I am a laid-back version of Alfie Kohn and passionate about my beliefs about education and students and motivation.

Discussing character issues was a regular part of my teaching. I declined to tell students how they should act because most of them knew, or came to know as a result of opinions expressed. The issue was usually a matter of choosing to do what was right rather than knowing.

One day a student expressed his aversion to being "bribed" by some teachers to study. He said he knew that studying was a good thing, and that his parents had raised him to do right things without expecting rewards. His parents shared an view that very close to my own. Coincidentally, my only posted class rule was "Do the right thing just because." A lively class discussion began.

Surprisingly, over half the class agreed with the idea of studying without a reward because they clearly understood the connection between studying and grades. But the real issue was deeper -- many students just didn't like that "bribed" feeling. The discussion mainly addressed the connection between rewards or bribes and materialistic behavior. Many students received money for good grades. That was often true even for students who expressed dislike for bribery.

We have Caused Students to Expect Rewards 

They admitted that they took the money because they liked what it could buy, but the resented the assumption by teachers that they would not do the right thing. Others said that it would be foolish to not expect a reward for doing things if it was like work or if it was an act that made someone else feel good. After all, adults got paid for working.

The discussion lasted about fifteen minutes. We had a lesson to tend to, but I had an idea which I didn't reveal. I decided not to share the discussion with other classes, and two days later I went to the playground during lunch and began to pick up paper and other litter. I was encouraged by the fact that so many students expressed a knowledge of "the right thing" and a dislike of bribery. I wanted to see how many students would offer to help without being asked.

For ten minutes students seemed to pretend not to notice me and I was running out of trash to pick up. Finally a girl from one of my classes approached. Hope welled up inside me. She would be the one to do the right thing. Her words left me crestfallen.

"Mr. Craft, if I help you pick up trash will you pay me?"

I told her that I was through, and returned to my room with a bagful of trash for my efforts. No one else had offered to help.

The lesson I took away was that the student who approached was paid for chores around the house. I also assumed that the desire among students to help was not as great as the desire to socialize. I decided that in months to come, I would try to do a better job helping students understand the meaning of "Do the the right thing." It would require a better understanding of motivation.

So ended my simple "experiment." But there was success to come that changed my life and the lives of many students who I taught. I'll discuss that at a later date.