Intrinsic Rewards

As always at SDS, I am privileged to see so many children determined and driven to succeed either within each lesson, the term or the year. I have seen this clearly during the week where many children have shown resilience to keep going when learning becomes tough and have reaped the rewards when they make those small steps, which turn into bigger strides, of success and achievement. At those moments, praise and words of encouragement along with dojos are lovely to give and great for the children to receive. However, the most positive reward, that remains for the longest time, is an intrinsic feeling where the child understands that the success is due to their drive, determination and resilience. I am so proud that the children at SDS have such a positive learning environment which allows for these steps to success, with intrinsic motivation and pride as a reward.

As Daniel H Pink quotes in his book- ‘Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’- For artists, scientists, inventors, schoolchildren, and the rest of us, intrinsic motivation, the drive to do something because it is challenging, and absorbing, is essential for high levels of learning.