Introduction

The Introduction to Daniel H. Pink's Drive was very interesting and I found myself extremely curious when reading both Harlow's and Deci's experiments.  What I found the most interesting was the results of the experiments when focusing on the drive of "rewards and punishments", as Pink gave several examples of how this is often used in schools.  This is something I have seen first-hand at my practicums and something I do remember when I was younger.  Although none of my schools offered rewards of money or electronics, I do remember a reading incentive program where students had to read a certain number of minutes each month per nine weeks in order to receive a free ticket to Six Flags Amusement Park.  The excitement of this reward wore off soon and very few students actually received a free ticket.  This is exactly what Pink described when he compared using rewards to caffeine, there is a boost then it wears off and can ultimately reduce longer-term motivations to continue with a project.  I have to admit, if not give Drive for this course I don't think I would have made any connections with this book and teaching; however now it makes perfect sense as motivation plays a huge role in teaching.  This is something that I'm looking forward to learning about in order to help my future students reach their goals and fullest potential.