While giving rewards in your classroom has a lot of advantages, there are disadvantages as well. Sometimes, the good outweighs the bad. According to BookWidgets, these are some of the disadvantages of giving students rewards in classrooms:
- Addiction
Students become addicted to the classroom rewards. Without them, the students won’t follow directions or show the correct behaviors.
- Devaluation
After a while, rewards are expected by the students. The rewards will start to lose their effect once they are given so much.
- Race against the clock
Students start to focus on hurrying to finish their task to gain a reward. The students won’t even value the task anymore but the thing that comes after it.
- Control and manipulate
Students may feel they are starting to be controlled by the teacher. In return, they will try to control or manipulate you.
- Increase Pressured
If you praise the students too much, they will feel horrible whenever they can’t live up to your expectations.
- Bribes
Rewards and bribes relate very closely to each other. Rewards often lead to the idea of you controlling your students. You’ll feel more powerful and bribe students with rewards