I've posted today a document that I've been working on for some time.  Last year I did a presentation at a Membership Meeting intended to help parents with thinking through how to respond to common arguments against the Christian school.  That presentation is posted below and can be used by anyone to help with Christian school parents.  I was asked following that meeting to provide the presentation for parents, but I decided that it would be more helpful to provide parents with a booklet containing detailed rebuttals that I spoke about in my presentation.  Both of these are free to use, to print, and to disseminate.  It is important to remember that the document and presentation are intended for Christian school parents and supporters, not necessarily for prospective Christian school parents.  

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference, with many of my colleagues across Southern Ontario, where one of the keynote speakers was Simon Sinek of "Start with Why" fame.  His was an inspiring address primarily centred on the physiology of incentives and performance.  One aspect of his speech struck me because I had just been reading Ariely's "The Upside of Irrationality", most specifically his chapter entitled Paying More for Less: Why Big Bonuses Don't Always Work".  First, let me discuss Sinek's argument briefly.  Sinek spoke about the body's chemical responses to stimuli.  In particular he spoke about the differing and paradoxical effects of cortisol and oxytocin.  He explained that cortisol is the hormone produced in excessive amounts during stressful situations.  Oxytocin, on the other hand, is called the Love Hormone and is responsible for feelings of trust, empathy, arousal, etc.  Cortisol's positive aspect is that it produces what we call the Fight or Flight Syndrome which causes the body to produce readiness needed to flee dangerous situations.  However, the body's response is the same during stressful situations where actual physical fight or flight is not needed.  It also, apparently, inhibits oxytocin production which in turn limits the body's ability to trust, empathize, and love.  

Enter Ariely.  Through a variety of lab experiments, Ariely makes the conclusion that "using money to motivate people can be a double-edged sword.  For tasks that require cognitive ability low to moderate performance-based incentives can help.  But when the incentive level is very high, it can command too much attention and thereby distract the person's mind with thoughts about the reward.  This can create stress and ultimately reduce the level of performance."  

The two explanations seem to be correlated.  If promises of high performance based incentives cause stress, then logic would tell us that cortisol release would permeate these situations.  High cortisol levels inhibit oxytocin and make us less able to trust others and empathize with them.  High stress also inhibits our ability to perform well.  In a nutshell, the argument could be made that high performance based incentives kill performance and poison positive workplace climates.  

I wonder what this conclusion means for our classrooms.  I wonder if our grading schematics and evaluation methods could be construed as high performance based incentives and could inadvertently be killing student performance and poisoning classroom atmosphere.  This is not a profound conclusion for those of us who have thought seriously about our student evaluation methods.  However, I think that the arguments presented by these two authors may provide new evidence for those of us who have concern about the demotivating aspects of traditional methods of evaluations.  Of course, there is a big difference (perhaps) between monetary incentive and the grade motivators that we dole out.  However, I wonder if the two are more alike for than we think considering the high stakes of achieving good grades in our society.  

Ariely, Dan. The upside of irrationality: the unexpected benefits of defying logic at work and at home. New York: Harper, 2010.

Sinek, Simon. Start with why: how great leaders inspire everyone to take action. New York: Portfolio, 2009.