Silver Spring's Eastern Middle School gets slammed for rewarding good students

[Anonymous]

I personally think it would embarrass kids to be getting treats lavished on them for doing well while their peers get less or nothing. It also teaches the "elite" to justify any divide that already exists between them and people who aren't like them.

And for the kids who aren't improving in their grades, who may already be disengaged, excluding them from a fun and unifying activity is not going to help them get more engaged. A studnents don't need more motivation--they have theri futures to look forward to, pressure or rewards (praise or more) from parents, etc. What about the kids who didn't get invited? Punishment is not a way to motivate kids. Ask any psychologist or look at any book on parenting or behavior management. Having merit-based parties is ridiculous on so many levels. Grades are merit based and so are opportunities. Now fun and inclusion in school functions should also be? This is sad. Unfortunately it epitomizing the wrong-headed and backward "philosophy" of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pp here... Also want to add that the schools give WAAAY too many rewards these days as it is. The kids don't need freakin' rewards for everything. It starts in kindergarten with stickers and lollipops and then goes on with all kinds of convoluted reward systems that see the teachers having to spend their own money on things (even if they're from the dollar store, they add up!)

Why is getting straight As not considered a reward in itself? The achievement is the reward. I think we do the kids a disservice to suggest anything else. I think we'll also see problems with this in society in the future as this generation becomes adults who expect every little achievement to have a material reward. (I've already heard from a high school teacher how when he tells a student they did a good job, they say "what do i get?")

+1000. I really don't see any benefit to these rewards/bribes and I can see a huge potential for harm to kids who are working their butts off but will never reach that elusive straight A award.

[Anonymous]

10:11 here. Sorry about all my typos. Typing too fast!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp here... Also want to add that the schools give WAAAY too many rewards these days as it is. The kids don't need freakin' rewards for everything. It starts in kindergarten with stickers and lollipops and then goes on with all kinds of convoluted reward systems that see the teachers having to spend their own money on things (even if they're from the dollar store, they add up!)

Why is getting straight As not considered a reward in itself? The achievement is the reward. I think we do the kids a disservice to suggest anything else. I think we'll also see problems with this in society in the future as this generation becomes adults who expect every little achievement to have a material reward. (I've already heard from a high school teacher how when he tells a student they did a good job, they say "what do i get?")

+1000. I really don't see any benefit to these rewards/bribes and I can see a huge potential for harm to kids who are working their butts off but will never reach that elusive straight A award.

As the parent of an Eastern magnet student who does get straight As, I don't like the focus on straight A's. I think one of the really unhealthy things for gifted kids (or any kid) is a focus on perfection. Gifted kids are often perfectionists themselves and don't really need or benefit from additional pressure in this regard. For a long time the straight A students were just given a certificate as an award. My child was fine with that. It was a way of honoring the student without being divisive by offering treats to the few and exclusion from events to the many. As the parent of a straight A student, I would prefer to see an emphasis on improvement at any level, combined with recognition (but not rewards) to students at a variety of different levels (B average, A average, etc.) IMO, moving your average from a D to a B deserves at least as much recognition as getting straight As. Having a B+ average while playing the highest level of travel soccer is as much an accomplishment as a kid who does nothing but study and gets straight As.

There is a lack of imagination and sensitivity in the school administration as to how to deal with this issue in a productive way. I have always thought that the substance of the magnet program is fairly good, but that the teachers have very little socio-emotional understanding about how to motivate kids in ways other than by using fear and shame.

[Anonymous]

+1000 to 12:06

MCPS operates in some sort of old-fashioned mind set emphasising fear and shame and blind, rabid achievement-obsession (without necessarily teaching all that well, e.g. math). Having lived on the west coast for 10 years where there is emphasis placed on social-emotional development, I can say that MCPS wouldn't know social-emotional whole-child teaching if it bit them in the butt.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe so many moms are still on the "everyone gets a trophy" kick. Everyone is equal. Everyone works the same. Bullshit. If your kid only gets b's and c's and you are content they will never work harder. I agree with balance but most kids, especially middle schoolers, need motivation. This is pizza and party is one of them. It wasn't like they were completely excluded. I see so many kids going thru MCPS barely working, goofing off, and the helicopter mommy comes in to complain that johnny isn't getting good grades because of the teacher or something else. Kids need accountability. Yes, even in middle school. Too many coddled kids going to college hoping a 2.5 GPA in an English major will get them a job. Uh, nope. You have to work hard for success. it doesnt fall into your lap. No one gets straight A's if they don't try. That is a BS excuse. They time manage, think clearly, pay attention and then they don't have to cram.

I am glad the school did it and helicopter mommies didn't win the "it's not fair" battle. Maybe their whiny kids will realize coddling and complaining wont get you far in life.

[Anonymous]

"There is a lack of imagination and sensitivity in the school administration as to how to deal with this issue in a productive way. I have always thought that the substance of the magnet program is fairly good, but that the teachers have very little socio-emotional understanding about how to motivate kids in ways other than by using fear and shame."

THIS! and sadly this was true 7,8,9, years ago in the magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"There is a lack of imagination and sensitivity in the school administration as to how to deal with this issue in a productive way. I have always thought that the substance of the magnet program is fairly good, but that the teachers have very little socio-emotional understanding about how to motivate kids in ways other than by using fear and shame."

THIS! and sadly this was true 7,8,9, years ago in the magnet.

Only if your kid is reading a book instead of paying attention in class.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, kids shouldn't be rewarded for academic achievement...it should simply be expected that kids must do their best. There's no need for a party; the honor roll should be sufficient.

[Anonymous]

I seriously doubt they have pizza parties for the top students in china.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caste system, pah-lease! This is good training for real life. Your boss will not reward you for working hard. Your boss rewards you for success, achievement and accomplishment. The best students got pizza, soda, a game room and some dancing. The B and C students got soda as a reward. Other student got to come later

This would be a good motto for Ayn Rand Middle School. I, on the other hand, think there can be a more progressive and nurturing approach for 12 year old children.

I agree. Just because the adult world is harsh and cruel doesn't mean we want to mimic that for children. In fact, I would hope that we educate our children in such a way that they will create a better environment as adults, one that isn't "the ends justify the means." I feel in the adult world now, people get rewarded even when their accomplishment is based on back-stabbing, cheating, undermining others. Even though success and accomplishment are important in the workplace, there should still be a sense of fairness and cooperation. After all, very RARELY is an accomplishment or success just attributable to the efforts of one person. My experience has been that usually a lot of people's hard work contributed to the success, but the boss only rewards the one who self-promotes the most or gets the most visibility.

Everyone says that children are our future, and yet people are insistent on raising children in such a way as they will conform to the way the world is now. If we truly believe children are our future, then we should raise them in such a way that they will transform the world to make it better, not just keep in motion all of the old problems and nastiness.

It's about balance. You can encourage success and accomplishment without shutting out students who work hard but don't necessarily reach the same goals. It isn't about giving an award to everyone. It's about setting up values. The value that we want to instill isn't "getting an A." The value we want to instill is studying and working hard so that you get the best grade possible. Believe it or not, some kids get As easily. They didn't work hard. Other kids study and study and still can't get an A. If they see that their hard work not only doesn't get them an A but also means they're excluded, then they give up. And that is a bigger problem in school. I knew people in high school who had labeled themselves in such a way that they gave up, because they felt like even when they studied hard, they still didn't do as well.

I've also known people for whom As came easily growing up. they never had to work hard. They actually haven't done well as adults because they learned that they could be lazy and still be praised and rewarded. All the praise they got from their teachers didn't serve them well because it was praise for a result, a result that came naturally to them.

I guess you have a good point here. I'd have to agree. That said, it is up to the parent to help their award winning child keep that chip off their shoulder and the other child to see that their value is not tied to whether they win an award or not.

One approach could be to reward based on group accomplishment. So let's take the party idea. Tell the kids that the class has to reach Goal X in order to have a party. Let's say Goal X is a math test. One group of kids in the class has aced the material; another has not. Break the kids in groups and have the kids who have aced it try to explain the material and assist the kids who have not. The kids for whom the material comes easily are challenged because it is one thing to solve a problem; it is quite another to explain to another person how to solve a problem. It challenges those kids to be leaders. It also helps the kids who are struggling by giving them one on one attention. And often a kid will learn more from a peer than from the teacher, because a kid will explain something in terms another kid will more easily understand. It also teaches the kids to cooperate, because the reward depends on cooperation.

It amazes me when parents complain that their advanced kid isn't challenged if he/she is with not-so-advanced kids. Because there are actually ways to challenge the advanced kids. And it isn't by just surrounding them with other advanced kids.

I tutored when I was in school, and honestly, the material I tutored is the material that, to this day, I know the best. It was a challenge communicating concepts so that someone else could understand. It also taught me valuable skills that I have certainly used as an adult. And it also fostered in me an inclination to understand people instead of dismiss them.

This is just one suggestion of how a reward, such as a party, could be used in a school or a classroom.

But it has to be a combination of group work and individual achievement. Group work where just one product is submitted often results in one or two kids doing all of the work. But a system whereby all kids will have to do an independent assessment but the incentive for all is for the class as a whole to do well gets around that problem.

I prefer rewarding for individual achievement as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe so many moms are still on the "everyone gets a trophy" kick. Everyone is equal. Everyone works the same. Bullshit. If your kid only gets b's and c's and you are content they will never work harder. I agree with balance but most kids, especially middle schoolers, need motivation. This is pizza and party is one of them. It wasn't like they were completely excluded. I see so many kids going thru MCPS barely working, goofing off, and the helicopter mommy comes in to complain that johnny isn't getting good grades because of the teacher or something else. Kids need accountability. Yes, even in middle school. Too many coddled kids going to college hoping a 2.5 GPA in an English major will get them a job. Uh, nope. You have to work hard for success. it doesnt fall into your lap. No one gets straight A's if they don't try. That is a BS excuse. They time manage, think clearly, pay attention and then they don't have to cram.

I am glad the school did it and helicopter mommies didn't win the "it's not fair" battle. Maybe their whiny kids will realize coddling and complaining wont get you far in life.

Yep.

This is middle school, not kindergarten.

At some point individual responsibility and achievement needs to focused on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1000 to 12:06

MCPS operates in some sort of old-fashioned mind set emphasising fear and shame and blind, rabid achievement-obsession (without necessarily teaching all that well, e.g. math). Having lived on the west coast for 10 years where there is emphasis placed on social-emotional development, I can say that MCPS wouldn't know social-emotional whole-child teaching if it bit them in the butt.

MCPS operates in some sort of old-fashioned mind set emphasizing fear and shame and blind, rabid achievement obsession WHILE ALSO operating in some sort of dumbed-down, PC mind set emphasizing doing the bare minimum and "everybody gets a trophy". That's quite an achievement for MCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe so many moms are still on the "everyone gets a trophy" kick. Everyone is equal. Everyone works the same. Bullshit. If your kid only gets b's and c's and you are content they will never work harder. I agree with balance but most kids, especially middle schoolers, need motivation. This is pizza and party is one of them. It wasn't like they were completely excluded. I see so many kids going thru MCPS barely working, goofing off, and the helicopter mommy comes in to complain that johnny isn't getting good grades because of the teacher or something else.

Pizza and soda party given at the school at the school's discretion of who attends. I call bullshit. I've spent a lot of time in the school system and can tell you that not all kids get treated the same, the ones whose parents are involved and active do get better treatment. The teachers, administration and staff don't want to have a face a parent that they know is frequently in the school. Now the parents who are not involved, their kids won't get that much attention.

There is favoritism and rules get bent for some kids, while other kids are just ignored and shoved to the side.

It's not the schools place to reward good grades, it's the families place.

[Anonymous]

+1

Middle school is too early to be giving kids the message that they don't count and don't deserve. Who is looking out for the really low achieving kids? Half of them are probably hungry or disadvantaged in some other way. And do the straight A kids really need the entire school staff looking out for them and feeding them?