Student recognition in the classroom is a necessity to keep
students working their hardest. It becomes easy to overlook the student who is
always doing what is expected, and to always notice the child who is
misbehaving. But, consciously recognizing students as they achieve great things
is vital to motivating children throughout their school career.
Think about the last time you were praised by your superior.
How did it feel? Did you remember whether or not you smiled? Were you then more
likely to continue working at that specific something in order to improve it
even more? I know I am always grateful when my boss takes notice of something
special I have been working on. Make sure your students also have these
too-rare experiences. Without them, they are less likely to continue working as
hard. Children, in particular, work to please you. Intrinsic motivation only
goes so far in school, until extrinsic motivators (positive or negative) take
over. Make sure you create those positive choices in each child's frame of
reference.
Take a class roster quickly this week and start noting what
talent(s) each child is particularly good at, or has been working extra hard at
accomplishing. At first, the list will be easy - you always have shining stars.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you will also easily be able to jot down
how behavior students have made strides at certain things because they tend to
take up so much of your time. But, the middle-of-the-road students become more
challenging. These are the students you want to zone in on because they are the
students that typically get overlooked. They are not star students, but they
also are not time-consuming behavior issues either. You may really have to work
hard throughout the week to notice talents that you may have not seen before.
By focusing in on all students, you will have a complete
list of subjects or talents from which to recognize each individual in your
class. You can then make it be a special awards day, complete with a party. Or
do something simple like make a call home or send a note. Whatever way you
choose to celebrate, every student will feel special and continue to want to
please. Extrinsic or intrinsic, as long as they feel good, that is all that
matters.