I’m learning something new about Hallie this year. She really does get the concept of the “intrinsic reward.” Don’t get me wrong–she’s as happy as the next kid to have her work praised or to get plastic crap doodads from the dentist. But more than once recently she’s rejected the possibility of an external reward and chosen to do something she loves just for the sake of doing it.
Wake County Schools participates in an annual PTA competition with several categories for entries. Poems and stories and artwork just seem to flow out of Hallie and I thought she’d enjoy creating something for the competition. She liked the idea at first. And she started down a path toward a neat visual arts project. But after a bit, she decided she wanted to do her art and her writing the way she wanted and not tied to someone else’s theme or criteria.
I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed at first because I know what good work she can do. But my disappointment quickly turned to pride in her for sticking to her priorities. She loves creating things so much, and it’s such a part of her, that I’d hate for anything to dampen her enthusiasm.
I saw the same dynamic at play this week. The school participates in a program with the Carolina Mudcats where kids who read a certain number of books get free tickets to a game. Hallie did this last year, and we all had a great time at the game. She started this year’s log but after a couple of days decided she didn’t want to do it. As she put it, “I know I do a lot of reading and I don’t like having to keep remembering to write down every book I read. And also, I’m just not that excited about baseball.”
In this case, it may be her final statement that best captures her motivation. But either way I’m glad she’s learning not to dilute things she enjoys for extrinsic rewards. This approach will serve her well in life!
No Comments :(
Your must be logged in to comment.
