“So little is said about improving public schools and so much about how to close schools, how to punish teachers.” – Diane Ravitch – former Assistant Secretary of Education -
The “Learn or I’ll hurt you” model of education, first described by Roland Barth, (Founding director of the Harvard Principals’ center) has been working well for generations. When students do not demonstrate intrinsic motivation to learn a concept, master a skill, or complete a task, teachers and schools use extrinsic incentives to motivate instead.
In behavioral psychology, these incentives are called rewards and punishments.
The Barth model works like this. A teacher says to a kid, “If you don’t turn in this homework assignment on time, you will not be eligible to play in the game this weekend.” “If you do not pass this test, you will fail the semester and have to repeat it next year or attend summer school.” “If you don’t do what I ask, I will give you detention, or send you to the principal’s office.” These are all threats of punishment.
Many teachers rely on these extrinsic motivators to get students to fall in line. “Learn this, do that, or I will punish you.” The reason this technique is so widely used is because it works. It is energy efficient for the teacher because it has the backing of an entire institution and its systems managed outside the classroom.
Students might perform better when motivated by these methods. They might get a higher grade or be more likely to turn in an assignment on time, but from their perspective, the grades they get on many assignments, tests, and projects do not reflect what they learned, or what they intrinsically value. Grades are often earned to avoid punishment, rather than to learn. During the course of their education, students often feel as if they are being judged against arbitrary standards, see no authentic value in what they are learning, and so resent the whole process and the threat of punishment.
In the era of standardized testing, designed to improve teacher, and school accountability, The tables have turned. Students are aware that their test results have no bearing on their grades, matriculation, or college admissions. The “Learn or I will hurt you” model of motivation is being used not on students, but on the teachers and schools. The message is clear. If schools and teachers do not raise their test scores, your funding will be cut, your teachers will be fired, or your schools will be closed.” Punishment.
Ironically, many teachers do not feel like standardized testing reflects their mission’s success or the important learning that takes place in their classrooms. Like their students, they feel as if they are being judged against arbitrary standards, see no authentic value in what is tested, and so resent the whole process and the threat of punishment.
However, when prodded by the possibility of punishment, one could argue that many teachers have been forced to perform at a higher level. Instruction in some classrooms has no doubt improved as teachers realize they will be held accountable. That being said, we have to question whether the “Learn or I”ll hurt you” method is the best way to motivate schools, teachers, and students to perform, or if there is a better approach.
In The Great Rift Part 1: we looked at the “hypocritical carrots” often used by schools and teachers in an attempt to motivate students to give their best efforts on tests. In this segment we discussed the use of threats and punishments to motivate schools to perform better on the same tests. In Part 3 we will examine if there is a better way to motivate schools, teachers, and students so we no longer need these carrots or punishments.
Next: The Great Rift Part 3 “Common Ground”
Filed under: Education, High School, Learning, School Reform, Standardized Testing Tagged: | high school, learn or I will hurt you, Punishment, Roland Barth, Standardized Tests
Is it possible that the contributing factor here is that the vast majority of teachers and administrators have never left the traditional education system since the time they were in kindergarten, so they have no way of envisioning other methods of interacting with others in a workday setting? You guys have had opportunity to work in alternative settings, where the pursuit of better scenarios is encouraged. Many other excellent teachers I’ve seen have come out of non-education settings earlier in their adult lives. It’s why you (and those other teachers) understand that teacher-as-co-achiever rather than teacher-as-contrarian always wins the ultimate prize: a better learning environment. (This, by the way, is why the AP program is so immensely successful in most schools; it puts the teacher on the same side as the students, reaching toward a common goal.)
You are a wise man Jeff. You make a couple great points here. First it is very difficult to think outside the box when you don’t even realize you are in a box. Most of us are a product of the traditional educational system and therefore it is all we know. I would include myself in this group for the most part because I spent 30 consecutive years in schools between kindergarten and my last year of teaching in 2008. This not only makes seeing alternatives difficult, but also makes us more resistant to change.
Your second point about teacher as co-achiever and AP exams steals a bit of our thunder for part 3 so I will let the next post speak to that point and then look forward to your thoughts.
Thank you for being a thoughtful contributor to our blog!
CANT WAIT FOR PART 3
excellent blog
Interesting series Tim.
I guess the question in my mind, is isn’t this how the world works? If I don’t send in my deliverables to my client, they won’t fund me next year. That hurts. If I don’t complete training requirements or do my assignments at work, I would lose my job. Which hurts even more. To some degree using this method would arguably be preparing students for the real world.
Of course, my experience w/education is limited to teaching college classes when I was a grad student. A very different world I am sure than public schools.
Looking forward to reading your next installment.
Great comment April! You are exactly right that in the “real world” there are consequences for not performing. However, the consequences you are talking about are organic and authentic to the context of your work. If you don’t send your deliverables to a client, they might drop you and your lose funding. This is a natural consequence. It fits the situation.
In schools there are many authentic contexts for students to learn this lesson in just the way you described. If a student tries out for the school play and does not memorize his lines, he will not get the part. This is a natural consequence. If a student on the basketball team never practices her free throws, she may lose a game for her team. If the student council is organizing a dance and does not publicize well, few people will attend.
In each of these situations, students are learning, not via threat of a punishment that isn’t a direct result of the act, but via logical consequences related to performance. There is no need for the director, coach, or sponsor to motivate these students with the “Learn of I’ll Hurt You” model. Inside the classroom it is more difficult to find natural consequences. What is the natural consequence for failing to learn the Pythagorean theorem? (I guess this student will struggle with triangles for the rest of his life
) In the absence of an authentic consequence that matters to the student, teachers resort to other means to motivate. There are good ways and bad ways to do this. We will argue that neither carrots nor threats and punishment are good.
Now, for the teachers and schools we talked about in part 2, it is a different story. An authentic consequence for schools and teachers who do not perform would be the loss of jobs and possible closure. (we will avoid discussing if there are accurate and reliable ways to measure teacher and school effectiveness) These consequences fit well just as your example above. The point we will make in part 3 is that there is a better way for schools, teachers, and students to work together for the benefit of everyone. Students will perform better without the need for carrots, or threats. Teachers and schools will be more likely to get the better results they require to keep jobs and funding. Hopefully a win win all the way around. We don’t have a magic bullet or a cure all for this issue. Just a different approach we believe is more effective in the long run.
We will look forward to more of your thoughtful comments and insights on future posts! Thanks for making me think this afternoon!
i love reading your articles…they are really interesting. I can relate to it to some degree as the teaching method of “learn or I’ll hurt you” is a common practice in pakistan…to be honest I never truely learned anything while I was studying there nor was I motivated to study either. It was not until I had moved to US and studied there that I came interested to study and learn : )
Mishal, during our years overseas we consistently heard true stories of literal hurt being placed upon students who in some way upset a teacher – lack of effort, disrespect, forgotten homework. Students from more traditional Old World school systems (think roots in the 19th century boarding school tradition) struggled to succeed at Dubai American Academy if only for a short time. They couldn’t believe teachers helped, listened, and sat with them to address their needs. Many couldn’t believe they were actually physically safe in the classroom. Obviously that is terribly extreme but it was true for approximately 20% of our students and they thrived in our system. Although this is a subject of a future blog post, let me simply say that Americans would be shocked to know that our democratic school system with its community is highly valued around the world even while often maligned at home. When kids get the chance to experience things they love in supportive environments where failure isn’t fatal, they become stakeholders in the school experience. They take risks on their own behalf. They even take more seriously those classes which hold little intrinsic interest. We saw this over and over again for five solid years with kids from literally every corner of the globe. Thanks for offering that bit of perspective which is so hard to come by!
Great blog! I look forward to Pat 3.
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article