When a teacher seeks help in handling a difficult student, typically one of the first things recommended is a behavior contract.
Behavior contracts are popular because they give teachers a definite plan for improving behavior.
And where there is a plan, there is hope.
If you’re unfamiliar with how they work, behavior contracts are created collaboratively—usually the teacher, the student, and his or her parents. A principal or counselor may also sit in.
They consist of one or two agreed-upon goals and are supported by incentives and consequences that are tailored to the individual student.
At first glance, a behavior contract seems like a good idea: clear-cut goals, a student willing to try, parental support. And initially, behavior contracts do improve behavior—sometimes dramatically.
So what’s not to like?
Well… a lot.
Here’s why:
Behavior contracts label students
Anytime you treat difficult students differently than everyone else—by applying a different set of rules, incentives, and consequences—you’re communicating to them that they’re different, that they can’t control themselves like normal students and thus need special attention.
This doesn’t necessarily make them sad. In fact, they may appear quite thrilled with the stamp or sticker they earn for having a good day. This is why behavior initially improves.
But it undeniably lets them know, deep down inside, that they don’t measure up, that they’re not as “good” as everyone else. It becomes who they are, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
And children will always behave congruent with whatever label they’re given.
We want to inspire our students to believe in themselves and in their ability to listen, learn, and follow the rules of the classroom. Behavior contracts do the opposite. They demoralize students and make them feel helpless to change the course of their academic life.
Breaking rules and causing trouble then becomes not merely something they choose to do—which can be fixed—but rather it becomes who they are—which can’t.
External rewards are short term
At first a student on a behavior contract will be excited about earning stickers or prizes from the teacher or extra video game privileges at home.
But soon his or her interest will wane.
It’s human nature. The novelty will where off and motivation will weaken. External rewards alone only work short term and do little to improve behavior over time.
There is nothing wrong with using a prize box, and passing out smiley pencils or cool stickers is fun. But if used as the primary means to motivate students to behave, these external rewards will fail every time.
Being a member of a classroom they love is the greatest incentive. This offers a teacher powerful leverage, even with the most challenging of students.
Follow through is a bear
It’s great to have support from parents, and I think it’s important to get them involved. But anytime you have to count on that support for classroom management success, you’ll be disappointed. Parents get busy, lose interest, and become complacent. They just do.
Emails and notes home to parents should merely inform; to let parents know what is happening at school. Communication with home should not be used in the hope that it will change behavior.
Transferring any responsibility for the behavior in your classroom to someone else—whether it be a parent, principal, or counselor—weakens your ability to do it yourself.
The power to control your classroom should remain solely with you.
So What Is The Alternative?
The alternative is to treat every student the same. Any and all unwanted behavior by students should fall under the rules and consequences of your classroom management plan.
A behavior contract is nothing more than a replacement for a classroom management plan that isn’t being followed. The difference is that a classroom management plan doesn’t label students or chip away at their self-confidence.
For more information on this topic, please check out the article One Classroom Management Strategy For Every Student.
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