keeping thanks
September 8, 2012 § 2 Comments
Today is laundry day and a the discovery of all too familiar remnants of unemptied pockets created a cheerful paper confetti amid a load of clean clothes as well as an amused moment of reflection.
My children’s elementary school utilizes a structured reward system to reinforce positive behavior. Children are given paper tickets acknowledging a behavior that reflects respectful, responsible, kind behaviors. Students are instructed to add their name to the back of their ticket before depositing it into a raffle jar. One child’s name is then routinely drawn from each class and they are invited to spin a wheel that identifies a randomly chosen prize. Naturally this system is intended to encourage children to behave in a way that increases the frequency of acknowledgment, thereby increasing the odds their name might be drawn and giving them an opportunity to win a prize.
My children keep their tickets. My son has moved on to middle school but old tickets still turn up buried beneath piles of books and old papers. My daughter’s are tucked inside tennis shoes, the pockets of her school clothes, corners of her backpack, and nestled amidst the chaos of her room. They keep these messages of appreciation with no need to win a greater gift. In fact, on occasion they gift these notes of thanks to others. Sometimes they turn up in our laundry.
I often wish the teachers that distribute the paper praise could see these closely guarded treasures that litter our home and know that the simple validation of good behavior or act of kindness are prize enough.
scribblechic 
I am so so glad I happened upon this post today. As teacher I really appreciate this. Thank you 🙂
Thank you. After publishing this I reconsidered sharing our family’s experience with my children’s teachers. I wrote a letter to each of my children’s previous teachers celebrating the paper thanks my children continue to collect and cherish.