One Third

This school year has solidified a concept for me.  When it comes to discipline, decisions or opinions: people will (almost always) fall into one of three categories.  One-third will do what they are expected to do just because.  One-third will do what they are expected to do if the reward is good enough and one-third doesn't really care unless the consequence is something they truly care about.  The number of students in each group may not be different, but in most cases, students will fit in one of these groups.

The longer I teach, the more I realize that this philosophy almost always works.

Example One: Classroom Tickets
One group of students will act correctly regardless.  One group of students will act correctly because they want tickets or are afraid of losing tickets.  The last group of students will only behave correctly if the punishment is deemed  bad enough.  I have had students tell me on many occasions it is alright if they get in trouble because they are on green.

Example Two:  Reading Rewards
One group of students will read because they love to read.  One group of students will read if they really want that pizza or reward.  The last group will probably not read regardless of the reward.  This may be because they don't like reading or because there is no one at home to make sure they read each night.

Our goal should be to encourage students to want to do and be their best.  Regardless of the reward or punishment.  "Real" life does not always have clear cut rewards and punishments.  We need to prepare our students for this life.