Participle

A recent article in The Guardian highlights one community’s efforts to align healthy behaviours with healthy incentives. So often we assume children and young people have material motives and so try to encourage ‘good behaviour’ with commercial rewards. As a primary school student, if I performed well on a test or read a certain number of books in a month, I was rewarded with a gift certificate for pizza. Similarly, when my entire class exceeded expectations on an exam or assignment we got to visit the school ‘store’ where cheap prizes supposedly cultivated continued hard work. By linking student performance with material stuff, we can inadvertently compromise students’ intrinsic motivations. At the same time, positive feedback most certainly breeds success.  That’s why a Scottish Council’s decision to reward students with charitable donations is such a bright, new idea. Students acquire points for healthy behaviour and then can use those points to select items in a Save the Children catalogue. Healthy behaviour is rewarded with caring and empathy. Ends and means are in synch. Read more at:
Guardian article