I've got a student that was recently transfered to me from another studio, due to clashes of timetable...This student informs me that for every progress she makes for every piece of music, she gets a price...in forms of snacks, stickers, book-marks...and sometimes even money...a dollar or something...I can see that she likes her ex-teacher very much...but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this method of teaching very much...

I mean, I personally believe that a student is progressing for his/her own good...not for her parents...and definitely not for her teacher...if I were to reward her for every progress my student does...wouldn't that be a form of bribery??...so, lets just say that I do not follow suit...will the student perform badly just to make a point??...I'm not sure if that is healthy...or am I wrong to think that?

Can someone help me see new light??

Oh?

Tell her, I heard it the other way, that it is the student who brings treats to the teacher in appreciation. Have you ever done that?

Tell her, I don't have a budget for that, do you? Then, lets forget the gifts and things at lessons. What we learn together can be our gifts to each other.

Pay off's can be intrinsic. Celebrate learning by acknowledging it. Applause, High 5's? Smiles?

Betty

LOL!!

Dear Betty,

I must say I really love the touch of sarcasm in your tone...I should try that with the student one day!!...

So I take it that 'bribery' is not encouraged??...I see that it is trend going on around me...which is why I question its practicality...

I keep a box of candy by the door and each student helps himself to one after his lesson. I try to find out what students' favorites are - that way I'll be sure to stock up on dark chocolate or twix when they're nearing the completion of a piece. That's just a simple way to show I noticed their hard work and am proud of them!

I believe an award is different than bribery. And someday I hope each student will gain a sense of satisfaction for simply playing the piece well rather than from earning a sticker or candy - but most of my kiddos are really young yet - and candy sure works pretty well!

I confess - I do give students candy - once a year, when I return from Germany, I bring home a stash of Kinder Eggs (as we call them here- Kinder Ueberraschung, auf Deutsch - totally illegal, because of our nanny police, but hugely fun for the older kids). A chocolate egg with an unassembled toy inside. They are the size of a regular egg. The students beg me not to forget and bring them.

The problem with bribing children is that they will forever try to move the goal posts and boundaries. It might be a few coloured stickers at first, then a few sweets, then a few dollars, and then when they are older it might start costing a fortune just to get them to practice at all. Unfortunately it fuels a bad attitude. They won't do anything unless there is something (financial) in it for them. Betty said that education is their gift and success is their reward. I don't think she was being sarcastic. Well maybe a little, but the message is clear enough. You have to nip this one in the bud. A humorous response (courtesy of Betty) could well be the best way to do it.

In my culture the answer would have been different and something on the line of:
"by me instead, every time you make a progress you get a slap in the face"
("due schiaffi incartati", means something like "two slaps nicely wrapped".. , it's difficult to translate the beauty of idiomatic expressions...).

But if she does not want, you might want to make an exception for her, and everyone's happy...

Chris H--

You summed up my thoughts exactly! One of my students is getting paid by his parents to practice the piano . My jaw dropped when I found out. His parents are spoiling him. He might be fine right now, but once he gets into college and the real world, he's in for a pleasant surprise!!

John, completely unrelated, but you can order the eggs online, too--just search "kinder surprise." (I handed them out as ice breakers once at a formal get-together--one of the best ideas I've ever had.)

I keep a jar of candy by the piano. I don't think of it as bribery, but just a treat. I suppose in extreme cases I could threaten no candy after the lesson, but I haven't done anything of the sort (yet.) Is it all that different from saying "no dessert until you finish your dinner?"

I don't agree with giving bribes--especially not "for every progress for every piece of music." And money?! Fat chance. The music and the knowledge of a job well done is the reward.

I'm confused. North of the border the Kindersurprises are carried in every grocery store, especially around Easter. I think Wal Mart started it, and they're American. Don't you guys have them in the States?

Way off topic, but the nanny police got the FDA to black list these back in the late 80's or early 90's. Perhaps they've dropped off the list at this point. But the reason was because irresponable parents were giving them to children too young and they ended up as a choking hazard.

Just like we cannot legally import Mon Cheri - the real stuff. Of course, I always stop in Extra and buy a few boxes for the trip home.

Please be mindful when offering prizes/bribes and be sure that parents are aware of this before you offer anything, esp when it comes to candy. Our kids rarely get candy of any kind and it's considered a major treat on those occasions when it does happen. My sons cello teacher offered him candy the first two classes he took from him "for a job well done". After I declined (and to his credit so did my son, though quite hesitantly) the second time they finally realized that we don't do the candy thing. This comes up at other times as well and is a bit annoying so please try to be respectful of parents wishes regarding this.

As to the original question, while I have no problems with rewards for a an excellent job, I think that the difference between bribe and reward comes with expectations. We only offer rewards for going above and beyond expectations and we're sure to set base expectations reasonably high (high enough so it's a true challenge to hit but not so high as to make it unattainable).

A lot also depends on age. When our daughter first started lessons (6) she did enjoy getting a sticker or stamp on the page of a piece that she had "mastered" (i.e. not simply moved on from). Now that she is 8, it's no longer necessary.

I have my kids place a sticker on each page they "pass" but this is not done as a reward. This is simply to let the kids know what pieces they have completed. I also teach siblings who share the same book and they always remember which sticker is their own.

I've never heard of Kinder Surprises till it was mentioned here; now I want some! Some toys look like intricate models (airplanes, cars, etc). Not many places seem to deliver to the US and those that do are very expensive =(.

Will wonders never cease! To paraphrase the old tea commercial, "Only in Canada (and Germany), eh?"

To be serious about this - my students do get rewards, at the year end recital! Certificates, books, prizes, etc., for jobs well done. But it's a one shot deal, and it's not something we talk about through the year, though I suppose the students do talk about it among themselves. Plus, those who do well in their Guild auditions get special pins as well as their special certificates.

Hmmm, I must be the odd one out. My younger students earn "piano bucks" to spend at my piano store. This is very motivating for kids until they reach about 11 or so. I used to keep candy in the piano store, but now it's just random small toy stuff. They do not earn piano bucks for every little thing, and the prices at my store are very inflated.

As they grow older though, students eventually lose interest in the store. So during their teen years, they work on long range goals and earn experiences, like going to a concert with me and other students, or borrowing one of my "popular music" books, or a week of practicing anything they choose, or a week's vacation from theory or scales, whatever.

For my studio, this works very well. I don't think the bribery takes the place of the joy of making music. It just makes the daily grind a bit more fun.

As a parent of 9 yr old who is learning piano, I should say this works well. His teacher has skittle challenges - she assigns certain number of skittles for each skill (memorization, dynamics)he has to master. For every mistake he makes, he loses one. While my son doesn't work for skittles, he certainly feels good when he earns the skittles. There is probably 1 skittle challenges per month on the average.

I do offer a simple reward: Students can choose a prize from my prize basket (little dollar store items -- several to the dollar and never food nor noise makers!) when they have met their practice goals and done their theory workbook work. What has surprised me is that I tend to be pretty lenient about giving a prize if they have almost met their goals, but if I ask them if they earned their prize this week, they are more likely to say no than I would have been!

This all started because I began teaching by taking over a couple of students from another teacher and she did a prize thing every week. Of course, it's years later and those students are gone, but I'm still a regular at the dollar store!

They also get a sticker on their assignment books just for doing their best at the lesson. They love to keep count of how many lessons they've had by how many stickers they have accrued.

I do see these things as rewards for work completed, which I think is different from a bribe. I do have a student who is bribed by Mom to practice. As I was not asked about this, I keep my nose out of it...