EDUCATION
Did I Trade My Love for Learning for a Gold Star Addiction?
Why are we still obsessed with positive reinforcement?
I can still smell the Crayola crayons and warm carpets. I can see the shelf of colorful books with funny creatures and the small wooden chairs. I can also see the beginning of my addiction for approval.
The gold star chart hung neatly behind the door. My name was somewhere in the middle of it, next to all the other “M”s.
I liked it when my name was the leader of a line of gold stars. They were shiny and exciting and meant that I, too, was shiny and exciting.
I took it upon myself to keep up the streak. Like a true star Queen. I dove into the game like an Olympic swimmer.
And how easy it was to get them! All I had to do was follow the rules, do all my work, sit quietly, be nice to others, and do my best. Childs play.
Actually, no.
Quite the opposite of child’s play.
Everything went wrong one day during “Quiet Reading Time” when I asked the person sitting next to me a question.
“No extra star for you, Maria, and no extra play time.”
