Marie Kondo-ing classroom practice

One school practice that I see a lot in schools is behaviour management using points system. Whether it be Class Dojo, bean jars, cards or step charts.

I consistently feel challenged by both the pedgagogy and efficacy of points systems. Are they effective? Are they improving behaviour? Are they supporting learning? For whom are they designed? The most profound learning occurs when there is a healthy relationship between teacher and student. A culture of restorative practices assists teachers, students and parents to build, maintain and restore relationships. These practices help build a capacity to enable students to self regulate behaviour and contribute to the improvement of learning outcomes. A learning environment is established where students feel safe and are respectful, engaged and proactive learners.

Is it the case, perhaps that a points system, especially one that is always framed in the negative, serves to reinforce negative behaviours rather than promoting positive ones. It does not promote a restorative culture nor does it support a collaborative way of learning nor any of the characteristics described in the previous paragraph. If we are managing discipline in a punitive way (and taking points away is punitive); what are we modelling? We don’t get a wage at school and then be told, “Sorry I heard you talk negatively to a student or you were late to work, you are now minus $50.00.” What has been earned cannot be taken away. In some instances, I am observing and hearing that minus points are allocated to behaviour but then the points add up and nothing seems to happen. This seems to me flick passing the behaviour for somone else to deal with. If it has already been resolved then why minus points—simply record the behaviour and the resolution. How will someone else dealing with an accumulation of points assist any student to change their behaviour? How does this assist in repairing and restoring a broken relationship between a teacher and a student if a third party is issuing a consequence often some time after the event due to points accumulation? Who is then owning the problem—is it the student or is it the person who is managing the points?

All research into a model with a focus on punishment or a consequences with little or no involvement of the victims of the misbehaviour reveals that there is no evidence that this model changes behaviour. A points system for misbehaviour fits into this category. Point systems are doing things to them and this doesn’t assist student learning or change behaviour. It is authoritarian and creates anxiety, threat, vigilance. The negative effects of such a system includes feelings of anger by the one being awarded minus points followed by blaming the punisher rather than taking responsibility for the behaviour, and this is followed by a disconnection, by time out, detention, suspension or inevitably an expulsion. Minus points are rarely removed or changed into positive points for positive behaviour and there is a feeling of being in a constant downward spiral.

If you are also using the system for plus points then awarding points may work for the ‘GOOD’ students in that they usually get heaps of points as they already have the traits we want in learners. The ‘CHALLENGING’ students lose the most points, and I strongly suggest that it certainly doesn’t change their behaviour. There is substantial evidence to show that working restoratively within a relational framework has a preventative and significant influence on re-offending behaviour. Relationships are what change behaviours.

The challenge for this year is to support staff to develop restorative classroom culture with any behaviour management a  collaborative and reflective process supporting the development of the IB learner attributes.