I think I’ll go broke if I ever become a primary school teacher.
Why?
Because I’ll have to spend lots of money buying the children sweets and cute stationeries in order to keep them motivated and happy in my classes.
Don’t underestimate their POWER. These are not just trivial giveaways for activities and games. I’ve recently learnt about their importance and how they can make, or break my workshops with kids.
When the kids are noisy, tell them they won’t get any of these rewards.
= INSTANT SILENCE
When the kids are not cooperative, tell them they won’t get a prize.
= INSTANT COOPERATION
When the kids are squabbling, tell them they’ll get nothing unless they stop.
= INSTANT PEACE
Of course there are some naughty ones who don’t fall for these threats. Thankfully, these are rare as most kids can’t seem to resist these sweeteners.
So I can afford to forget everything else in my workshops but I can never forget these little goodies. Small no doubt, but they’ll go far to let me survive relatively well through a day’s workshop with the young ones.
INSTANT SILENCE - INSTANT COOPERATION - INSTANT PEACE
suppose this tactic would work with in-laws?!!
Comment by ally bean — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 12:48 am
Interesting..! but Papa Bok does not believe in “bribing” .. chloe..for good behaviour..!! *bummer..!*
Comment by Mama Bok — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 1:12 am
Oh, if only it were that simple. I used to teach. If only. . .
Comment by blackbeltmama — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 1:28 am
Curious, what kind of workshop do you give? I used to take care of the kids in church and the instant silence & peace that comes with stickers usually last for less than 5 minutes.
Comment by Erika — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 2:11 am
I also cannot resist leh, so cute and sweet looking…i know what will have the same effect on in-law….instead of giving them these cute stuff, increase their monthly allowance….that should help….kekekeke
Comment by Jan (My lovely Rays) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 9:15 am
Bribes always work espy well for me. I remember my mom would tell me, “Girl, A is worth $50, B is worth $30, C and below is no money.” So the more As I get, the more moolah in my account!!!
Comment by domestic rat — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 10:59 am
This only works on the younger pri sch kids but doesn’t work on my bigger sec sch kids. kekeke
Comment by Ashleigh — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 11:21 am
waaaah… I want you for a teacher
Comment by Irene — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 2:58 pm
Ahh the magic of sweet little bribes. Bribes are not perfect but between bribes and threats, I’d go for bribes. :PpP
Comment by mumsgather — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 4:43 pm
Ally: this will work… if the in-laws are below 10. Hahaha…I think for those above this age, they need BIGGER incentives.
MB: I only ‘bribe’ the kids since I’m only with them for a few hours and it would help maintain my sanity. I don’t use sweets with Gavin at all. In fact, he never had one sweet, one lollipop or anything from us. I agree with Papa Bok too. It’s not good for the long haul, with your own kids. It’s just an easy way out. But…I do give him some incentives for good behaviour, like reading his favourite books or playing his favourite game on PC. At least he won’t get decay tooth!
BBM: I agree it isn’t that simple with kids that you teach on a daily basis. These things only work occasionally as incentives for some measure of good behaviour. But it worked for me so far cos I see them only once, like one day or two hours in a few weeks. Even then, after the instant cooperation, they will resume their normal behaviour. I will have to continuously dangle the carrot in front of them. However, I do see a huge difference when I did not give them any goodies. I get ZERO cooperation. I was surprised myself that the kids here actually take these little prizes VERY seriously.
Erika: With the kids, it’s mostly lifeskills sort of workshop. Like I mentioned to BBM, it is instant but it isn’t continuous. But because they’re usually put in a sort of competition in groups for games/activities, my tactic has worked quite well. Hey, instant silence of 5 mins every now and then is enough to keep me from going crazy during the workshops so far…
Jan: You’re on spot on that!!
DR: Really? You must be quite rich then! Hehe…*rubs hands in anticipation*
Ashes: Yup, only for the primary school kids but not the older ones. The older ones need more deterrence or to be put into some sort of competitions to push their winning spirit. Maybe a bigger prize will work for them. It depends on your mix and their objective for attending your workshop too. If they’re forced to attend, then…hehe…:razz:
Irene: I think you’ll regret it! Haha…
Mumsgather: Well, better that than threats but not too much too. This is just a workshop tactic.
Comment by sesame — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 4:50 pm
Haha… I also want. To think that I’m approaching 40, I’m still going ga-ga over cute stationery and cute toys….
Comment by earthember — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 @ 10:57 pm
Haha, I’ve caved in to giving Sara bribes recently. I’d like to blame it on a friend who showed up at our doorstep with a bag of chocolate easter eggs for Sara. In order to slow consumption (dammit, she’d remember them even though I hid them), I promised her an egg if she’d pee in her potty. Since then, we’ve been doing very well with potty training. Now I’m trying to figure how we can maintain performance without the bribe….
Comment by Hsin — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 @ 11:38 am
EE: Yeah, count me in too. I love the girlie stuff.
Hsin: At least it was for a good cause. Probably should be able to maintain if the initial going was good…
Comment by sesame — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 @ 3:34 pm