Yr 1 - reward and de-merit system????

[beagle101]

My DD has just started year 1 and her new teacher (who is newly qualified - not that I am making a point about that just mentioning incase this is some new education philosophy that I don't know about!) has set up this huge landscape wallchart in the classroom.

The class is a mixed class of year 1 & 2

Each child is represented on the chart by a balloon face and they start up in the sky near the top of the chart - if they break a rule or talk (God knows what rules although I do know 'talking too loudly' is one that moves you down a level) they are made to get up from their seat and move their balloon face down the board towards the mud at the bottom. If they do really good work they get to go and move their balloon face up.

Kids who are in the stars at the top of this lovely landscape get the whole of 'golden time'- where they can choose a fun activity those further down the chart have their time reduced with those in the mud at the bottom getting no 'golden time'.

On Friday there were 3 kids (all Yr1 rather than Yr2)at the bottom of the chart who had to literally sit and watch the other kids playing. It wasn't my DD but I am absolutely HORRIFIED that such a system could be implemented.

A few of the other parents have expressed unease about this and DH and I are thinking of going in and speaking to the teacher and probably Head about this - surely this system is just humiliating for the kids in the mud - making them move their face things down in front of other kids and it teaches really unpleasant thing to all of the others.

It strikes me as just a really lazy way to impose rule obeyance and doesn't take account of the differences in children - am I wrong is this some new educational philosophy thing - what do others think?

Thanks!

[thisisyesterday]

horrible horrible horrible!

i don't think that reward/punishment systems like this work anyway.
what about the kids who just get on with it? they don't move up or down, despite being good

and as for publicly humiliating those who do something "wrong"- i just... i dunno, i would be fuming

[onimolap]

Our school has something similar. There's a housepoint chart on the wall to record achievement (whether that's academic or social or effort or whatever).

"Demerits" are not publicly recorded, and the houseplint chart is frequently taken down and a fresh sheet put up, so no-one is ever far adrift of the class.

But the removal of "golden time" is also a possibility. I think it's used sparingly, as the yr1 teacher told me that in the early weeks she was bending over backwards to make sure no-one "lost" it, but it was a useful sanction when the children were more used to the environment, and particularly useful if there was a group acting up. But it was only part of her classroom management, and behaviour did seem generally good. DD certaiy knew it was fairly applied, and didn't seem to have a problem with it.

[vesela]

Golden time? WTF? There is something called golden time? That is seriously messed up - well, the whole idea is, but that's an outrageous name. I would definitely speak to the head.

[RoadArt]

I dont think Golden Time incentive works for those kids who are disruptive, troubled, or have whatever issues they have.

Its always the same kids who miss out on Golden Time. All the kids can name which kids wont get Golden Time. Its a Joke!

Our kids love it because they get an hour to do whatever they want - sports, video, games, computer, dancing, the list is endless and its like party time when you go into the school. They also organise special trips.

Those that lose their time sit in a class and do worksheets. But it doesnt motivate them to want to do better and avoid losing out next time.

Some kids automatically seem to get strikes for certain behaviour, whereas other children get away with doing exactly the same thing.

Golden Time needs to be an incentive and to me is just something that they do as part of their week.

[vesela]

oh goodness, I've just googled Golden Time and seen it's a whole... thing. That is idiotic.

[magicmummy1]

I'm appalled at the thought of children being made to do worksheets when they have "lost" their golden time. Since when was learning supposed to be a punishment.

[daisy243]

I HATE reward systems! In dd's class they have "star of the day". Dd gets upset that she hasn't been said star. I've told her it's nonsense and she'll notice the naughty kids will be the star more often as they need encouraging!
I really don't like all this reward crap.

[Teacher401]

It would be great if schools worked without all this, would much prefer to just teacher. However due to supernanny culture, we have to do this. First of all 'watching' the other children have golden time does work. I'm sure lots of us remember being stood on the wall at playtime, watching the children play. This is the same sort of thing as then. As for the up, down thing on a board, it actually works really well when a child has to move themself down as they recognise what they've done wrong. Yes it's humiliation, but aren't most punishments? Stood outside head's office, missing playtime, having parents called in and being told off in front of others.

[beagle101]

Vesela - I know - I didn't realise golden time was a thing until I googled it - My DD just started talking about it this week - I can't believe the wiffle on some of the sites - I get that there has to be some sort of system for a teacher to maintain discipline etc but it's the humiliation of it all that makes me fume and as Roadart says it will be the same kids that miss out on golden time which will surely just reinforce their behaviour?

[IndigoBell]

Golden time is a terrible if you don't believe in rewards and punsihments (which I don't). If you do, then it's just a perfectly normal form of that.

They normally only lose 1 or 2 minutes. However even losing 1 minute is enough to cause my DS to have a total meltdown - so they don't use it with him anymore :)

There's loads of things in school you can't agree with. Not much you can do about it - besides being a school governor. I wouldn't complain about it. Save your complaints for things which are much worse than this. Golden time will probably have been agreed by the HT.

[gorionine]

"Golden time? WTF? There is something called golden time? That is seriously messed up - well, the whole idea is, but that's an outrageous name. I would definitely speak to the head."

I do not know a single school in our area that does not have "Golden time" for several years now.

[onimolap]

I'm interested in what the posters who don't agree with reward/punishment systems would advocate to keep order in the classroom. Could someone post other system/s?

Thanks!

[onimolap]

Oh - and what size group, age of children and type of setting/group/club you've seen it working well in.

Thanks again

[MumInBeds]

I think it is all very well to be aghast at these systems but spend some extended time in a primary school and you will see there are a lot of children lacking in discipline and very few 'tools' at the teacher's disposal to deal with that.

Behaviour is a massive issue in school, if children are not taught how to behave then the learning of everyone else in that class is disturbed.

In a good school the golden time is the first step, if there are children who regularly miss it then a behaviour worker is brought in to find other ways in addition to try to help them.

School is a mass education, the teaching has to happen to a group so there is limited scope for 'Little Jonny' or 'Little Katie' to do exactly as they please, for that kind of education their parents would have to home educate or get a tutor.

[vesela]

I went to a seminar on Montessori primary education the other day, and they have some good classroom management methods (the lecturer was a US teacher from a state Montessori school in Florida whose pupils were not particularly advantaged). Montessori doesn't use rewards.

DD goes to a Montessori nursery and they're excellent at keeping discipline without resorting to these kinds of methods (and yes, I think reward schemes are the bane of modern parenting and I worry about what they're doing to a generation of children).

Golden time sounds insidious - "You are golden children, and you're going to have some golden time. Not you, though." You could make a case for the name being racist, in fact. It just has horrible overtones in general.

I despair.

[domesticsluttery]

My DC's school uses various different reward systems.

Reception has a chart with a star, sun, rainbow and cloud. Everyone starts on the sun, if they behave well they go up to the star. If they don't behave well they go down to the rainbow, and if they continue to be naughty they go onto the cloud (and are sent to the Headmaster). The children who are on the star at the end of the day get a star sticker.

The whole school has the system that at the end of the week certificates are given to 3 people in each class for Good Behaviour, Working Hard and Using Welsh. I think these work their way around to everyone in the class eventually though and are probably used to incentivise those who don't behave well/work hard/speak Welsh normally. DS2 was the first child in the whole school to get the Good Behaviour certificate, and he certainly isn't the best behaved child in the school!

DS2's teacher has a star chart just for him too (he has been a bit challenging at times). If he gets all 10 stars in a week (two each day, one for morning and one for afternoon) he gets to take an extra book home at the weekend as a treat(he is a bookworm).

[witchwithallthetrimmings]

in ds class they get marbles and crystals for doing good work but they are rewarded as a group. So if the class gets enough marbles then they get to have a water fight at the end of term or if their tables gets enough then i think they get to chose an activity at the end of the week. I think making it a group thing does make it a bit better. there are no individuals rewards or punishments

[pinkthechaffinch]

Golden time potentially being perceived as racist?

Well I normally have a good radar for things that can be construed as being racist (DS is mixed race) but I have to admit this is one that has passed me by

[spiritmum]

I am at the Golden time thing. I'm thinking about moving and will definitely ask if any schools we look at have this.

Our dc's have rewards for work and helping out - get enough stamps on the card and you get a letter from the head. All though the school they collect cubes in jars for good or helpful behaviour and at the end of term each gets some kind of treat which they choose, such as a picnic or a trip to the village rec.

Must admit I'm not a big fan of any of it, my kids don't respond to rewards (or only in the short term) and it's much better to know that this is right and that is wrong because of the impact that it has on you and others rather than because you get a goody. But the dc's school's system doesn't flag up bad benhaviour and no-one loses a merit award.

I do believe in discipline to some extent though - our dc's school has various sanctions such as missing 5 minutes' of play, but only once children are well settled in, and only for really baaaad things; others include being sent to the head and getting your name put in the report book. These are effective for kids who are just getting into the habit of messing up. What they don't address are the repeat offenders, such as a girl who bullied dd1 - she just moves on to the next person, and dd1 is still scared of going to any clubs where thsi girl is. Obviously there is more to this than just a discipline issue but I have no idea how much influence schools can have where children have very unhappy home lives.

OP - I'd complain asap saying why you are upset.

[vesela]

That sounds a bit better, witch.

Better Behaviour Through Golden Time with a foreword by David Blunkett

[spiritmum]

indeed.

Is it me or are schools increasingly about squashing children into uniform moulds? Where's the room for individuality?

[CardyMow]

My dc's school has a 'traffic light' system. You start the day on green, if you are good you stay on green, if you are extra good you go up to the gold star. If you have a warning for your behaviour you go down to amber. If you continue to misbehave you go down to red. The being on red is seen as punishment in itself, you don't lose time or anything else. I mean, if your dc is consistently on red, the teacher will want to talk to the parent, but it's the being on red that is seen as the punishment. Most of the children do their utmost to stay on green at the very least. The only occasions I have heard of dc's missing breaktime is for bullying another child really.

[cornsilk909]

I've seen that kind of chart and it can be good if used well. I hate kids missing golden time for 'behaviour.' It's always the ones with behavioural difficulties but no recognised SEN that end up being penalised.

[witchwithallthetrimmings]

seen the "it's writers" in the review?