Over the past few years, the Student Hunger Drive has become a very competitive event that many teachers and students look forward to. It is a way for them to have fun while getting involved in the community and donate to the food bank. Many teachers like to reward their students for donating to the class, but others have made it a requirement.
In previous years teachers have offered food, work time, and extra credit as an incentive for students to donate. There are also teachers that prefer to not offer incentives, but rather have students donate for the good of the cause. Unfortunately, these teachers end up getting cut in one of the first rounds due to lack of student motivation.
Many teachers, students, and parents raised concerns last year after the incentives started affecting students’ grades. There was quite a bit of controversy over whether the required donations were going too far or if it was okay since it was for the good of the community.
Spartan Assembly advisor, Barb Pischke, recommended incentives such as, “food days, candies, pushing test days back, giving them an extra day to do a homework assignment, letting them sit in your chair, or letting them sit anywhere in class for a day.” Incentives like this offer simple rewards for students that donate to the food drive, but they do not have an impact on ones grade.
Last year’s Student Hunger Drive champion, Maureen Dyer, commented on what motivated students in her class to donate. She said, “I have found through the years, no matter what grade level you are teaching, teenagers are always motivated by food, so that’s the incentive I like the best.” Many students, including junior Aabha Joshi, agreed with Pischke and Dyer’s responses by saying, “I like when teachers offer food of some sort or some in-class activity that is fun.” Joshi also believes that donating to the student huger drive should not affect your grade, “ because your grade is a completely different aspect. Bringing cans in is really important as well, but I don’t think the two should relate.”
Principal, Mike Zimmer, sent a message via email to all Pleasant Valley High School teachers regarding appropriate incentives for the Student Hunger Drive. Zimmer stated, “Extra credit points or any other incentives that impact a grade are expressively forbidden.” He also shared that offering incentives that affect the students’ grades, interrupts the “district expectations of monitoring student learning or fulfilling professional responsibilities established by the school district.”
