[Savvy]

I have mixed feelings about prizes. I definitely don't think that kids should be receiving tangible prizes on a daily basis. At my school, we are not allowed to use color charts or anything else that publicly displays behavior. I like to give students opportunities to earn privileges that don't cost money. (have lunch with the teacher, computer time, eat lunch with a friend, read to a buddy, etc.) I think that giving out prizes too often makes them lose their value and also tells kids that this is what they should expect from teachers. It can lead to students not wanting to listen because they don't get a prize. I give out prizes randomly and unannounced. Then I let students know why they are getting a prize. Again, I don't do this very often.

One very big problem that I've had in the past was that another teacher would give students prizes everytime they were in his class, but not all students earned the prize. So the students that didn't receive a prize would come back to class with poor attitudes and very negative behavior although I had nothing to do with them getting/not getting a prize. I came to loathe the days that I sent my students to this teacher.