House Points - So I either need a reality check (be gentle) or a pep talk.

[Changeforthrday]

Sooooo, we have a system where the kids earn house points. Each week they are counted up.

For the past two years DS (8) has been doing really well with points. He is quite polite, helpful and does his work well and gets good marks. He was usually neck and neck with his best pal in the point league.

This year, he is lucky to get two or three in a week, there are a small number of children (one his best pal) who get over 20 almost every week, same kids. He doesn't get any red points (which are bad ones). Even the kids who have 'challenging' behaviour issues are wiping the floor with him. Some of it is very unfair (kids who do a certain lesson can double their points in this class alone, as they teacher is very generous with points).

The question is - do I ask the teacher of there is an issue with his behaviour or work, or just assume that a) he is just keeping his head down and getting on with his work, b) his work is 'ok' and his behaviour average (which would make the last two years seem a bit odd), or c) teacher just doesn't like him. I think she may have noticed me eyeing the chart when I drop him off in the mornings.

Am I being over sensitive? He is getting a bit unmotivated by it, so not sure what the point of the Points are! I hate the system and remember hating it at school and I got so many red ones for talking in class!

[creamteas]

What year is your DS? In my experience it doesn't take long for DC to have no interest in these type of scheme at all regardless of where they are situated in the points scoring system .......

If it is not bothering him, I would forget about it.

[Changeforthrday]

Year 4.

[TalkinPeace2]

DS (year 8) came home from Celebration Assembly this week having had to watch the troublesome kids each get given an iPod Touch for being less manky than normal.

He, who is never manky, got nothing.
And I cannot afford to buy him one.
One of the manky kids ALREADY had one.

School reward / management systems are the first real insight kids have that life is not fair to the well behaved.
C'est la vie

[Changeforthrday]

What a bummer! He did even suggest 'messing about like X or Y to get a point for being good'. He didn't even get points for winning school competitions - hell, they weren't even mentioned in the school newsheet (the 'bad kids' fart and they get a profile!).

I hate the whole 'reward bad behaviour and sooks' regime. My primary school teacher really hated me and used to complain - in front of me - that I shouldn't really be in the top set (even though I was usually top/second in the class) even though I was over a year younger that the other kids (squeaked into school and was put up a year). She couldn't really move me but really made me feel thick. If she had bothered her arse with me rather that knock my confidence and belief in myself, I'd be running NASA by now! Or at least have a proper job.

You know the 'manky' kids will only break their nice shiny new toys!

I don't know whether it's worth a mention to his teacher or not. She seems nice enough and gave a glowing report at parents' evening.

[senua]

You called them 'house points' - is that as in 'there is a competition between Red House,Yellow House and Blue House'? (or lions, tigers and bears or whatever they call the Houses)
Can you go in with the line of "DS thinks he is letting the House down, what can he do to get more points? For the team, you understand."

[Changeforthrday]

At the end of the year they tot up the inmdividual points and see which house wins. Sadly DS is very vocal and probably already voiced his disillusion in the system!

[Mutteroo]

DC's had house points at their primary school. saldy the same thing happened and the troublemakers got points for behaving one day as my DCs did every day. I know it may be easier for my kids to tow the line as they have supportive parents and stable home life, however its not a fair system and DC hated it.


Sounds like nothing changes!

[rabbitstew]

How on earth does he know how many house points he has in comparison to everyone else?

Putting on smug face: good behaviour should be its own reward - you shouldn't expect to be rewarded for behaving the same as usual. Perhaps he could pull his finger out and do something spectacular?! (Either spectacularly naughty, or spectacularly good, depending on whether he wants to be noticed, or wants to be praised!!!!).

[rabbitstew]

And I do think it a tad hypocritical to complain that the naughty children get all the prizes - if it was that much fun being naughty, in reality, then more children would be deliberately bad, but we all know that it's not worth the actual dislike generated by behaving badly just in order to get a house point for not being naughty - ie he needs to get some perspective on this... being naughty is NOT rewarding and it's childish to pretend you think so.

[lljkk]

iPod Touch?!
tell me that is not a State School. And please not a state primary school.

If they don't screw up too much in 3 or 4 areas DS high school takes the kids on a reward trip day each term, but you have to behave in all areas (attendance, homework, behaviour, ?).

the house points are briefly listed next to children's names, I think, in DC primary school, so kids can see roughly whose name always comes up. But the rewards are for all those in the same house, so all points you earn count towards the house competition reward(s).

[Changeforthrday]

House points are put up on the chart each day, so you can't really miss them! The 'naughty' kids have a choice not to get into fights, run up the stairs, yell out in class etc and there is also a point system for this. Poor old DS gets neither good nor pad points and has often come home with his homework not marked. And one of the 'naughties' is actually very popular but completely wild. All children see is naughty children being 'rewarded' for not being naughty, on the same system that does not recognise their good behaviour or work.

The top housepoint score gets an award at the end of the year. Last year DS was pipped by his best mate (he was really happy he had won an award as he was new to the school) so it's hard on him that he is getting bugger all points while his pal is getting top scores each week.

[Lougle]

'Manky'? Nice.

[Changeforthrday]

Maybe they are? I was usually rather manky as a child, always climbing trees, refusing to brush my hair (it was long and tangly) and always had scanned knees..

[Pyrrah]

We had them at my prep-school, but it was really quite hard to get either. If you were awarded a point then you had to go and find the house register and report to the staff room to get it marked on the board. Good ones were for things like a visiting parents saying how incredibly helpful/polite you were, bad ones for things like throwing things or mild rudeness to staff. For a particularly spectacular sin or achievement you might even get 2 points.

There were other things that also contributed to house points and the winning house each year went on an outing.

I think having too many makes them much less incentivising...

ipod touch - for behaving? Do hope tax-payers money didn't pay for that...

[Changeforthrday]

The iPad touch is going to cost what, £250 for the 32gb? Flipping eck!

If state, I'd be pissed it was coming from my tax pes and if private, I'd be pissed it was coming from my fees! Ether way, the message is hardly a good one, unless they were absolute hooligans who changed their behaviour and ended up builting wells in Africa (or maybe they did).

[TalkinPeace2]

State, secondary

and I believe DS, because there was an outcry a few years back that the "off timetable" kids at my closed catchment school got given vouchers and taken shopping at West Quay - just for turning up each day for a month.

In the school's defence (because I'm absolutely sure they are not unique) -
each of those kids who can be kept in school to get basic qualifications, learn a trade, stay out of prison will save the taxpayer a lot more than the cost of a bit of electronics in the long run.
Its a big picture, strategic view that, galling as it is to DS, I support.

[Changeforthrday]

Why give a child something that will make them a mugging target?

[TalkinPeace2]

change
thinking of a few of the kids in question - revenge - for what they do to others

[Changeforthrday]

That bad, eh?

I was at school with some kids who did need a good boot up the bum, but there were some who genuinely needed encouragement - children who worked but found it hard (in ye olden days before dyslexia was properly diagnosed).