Today is something of a controversial, but important subject. And I’m going to be sharing information with you about why I think you should stop attendance rewards.
It’s becoming more and more popular in classrooms and schools to base rewards on attendance. Giving students who receive over 95% or even achieving 100% a reward – and nobody else.
First, let me talk about the reasons why some classrooms and schools may decide to do this – what the benefits of high attendance are.
- Helps them get into a consistent schedule.
- Encourages students to develop relationships with both staff and other students.
- Gives students the chance to work on their social skills.
- More attendance = more work they are taking part in.
- Students are able to learn basic as well as more informative skills.
And those are just a few, quick benefits that having high and consistent attendance can have for students. So, it’s easy to see why schools and teachers want to encourage the high attendance from students.
And we all know that many of our students are highly motivated by rewards. They like pleasing others. And getting something that motivates them – something that they really want can be the reward.
So, why am I telling you to stop doing this? For the following reasons..
Circumstances
There are a lot of circumstances that are out of our students control. And this is especially true when it comes to attendance. It is not fair for us to hold our students accountable for something that they don’t have full control over.
Choice
Slightly similar to circumstances – but many of our students won’t get a choice to be able to go to school that day or not. Their family members, parents and guardians are the ones who are most likely making those decisions. They could have something else planned, they may have booked something – or they may be struggling themselves.
Mental health is more important now than ever. And many of our families can be faced with a lot of difficulties like social isolation, financial difficulties, difficulty finding resources, exhaustion feelings of confusion and even burn out. All of these can have an effect on whether a student comes to school or not that day. And again, this is something that is totally out of that students individual control and choice.
Illness
I see a lot of talk on social media, in staff rooms, conferences and training events about illness. And a lot of it can stem from education professionals who are frustrated when families send students to school when they are ill.
But, by basing rewards on attendance – the school and classroom themselves are the ones pushing students to come to school when the are not feeling well – and this can just encourage the spreading of germs.
A year of being 100% well and without a single illness is pretty impossible these days. Many of our students may not be interested in the attendance reward. But a lot will feel the pressure of having to achieve it and not wanting to fail. We shouldn’t be pressuring our students to come to school when they are not feeling 100%.
Medical Needs
Many of our students are more prone to picking up illnesses, as we know. But, on top of that, a lot of our students also have a lot of other medical needs that can play a factor on their attendance records as well.
This could be through physical medical needs – they may be in pain. They may not be able to take part in certain activities because of their medical needs – or they could but would find it very difficult. So their families may decide to keep them home and do something else with them that day.
It could be the fact that they get a lot of medical appointments that they need to attend. Perhaps they need different treatment options, and even operations. These can all have an effect on their attendance at school as well.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a very real thing in life. And until you experience it yourself, or have the experience of a close one going through it – I don’t think you’ll really understand how it can affect someone.
Anxiety can literally stop you from doing something. And I know that may sound strange – how can it physically stop you doing something? But, anxiety works in a way that can literally stop you in your tracks. And with that, comes the possibility that anxiety could stop students from going to school.
There can be a lot of reasons why anxiety can have an effect on students with stopping them come to school. And as much as I would love to help you out and list them here – I have noticed one thing when experiencing anxiety with someone I love. And that is – there are too many reasons to list, and they are different for everyone.
For this, it’s really a case of getting to know your students, and building a strong relationship with them, and their family. This will allow you all to communicate effectively and hopefully be able to support your student.
However, this is another example of why the pressures of an attendance reward can have a negative affect. The anxiety of not wanting to go to school because of something, tied with the anxiety of missing out on an attendance reward can quickly become overwhelming.
Bullying
Bullying is more and more common in schools these days. And I’ve recently recorded a podcast episode all about this. Listen to it here.
Bullying comes in a number of ways and can be emotional or physical – or both! And this can make school a very unpleasant, and scary experience. And it’s enough for students to not want to come to school.
Forcing a student to come to school to achieve their attendance reward, while going through bullying, can have a hugely negative affect on a student.
And those are just a few reasons why students may not be able to achieve full attendance – meaning they can’t get their attendance reward. And as you can see, a lot of these are out of our students control.
Sure, you can still give your students rewards. But, please don’t base these on attendance. Our students have enough pressure without an added extra one that doesn’t need to be there.
Instead, base rewards on other things. Acts of kindness is a great one and something we all want to encourage. They can be small rewards like, being a good friend, sharing, helping someone else. And these are all things that our students can control and work on too.
We love using these reward cards. My students love being able to collect them all and put them on display in their folders.
Do you use rewards with your students? Let me know in the comments down below. If you found this blog post helpful, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues on social media.
