Today a 2nd grade human asked about a chart that I basically have permanently attached to me, a When/Then chart.  He asked what the pictures meant.  I told him, "If my friend works first, then they earn their ___", whatever the reward is.  

The human then asked, "so you take away their ___?  

I said, "no!  I never take it away.  They just have to earn it."  This got me thinking about rewards and students' perceptions of them.

Just like in Behavior Charts Dos and Don'ts, rewards and breaks should never be taken away.  Students could not earn the rewards, but they also need to feel in complete control of them.  Don't threaten to take away a reward because a student is misbehaving.  This is SO easy to do, especially when frustrated.  It happens to me too.  I'm not perfect, so you're not alone.  But here's why you should get out of that habit.

Students need to feel in complete control.  Rewards are self-selected because we want students to want to earn them.  If they are mad with what was chosen, it's what they chose.  We're building self-awareness.  If the we have the power to remove a reward, then why would students want to work so hard?  Teachers can just take it away if students make a mistake.  We want students to have ownership, power, over their rewards and earning them.

Instead of taking something away, or threatening to, remind students how they earn them.  That's where visuals come in.  See Charts and Behavior Training on one way to use visuals.  Consistent and constant reminders are what students need before they can turn replacement behaviors into habit.  And they need to know you're not letting up.

No matter how much they display off task or unsafe behaviors, they are not getting the item they asked for unless they demonstrate the replacement behavior.  After 1-3 times of this, they'll understand that they do not get what they want by demonstrating problem behaviors.  Problem behaviors occur because they've been reinforced.  This is no ones fault.  Hear me here: this is not the parent's fault and it's not your fault.  This is how life has worked for this baby.  Many times, parents feel attacked or judged.  When talking about these things, keep that in mind.

When I say it's not the parent's or other teacher's faults, that does not mean that they haven't reinforced the behaviors.  That means the parents may have done their best and needed a moment of quiet, so they gave the child what they wanted.  Or the teacher before you hadn't come across this blog and just tried to create an environment where they could teach the rest of the class.  Now it's on you.  You're breaking the cycle.  You can do this!  You go this!  You're making a difference!

Good luck!