Do not train children to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds."

Sometimes, the best ideas are the product of rigorous scientific research. Sometimes, they turn out to be the common wisdom passed down through the ages.

Sometimes, they are both. The techniques intuited by educators for thousands of years have a firm scientific footing established by nearly a century of behavioral research. Since the pioneering work of B.F. Skinner and others in the 1930s and 40s, it has been understood that behavioral incentives are a powerful tool for shaping conduct. Researchers have identified four main methods. Positive reinforcement means rewarding appropriate action, such as giving a student a sticker for achievement. Negative reinforcement means removing some burden to incentivize correct behavior, such as cancelling a test if everyone turned in their homework. Positive punishment may sound like a contradiction, but it's very common: assigning a consequence for poor behavior, such as a referral. Negative punishment means the loss of privileges to penalize wrong behavior, such as making a child sit out at recess.

Of these techniques, it has been repeatedly shown that positive reinforcement is the most effective means of behavior modification, not to mention the most pleasant for the recipient!

Yet despite the fact that this has been known for decades, school discipline still tends to focus on punishment. Students who violate the school Code of Conduct are reprimanded verbally, assigned after-school detention, or sent to the principal's office (positive punishment); students lose privileges, face suspension, or are even expelled from school (negative punishment.) While sometimes necessary for the sake of efficiency or the safety of other students, these techniques are among the least effective methods of behavior modification.

There is a better way.

Children shouldn't settle for avoiding wrong behavior: true education means teaching them to actively seek out the best in themselves, and to love doing it. That's what the edPositive system is designed for. It not only makes positive reinforcement easy, but gets your entire faculty and staff involved. Simple and inuitive for teachers and students, with complete administrative control in your hands, edPositive is sure to prove an indispensible tool for creating the school environment you envision, the environment your teachers deserve, and the environment your students need.