Trevor & I Made a Deal

Trevor and I made a deal.

I told him I'd rather reward him for good behavior than punish him for bad behavior.

So we made a written contract that says...

For every subject - Reading, Writing, Math, Science, History, P.E. Etc.
The reward system is as follows:
*Every O = $5.00
*Every S = $1.00
*Every U = -$10.00

If he can make a perfect report card, He will receive $50.00.

I told him he can do whatever he wants with the money he earns. He said he'd like to save it for a Nintendo DS. (Which is what I was planning to buy him for Christmas anyway) He said he's been really good in class too. He said his card has never gone to yellow, (which means he's on warning for a timeout.) I'm excited to see what he can do.

I know I always work harder when there's a prize involved. It's even how I quit smoking.

Speaking of prizes... There is no Pumpkin carving contest at Trevor's School. They encourage you to bring a pumpkin, but there will not be a winner, and everyone gets a ribbon. I asked Trevor if he knew about this, he said no. I asked him if he still wants to go through all the trouble of carving another pumpkin if there is no 'winner'. Luckily for me he said no.

I do not like the way the schools are eliminating competitions. We had contests in school, and we all turned out OK. When did some screwball hippie decide it's bad for kids to lose? It's great for them to lose. It teaches them how to be a gracious loser and it also teaches kids that if they work hard, they can achieve. I would never enter my son into one of these "everyone who participates, wins" contests. It would teach him that he doesn't have to try hard, all he has to do is show up and get a ribbon. Life doesn't work like that.

We all know who would have won that Pumpkin contest anyway ;)



Elementary school grades are different than other grades if you don't know:
* O is the equivalent of an A+
* S is the equivalent of a B
* U is the equivalent of an F