Are Rewards the Right Approach? Written By You
14-year-old Gabriella told us that her school gives lots of rewards for doing well, or for good behaviour. It got her thinking about reward systems, and if they are a good idea.
I’m sure everyone has been offered a reward for doing the right thing at some point in their lives, whether it has been your parents rewarding you for your actions or teachers at school.
When you are presented with the idea of a reward it makes you want to succeed right? Or does it? I know from personal experience that people aren’t necessarily excited by the prospect of being given a reward and when they are, they are usually set on the reward and not the idea behind it. For example, prizes for winning competitions often attract entries and participants often enter because of the prize and not because they are really interested in the theme of the competition. The same kind if thing comes out of rewards at school.
You Can Be Wonder Woman! Written by You
Helen is 14 years old and lives in Greece. She has written for us about being a wonder woman.
CURIOUS CREATURES 2 – The Stag Beetle
The strangest creatures are, to me,
The ones I love the best.
The creepy, crawly and the odd
Are cooler than the rest…
These magnificent beasties are the armoured vehicles of the insect population and the largest terrestrial-dwelling beetles in the UK. Their common name is a reference – unsurprisingly – to their antler-shaped “mandibles” or jaws, which they use to fight over territory, but not, perhaps surprisingly, to win the respect of female Stag Beetles..!
These Curious Creatures have intrigued me ever since I found an expired female stag beetle (see below ) in a south-west France many years ago. I drew it next to a blackbird’s feather, captivated by the different tones of black, the textural contrasts and inky depths of colour. I found it – and still find them all as a species – fascinating and beautiful, particularly the males, with their extraordinary maroon-red mandibles.





