Our e-class discussion of motivation and reading raises an issue I’ve considered a lot recently. One of my students who I’ll call Duke (if the name sounds familiar, that’s because I also mentioned Duke in my e-class discussion!) is excited to read but unmotivated otherwise. I’m fortunate that his parents are very engaged and interested in helping him succeed as much as possible. Duke works with a tutor afterschool and they are currently reading books from The Magic Treehouse series, books that are highly popular in my second grade classroom but above Duke’s reading level. Nonetheless, Duke’s parents describe how getting Duke to participate with his tutor and complete his homework is a constant struggle.
In order to keep Duke on task in class, Duke’s parents and I have developed a behavior contract. If Duke stays on task throughout the day with minimal interruption for redirection, he earns a Pokemon card. Duke really values Pokemon cards, and since we’ve started this system about a week ago, Duke has earned a Pokemon card every day. I know his parents and I are excited to see Duke motivated to work hard. But I wonder what will happen next year, or when Pokemon cards lose their allure. How can we keep Duke motivated, especially with reading since he’s already one of the lowest readers in my class? Are my good intentions only setting Duke up for disappointment and increased frustration in the future?
The National Association of School Psychologists' brief primer on motivation in early childhood and warns against the use of excessive extrinsic motivators when working with young children. But Duke has clearly struggled to stay motivated; early in the school year when the school’s reading specialist visited my classroom, she noted that “I see nothing’s changed since Kindergarten” as she saw Duke distracting another student. While I think this comment was a bit insensitive, I think it also highlights how students like Duke require creative thinking. At the same time, at what point do extrinsic motivators go overboard? I personally believe programs like DC Public School’s usage of money to motivate students as a part of their Capital Gains program erode at any intrinsic motivation a student may possess (even if some studies find they do work), but perhaps so do Pokemon cards. Over the next school year, I hope to continue working with Duke and his parents so he can be a motivated and confident learner.
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