Program at school...rotate Rewards or Reward the Student That Has Done the Most?

I think they have tried to construct a program to help provide an incentive for kids to read, and have probably considered the fairness issues as well as what is likely to be most effective, and made a good-faith effort to come up with the best system they could--perhaps not anticipating that it would be 1 kid with 62 books, 1 kid with 1 book, and no other kids having turned in the paperwork. I think it probably is a bit demoralizing if the same kid wins all the time, and at least they did not give an award to a kid who did not participate at all. I think that I might be mildly annoyed if I were you, but on the other hand it probably is annoying to be a teacher trying to come up with a nice incentive program, perhaps buying the rewards out of pocket, and then have a parent complain about the way the rewards are distributed. I think it is reasonable for them to have a policy that the same kid can't win twice, and also reasonable to think about changing the program for next semester if only the same 1 or 2 kids are participating. I would try to focus my child more on the intrinsic joy of reading than the tangible reward.

Welcome to the wonderful world of "No Child Gets Ahead". I agree with you completely and have run into the same sort of things in my children's school as well. J. keep encouraging the reading at home and your kids will turn out fine.

Wow. I think it is great you read so many books to your child. We also read at least 3 books a night for many years..We only had 1 child, we were both home for dinner, bath and bed time each night. It was just natural to us to do this. We did not need a prize. I actually read every book our daughter ever read up until she started High school.. So what?

And so they should know your child will win every time and no one else should even try to get to that stage. Does that sound like fun or even slightly achievable for others? Do you care? Is it your problem or responsibility? No..

But what is the point of winning every time? because YOU read all of these books and keep a running record? Are you wanting the prize? Or is this something your daughter needs? Would it be ok for others to have a chance? Is it enough to know you can blow everybody else away for the entire school year without even trying?

Imagine working parents that do not even have access to that many books or have multiple children or a parents that work late. They would love to be able to have the luxury of this. Could be they are reading but just do not keep up with the record keeping.

Look at the spirit of this challenge and what it means to those that it is more of a challenge to reach this goal. Maybe that will give you an idea of why they thought they would let someone else feel a little boost by being able to win..

This is not about you or your daughter, it is about all of the children at school.

You are right.. This is not fair, it is just elementary school. Some children need more help than others need more incentive. When they are adults they will have enough disappointments. Maybe teach your daughter to be gracious and enjoy hearing and reading books, not for the prize or attention, but because of your love of reading.

I know you are frustrated and feel this is not fair. But these are children that probably do not have parents as involved as you,

Just for a little shoe on the other foot:

"If my daughter and I can do this I don't see why others can't."

My son could do intermediate algebra and a little applied mathematics at age 7. If he can do it... I don't see why other's can't. Why should a kid who is only doing addition at age 7 get a reward?

Kids are all DIFFERENT. Some struggle in some areas, and other areas come as easy as pie, and others are difficult but doable, and others are impossible. Math is easy for my son. Doesn't mean that he's the only one who should be rewarded for his efforts. What little they are, honestly, because... like we both said; our kids LIKE these things.

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And here's something else to think about:
- dyslexia
- just learned to read this year
- has always hated reading, but for the first time, found a book he liked
- loves reading, but only read 1 book, a good 400 page novel, all by himself with no parental help ((THIS was a classmate of my son's in K, btw. One of the parent volunteers was HUGELY upset that "P" had only read 3 books on his chart for the whole year, and did his parents just not CARE??. Mrs. S laughed, and told them to look at the titles of the book. The Swiss Family Robinson, Sherlock Holmes, and something I forget. Yep. And the kid was 5, and he was reading them 100% on his own. Meanwhile her kid was reading books that can be finished in 5 minutes. My OWN kid? Ha. He'd given up reading the year before. Took 3 more years to get him back into it.))

AKA quantity doesn't always win over quality
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Personally, though, I'm a fan of the college system in this (as in soooo many things).

EVERYONE who does x = magna cum laude
EVERYONE who does y = suma cum laude

A "single prize" (like this catching the fire) sets things up as a competition where students have to either beat out the other students by doing more/better (or their parents have to beat out the other parents). I'm FAR more fond of competing against MYSELF.

I agree with you 100%... hard work should be rewarded.... If in six weeks, other kids aren't reading, then why should your child pay the price... I have the same dilemma at my son's school.. so far, he has finished ALL his book reports before everyone else, gets in ALL projects first , submits his weekly reading log first and gets all A s... However, there is never any particular reward for turning in work early OR as in his case, his book reports (when asked) are very colorful and beautifully illustrated.. whereas, some kids do them all in pencil (what looks like the night before).... When I saw that, I thought, why the heck are we busting our butts to do such great work when those who do a sloppy job still get an A..... so yeah, I am with you.. hard work.. deserves EXTRA..... why not have kids aspire UP not down...............

oh and people can say, well some kids don't have parents who teach or read to them.. TRUE.. but many do..... so even if half the kids in her class have no parents helping.. what about the other half... too many people in this society making excuses as to why kids aren't doing well.. part of the problem is that some parents are LAZY parents...

The fact that your lucky enough to be able to stay at home and read large amounts of books is wonderful. Not all children are able to have their parents read to them. Other children need to be rewarded to give them the same desire to keep reading. I get what your saying but come on its kids reading. And are you sure that he didn't read 62 books? did you ask or are you assuming that since it was 62 it was just him reading one and your daughter the rest? I think you need to let your daughter read on her own and document those books. this competition is for the students not the parents. if you don't bow out now when she is in 4th grade your going to be trying to do the science fair project for her lol. just let it go and let other kids be inspired to read.

I don't know what you mean by "catches the fire" - I'm guessing that means wins the reward. So they randomly choose one student who participates.

I am completely disgusted by the way schools decide to run their "rewards" programs (good behavior, turning in homework on time, reading, attendance, etc). Supposedly they are designed to reward students who excel - WRONG. They are designed to encourage students who do not do what is expected.

Here's how it works "Congratulations Bobby, you picked up the paper that you threw on the floor you get a reward". "Sally, please pick up that piece of paper (I know you didn't throw it on the floor, but I don't know who did and I know if I ask you, you'll do it without making a face, or a nasty remark), Thank you (but you don't get a reward, because you're the type of person who always does what asked)"

It occurs in elementary, middle and high school. Myself as well as a few parents have complained and spoken up, and it gets better for a little while and then just goes back to the same old unfair ways. It's helped to teach my children that not all is fair in the world, and that they would rather be the type of person who knows they did the right thing, rather than have a reward that means nothing.

So it's not he/she who reads the most books wins but instead anybody who has read is entered. So many variables here with kids. You are helping your daughter love reading and that will help her forever. It's OK mama, YOU can't win the reading award every time.

I can totally understand your frustration - my daughter, like your daughter, goes above and beyond what is asked of her and if I were in your shoes I would be a little ticked off too - but unfortunately there's nothing you can do about it =( I do understand that the same student 'catching the fire' every six weeks might get old BUT it might also motivate the other students to get their butts in gear and obviously she's earned it! My daughter's school has different programs/contests throughout the school year and every student that participates to some degree is entered into the drawing and a winning name is drawn from each classroom and after reading your post I'm thankful for that!

Sounds to me like any child that has read ANY books gets considered for the "prize". And I think that's okay, if that is how they designed it, in order to encourage the kids to want to read. Reading (in that setting) isn't about a competition. If you want that sort of thing, you should look into Accelerated Reader programs (where they can earn points to shop with in a school store, based upon how many books at what level they read and how well they comprehend what they read), or something like Georgia has, called the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. The kids voluntarily read a proscribed list of books, write questions and answers regarding the stories they read, and stay after school each week to practice in a "game show" like setting. Then, after several months of practice, the teams compete against other schools. Kinda like Jeopardy!: A moderator asks a question about one of the books on the list (any book) and the kids buzz in to answer. My daughter did that in 4th grade and loved it.
That is totally different than what sounds like the objective is in your assembly setting. They WANT all the kids to be winners/readers. They aren't trying to narrow it down to the best reader. They want the kids just starting to enjoy reading to "catch the fire" and have a reason to read. In true competitions, it is comparisons between who is best/fastest/strongest/whatever. But there is A defined winner.
I am ALL for rewarding kids for working hard, and only giving the "winner" the blue ribbon, etc. (see my responses in a post recently about entitlement kids)... but "catching the fire" doesn't seem like an outright competition to me, with the goal of choosing just one person as winner. If it was, the "competition" would not recur every 6 weeks, they would run it the entire year and have ONE winner, based solely on who read the most books.

Besides, if you can read TO your child and have that count as equal to your KID doing all the reading, how fair is that? What if mom isn't a good reader or doesn't like it. Or has several needy kids and can't sit down at bedtime to read a stack of books every night. If they include parents reading TO the kids as "qualifying" books, then it really isn't about what the kids are doing at all. So why think that a kid who read ONE book shouldn't qualify? What if someone said their parents read them 97 books, but the child didn't read ANY of them.... would it be better for that child to "win" over yours, since yours read less? I, personally, wouldn't think so. But that is how they set up the incentive. And really, that is all it is... an incentive to read. Not a true competition. So no, I wouldn't be upset.
I WOULD however, be annoyed that the kids who were reading for themselves did not receive different recognition or have a different category from the kids who were getting books read TO them. :(

This is one reason why I am not 'with' the incentive programs. They mean well, but they end up encouraging children to feel badly and more competitively about each other.

That said, I understand your upset. Once again, not a fan of the rewards. Some better ways to 'showcase' a child's desire to read:

Teacher can offer a "Reading Rainbow" type time once a week where any child can do a short presentation on a book they enjoyed. This promotes literacy by ensuring the child reads for context and writes down notes for the presentation. Also great experience in *giving presentations*.

The children can do the short one-sentence synopsis,draw a picture, and then hang it on a bulletin board in the hallway. Kids can read them as they pass by and be inspired.

Do a fun activity: have all the children write down the titles of their books on a long register tape roll. Measure how far it stretches, and let that be the classroom's collective 'best' to beat the next month.

These are just three ideas that encourage reading without incentivizing something that we hope our kids will do on their own. IT IS FABULOUS (yep, shouting) that your daughter took the time to do the work. Maybe you, awesome mom, can take her out for a special time to honor the work she did, because it means something to you and her. Maybe a trip to the bookstore, or if she's old enough to be responsible with it, a library card. (I got one for my ninth birthday and it was the best of all my presents that year!)

Sorry about the tough break. This is a tough lesson for your girl, but a real one in life... sometimes, it really isn't fair. But she doesn't have to let it stop her from enjoying something if she loves it.

I gave up the whole competetive game a long time ago and made it about my child's accomplishments. If they perform, try their absolute best, this is what I expect. I could care less if Johnny read 2 or 200 books as I don't live with him and have to help him with his homework, literacy, math, and science skills. I understand reading to your child is important, I don't know how old she is, but maybe it is time to challenge her abilities with reading using sight words and seeing how far she can go without too much pressure. I know she will read a few less books with you but she will grow rather than trying for a plastic charm that will be in a box in the attic or in the trash. The goal of programs like this is to help inspire non-readers to want to get reading or get help from their parents. It's nice to be the one awarded multiple times but when you go to an assembly and it's the 30th week of school, it would get a bit old for the other students if your child was the only one pulled up and said way to go here's your prize. It's an a spark they hope to instill. So compete at home as the reasons for people getting awards in life are not always fair and just and we must not set our kids up that they win everything as a child and then when it comes time for a promotion that they truly deserve and worked hard for and it goes to the bosses best friend. Good luck with trying to make life fair for her. I am a cynical person by nature however. This all being said teaching your child that knowing you did the honest work, didn't slack and will be better for it should be the reward.

This is the way of the world nowadays. It's the same reason you are forced to invite your child's whole class to his party, even if he's not friends with everyone. God forbid our kids learned a life skill like dealing with disappointment, or that you have to work your tail off or be extra talented to get the prize. It's unrealistic & ridiculous, IMO. The real world is waiting & these kids are being told how special they are even if they put no effort into it. The movie "The Incredibles" displays this phenomenon wonderfully.

I can see their point about wanting to get other kids involved and being fair. Maybe there is something personal going on with that kid and it WAS a big deal for him to complete one book. I will say that anyone should have been able to read their kid more than one book in 6 weeks. If they did and didn't write it down, then the recognition obviously isn't important enough to them.

I think your daughter should have received some sort of recognition for reading that many, even if it was just to announce it to the whole school for a round of applause.

That's a tough one, because I believe that hard work should be rewarded. However, reading is its own reward, and in the case of reading I think that kids who might not have an involved parent like you should be somehow inspired and rewarded.

If that means that he unfairly wins, then so be it. Your daughter has already won by having a very involved mother.

Let it go. When kids are little, it's more important to be "fair," true competition will come into place more in middle and high school, where it's more relevant.

I think it is important in a program like this to encourage and reward all the kids. It is great you read a lot to your kid, but should she always be the only on rewarded for it? I will be honest, I would love to read 3 books a night to my child, but we don't have that kind of time, we do other activities. I don't think that one kids should always win just because that family has a lot of extra time. Any kid that puts in effort should have a chance to win.

My kids are both readers (big surprise as mom and dad are English professors) and their school has reading awards every trimester. Often my kids are recognized because they have read the most books. However, the best award ceremony I ever saw was the one where my son was not recognized at all. Instead, the teacher came up with heart-felt awards that recognized the effort of the kids who were not readers. These teachers are trying to encourage the kids who are not naturally good at reading to go for it because all the research shows that students who are strong readers will succeed academically. I absolutely support that. The truth is that not all kids have supportive parents like you and teachers need to come up with ways to inspire them. My kids have enough ribbons and to tell you the truth, they really liked watching their friends be recognized for things like "Achieving reading level goal" or "Scoring 100% on Accelerated Reader Tests."

I hate to sell things too and my kids never get those awards, but the thing is, selling wrapping paper has nothing to do with academic success, while reading does, so I have no problem with spreading those awards around a bit.

I agree with you and Kozmama 100%. Children should be rewarded for their accomplishments. If they don't acheive the goal, they shouldn't get the prize. We keep passing kids who shouldn't pass, too (which is a whole different rant), and that's why I have students in my senior English classes who read on a third grade level. It's absurd, and sad all at the same time. We aren't doing them any favors by rewarding them (or passing them) when they haven't earned it.