In the Rethinking Grading and Assessment Series I just completed, I mentioned this post I wanted to revisit below on “The Impact of Awards.” I originally wrote this in 2010, and out of every post I have ever written of the almost 2000 on this site, this is the post I have received the most communication. Sometimes, it is from educators looking to change their practices in their schools and how they covet awards in this district or school, but most often, it is from parents who are at a loss on the negative consequences those ceremonies have had on their kids. I often feel their frustration and tears through their messages, which breaks my heart.

Here are a few things I want people to consider when reading this post:

1. Award ceremonies are often a competition in school that no student has entered into of their own volition. Imagine getting a phone call from a job that you never applied for, telling you that there was someone better for the role. What? I never applied in the first place!

2. My focus is not only on students that don’t get them but also on students that reshape what they do to win an award. We can condition students to see awards as the ultimate goal of school, but what that can promote is looking at school as a checklist of things to do rather than focusing on creativity and innovation, which doesn’t fit neatly into any box. In a world where AI is becoming more predominant, checklists will be able to be achieved by machines, but hopefully, creativity will be a human endeavor. Award ceremonies can affect students that lose awards and win them in negative ways.

3. I am also against the “everyone wins an award” mentality. I remember watching a kid get a “best recycler” award as a throw-away recognition to ensure they had some “trophy” to ensure they didn’t feel inadequate compared to their peers. It is important to recognize people (including adults) in timely and authentic ways daily. We should not have to wait for an award ceremony to recognize the greatness of our students in authentic ways. One thing I have learned in the last few years is that it is way better to share gratitude for someone way too early rather than too late.  One of my favorite quotes from former NBA player Jalen Rose is, “People will bring flowers to your funeral, but won’t bring you soup when you’re sick.” That always stuck with me, and I think we need to change how we ensure people feel valued; we don’t just say that.

As you read the post below, I also encourage you to read the book “Drive” by Dan Pink on what motivates people, or at least check out his Ted Talk. 

Also, if you haven’t had the opportunity, please check out my “Rethinking Grading and Assessment” Series, which goes beyond awards into assessment practices that improve student learning and help learners find and tap into their gifts.

I have done some editing from the original 2010 post below (There was no Grammarly then!), but the ideas are consistent with what I wrote back then. I also think that there are some things that I think I have evolved on as well. But I wanted to share it as close to the original article as possible. This helps me grow from this process as well!

Thanks for reading!

The Impact of Awards

I had the fantastic opportunity to talk with a parent today about why we did not give students an award certificate at the end of the year.  Whenever I have one of these opportunities to chat with a member of our school community, it gives me a chance to reflect on the practice of our school.

In my first year in the school, we did not do a big awards ceremony or give out individual academic awards.  If you had asked me this question five years ago, I would have thought that any school that did not give “awards” was all about the fluff.  After some more experience, there are several reasons why I don’t believe in rewards or awards in the classroom.

The Basics

To start with, here is a quote from Alfie Kohn:

 

“In short, good values have to be grown from the inside out.Attempts to short-circuit this process by dangling rewards in front of children are at best ineffective, and at worst counterproductive. Children are likely to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners as a result of being provided with an engaging curriculum; a safe, caring community in which to discover and create; and a significant degree of choice about what (and how and why) they are learning. Rewards–like punishments–are unnecessary when these things are present, and are ultimately destructive in any case.”

Alfie Kohn, The Risk of Rewards

Now I have heard the argument about how students love getting rewards in the classroom, and they work towards this. 

This is definitely easier in elementary grades. 

It is essential as educators that although it may work in the earlier grades, our vision as teachers in the classroom should be extended past the year students are with us. What do we want from our students?  To be good grade 2 or 3 students, or to become lifelong learners?  I know what I want to provide in the long term for our students.  If you take opportunities to learn about your students, find their passion, and make connections to their world, you will not need rewards or awards to motivate them.

Awards eventually lose their luster to students that get them while often hurting the self-esteem and pride of those who don’t.

Creating an awards system in school; there is no right way.

Have you ever been in a meeting with your colleagues to discuss how awards should be given out?  Should the average be 85% or 80%?  What subjects should it include?  Should it only be the “core” subjects?  There are so many things that are not right with this process.

First, there is no perfect grading system or mark structure (I will discuss grades in another post).  It doesn’t exist.  So what will you do if the students get a grade of 79% on a subject that knocks them out of the “award” process?  Will you bump them up to 80%, leave them at 79%, or even worse (to some) move them to 75%?  We all know that educators are imperfect, as are our grading systems.  There is no correct answer to this.  Students should know where their strengths are and what they need to work on, not how they fit in our magical grading system.

Secondly, if you believe we need to find students’ passions, leaving subjects out like the Fine Arts  (Ken Robinson might have something to say about this) does nothing but tell everyone that those subjects are unimportant.  Imagine how this feels to the student who wants to become a dancer. “Hey kid, that is nice you can dance, but since you can’t list our last 5 Prime Ministers, you don’t get an award today because your Social Studies mark got bumped to a 78%.” This does not show my belief that we must build upon students’ passions.

School as a family.

I have shown my belief that we want to create a family environment in our school. I do not have my own kids (at least I didn’t when I first wrote this in 2010, but I have three now!), but I do not remember my mom and dad annually or semi-annually recognizing our achievements as their children.  As parents, it is essential to let your kids know when you are seeing good things from your kids WHEN you are seeing them.  I also do not remember my mom and dad sorting us by who did what better in our family at the end of each semester or year (because they didn’t!).  We each had our own unique gifts as kids in my family, and we were recognized for that.  Should it not be the same in a school? 

Does the term “caring and safe” match with “ranking and sorting”? 

Awards definitely lend to the latter and do nothing to create a caring and safe environment.

When I discussed at parent council this year about us removing awards, one of the parents shared how she was so glad that her child would not go through what she did as a child. She talked about how her sister (who was more academic) always got an award every year while she sat in the audience and watched others get called up.  Do you think that this may have led to some resentment in their own family?

You may not believe that schools should be “like a family,” but I can guarantee that you do not want to cause rifts in one.

The team environment

An essential 21st-century skill is being able to collaborate.  No matter what awards system you use, you are promoting individuals as opposed to the efforts of working together.  Now, you may still be convinced as an educator that awards are still good for kids, so I will ask you this.  As a school, how would the environment feel if we had awards for the “best” teachers on staff?  Every team member contributes to our school environment as every child does.  I try my best to ensure that I let every staff member know how I have seen their contributions throughout the year, just as I try to let our kids know how important they are to our environment.  If I continue to say our schools works together, why would there be individual awards?  It seems to separate the team.

One of the things I took from my days of coaching basketball and following the work of Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson (love or hate him, he has the most championships of any coach) is that every person on a team has a role they play.  As a leader (coach), you must help find the position that will contribute to the team’s success. 

I want to recognize everyone in our school as a contributor to our success.

Effort vs. Academic Intelligence

Take two students. 

One from a wealthy home with both parents able to help their child.  The other is from a single-parent family where the parent has to work considerably more to make ends meet.  Although both families love their children with all of their hearts, one has more advantages in their life that impact the classroom.  The child with these advantages may not be overly engaged in academics, does not work hard, but can quickly meet all the “rubric” requirements for the year due to overwhelming support.  The other child works their butt off their entire year, has little support at home due to extenuating circumstances, and does whatever they can, but pulls off a 70% average. 

Who would you give the award? There are so many variations of what our students go through outside of school that affect what they do in school that we often don’t know or appreciate. I have had students share stories with me of their past that I am amazed they even show up to school, let alone find success. I am not sure I would have done the same if I were in the same position.

Much of my success reflects not just what I have done but how people have supported me as well. Of course, I have worked hard in many aspects of my life and have grown and improved in my life. But I am an adult who has had the time to do that! How is that recognized through an individual award in school, especially at the youngest of ages? 

My own award story

I loved basketball with all my heart.  I also really liked football.  I played both and did very well in the sports during high school.  In grade 12, the most coveted “award” for many was the “Male Athlete of the Year” award.  No criteria were set out, but the general belief among students was it would go to the student who played the most sports.  In my grade 12 year, I played football, volleyball, basketball, badminton, and track.  I only liked two of those sports but played the others to get the award.

At the end of the year, I tore my ACL in both my knees, and my doctor told me it was because I put too much constant stress on my body.  I also did not get the award and was crushed.  Within one year, with aspirations of playing university sports in either basketball or football, I went from being unable to play anymore to feeling crushed that I was not given the award.  Before my grade 12 year, I did not play those other sports or care about accolades because they were not given to athletes other than grade 12.  In grade 12, I focused more on the award than my passion.  How often has this happened in our schools, and we have not known about its impact on our students later in their lives?

The alternative

So what about putting an “academic certificate” in the report card at the end of the year instead of having an awards ceremony?  If you have ever been around students in a school when they get their report card, they often compare with their friends, and although something that was meant to be private turns public very quickly. 

Here is an alternative practice that was so effective and meant so much to me when I was a child and sticks with me to this day.

One teacher who made a HUGE difference in my life was Miss Butler in grade 4.  She was a fantastic and loving teacher, and I enjoyed being in her class.  She did something that year that I still remember and affects what I do as an educator.  In our report card, Miss Butler took a cut out of a smurf (don’t judge me!) and wrote about how I impacted her that year and some of her favorite memories of me.  She noted how much she appreciated my positivity and my sense of humor with others.

The thing was, she did this with every student in the class. 

I did get an award that year for academics, but what I remember most is that card and how it made me feel. I remember the classroom BUZZING at the end of the year, and everyone went home feeling like THEY were a fantastic person that impacted that classroom.  It was not that I was the “smartest” or the “best recycler” (you know, the award for the kid that doesn’t fit into any of the “categories”), but I was a person that was special.

Schools are not about ranking and sorting.

They are about learning and creativity in a safe and caring environment.  They empower all students, not just those who are strong in the core subjects. If I continuously tell our students that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM is important to our school, I do not see how awards align with this belief.