a lobster, and a ferret, as well as a slew of gambling debts. I don’t have any money left over for prizes and trinkets!”
Coming up with some simple incentives does not have to be costly. Also, always check with your building leader as sometimes funds exist for these types of rewards and incentives. You can do as little or as much as you wish in this area. Many schools use PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) plans. Many of these are wonderfully effective. However, don’t just depend on the school’s system. See if you can find an inexpensive way to “spice” up your classroom with some type of reward or incentive system.
Here's the deal, when you were a student in my class, everything was earned. A lot of the rewards dealt with things the kids wanted to do:
1. be on their phone
2. leave first
3. sit in my rolling chair
4. eat
Next week we will talk in depth about guidelines for rewarding your students, but today, I wanted to get you to start thinking about how you can make reward systems a fun part of your class culture. Students are not plied with food to get them to complete a worksheet, but instead it's using fun contests, behavior plans and systems that kids have to keep up with to get the reward. No free candy! They get the food (Takis, hot cheetos! oh my), then they have earned it through their effort and hard work. It's a part of the celebration of learning.
See you next week!
