January, 2005 Volume 2, Number 1
In This Issue · Earl’s Corner · Rewards and Make Your Day FAQS Need an answer to a question quickly? Go to the Frequently Asked Questions. Hundreds of questions can be answered when you need it – NOW. Discussion Forum Educators, parents and students participate in discussions related to various components of MYD. As a community, we can learn about each other’s perspectives and help each other. What’s on the Website Research that supports the components of MYD (www.makeyerday.com/supporting research.htm) Grant Money: Don Peek, a former administrator, has a business that helps schools find grant money. By clicking on the grant link at the bottom of most pages, you will be able to sign up for a free newsletter that will keep you current on grant opportunities. Websites: Parents Teachers Our school would like to use MYD Contact Us: 480 419-0605 Email	Earl’s Corner There is no greater lesson taught than by living and learning through experience. The closest we can come to providing our students with first-hand experience is by giving them the advantage of the modeling that we provide throughout the day. This occurs in academics, social interactions, and meeting the common expectancies of a safe, productive learning environment. We don't seek to be our students’ friends nor will we ever be their peers; however, we should not expect more from our students than what we are willing to demonstrate ourselves. Our participation in points and concerns facilitates a greater understanding of the process and allows our students to know that there is value in the experience for all. If we view self-assessment (points) and confirmation (concerns) as a valuable experience for our teaching, students will transfer a similar value to their learning experience. This process allows us to demonstrate our lack of perfection to our students. When we, as teachers, identify areas of improvement and ask our students for help by means of concerns it provides the greatest learning opportunity of all. Our participation in this process and willingness to be transparent takes the pressure off of our students in their quest for perfection and allows them to feel comfortable about taking responsibility. We can also gain greater insight about the effectiveness of our teaching when our students are comfortable giving us feedback during concerns. Schools who have incorporated points as a part of curriculum and teachers who have accepted an equal level of participation in the process have discovered that the atmosphere of the classroom changes in a way that fosters learning at all levels, which enhances academic performance. The value of this interaction cannot be over-stated. It may be scary for those who haven't opened themselves up to this type of experience with their students, but I can assure you that this will help solidify even the most challenging of student-teacher relationships. If this remains too great of a challenge for some, please contact me directly and I will be happy to work you through the process. In February, I will discuss the greater value that can come from points when the emphasis is not simply on what a student has not done to earn points, but instead what a student has done to earn points. True validation. We’ll share the highlights of the conference in the next newsletter. If you weren’t able to make this one, put September 16-17, 2005 on your schedule. It will be held in Seattle, WA. From FAQs: Rewards and Make Your Day Philosophically, rewards are not a part of MYD because we want students to develop an internal locus of control - being in charge of themselves - and to be intrinsically motivated. Rewards are delivered by someone else, which maintains an external locus of control. Occasionally, you have students who benefit from rewards initially as they move from an external locus of control to an internal locus of control because they are extrinsically motivated. An interesting book on this topic, "Punished by Rewards" by Alfie Kohn. Recognition of one's efforts is different than rewards. Earl's students in the original MYD class realized that they did not qualify for any of the awards at school such as honor roll, perfect attendance, sport trophies, etc. They asked if they could stand up at the end of each period and describe how they met their goals (expectations) and what might have kept them from meeting their goals. They wanted to assign a point value to it and they settled on 45 because their class periods were 45 minutes long. They conceptualized it as earning a point a minute. When points are done correctly (allowing students self-reflection time and sufficient time to do points), students receive recognition for their efforts multiple times throughout the day in the form of points. This is not to say that additional opportunities for recognition should not be taken also. Ask your students what they would each like to have recognized as it relates to their efforts to be successful.