What's the big deal about tickets?

Tens of thousands of schools use PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports; pbis.org). Many educators think of one thing when they think of PBIS: tickets.

They go by all kinds of names – bulldog bucks, tiger paws, or even electronic versions like Class Dojo points. Token economies are one important component of PBIS (though not the only component – that’s a common myth). And while many teachers love using them, some don’t.

I’ve spoken with dozens of educators who are openly suspicious of using tickets. Many cite logistical concerns. Won’t that interrupt my teaching to constantly be giving those out? Where am I supposed to keep them? Where are students supposed to keep them? Won’t they get lost/stolen/burned/stuffed down the toilet?

While those are legitimate concerns your PBIS team should work through, I’m more worried when educators are philosophically opposed to tickets. Isn’t that just extrinsic motivation? Won’t that harm their natural intrinsic motivation? What happens when we stop giving tickets – won’t behaviors just come right back? They won’t get Cougar Cash when they are in college – so why use it now?

In these moments, it helps to reflect on why we give out tickets or tokens in the first place. Most folks think of tickets as being for the student. They follow a school-wide expectation, earn a ticket, and get to turn that ticket in for something later on. That’s positive reinforcement in a nutshell, and should make them more likely to follow that expectation in the future later on.

And all that is true. But here’s the secret – the token economy isn’t really for the student. It’s for the adult.

You see, tickets in a PBIS system should always be paired with behavior specific praise. Behavior specific praise is really just a quick way of verbally acknowledging a student for their success. You get their attention, label the behavior you want to see again, and sprinkle in a praise statement. Here’s two examples:

“Awesome job using those walking feet in the hall, Jerome! Here’s a Tiger Paw!”

“Hey Mariah – I saw you working through that problem with your lab partner. Way to show engagement – take a Bulldog Buck!”

Behavior specific praise is really powerful. It is the building block of behavior change. And not just for students – adults need praise too! Imagine if your boss or your spouse never let you know you did things right. How long would you stay in that job? In that relationship? Ideally, we would all praise one another at least 4 times as often as we criticize or correct one another. In fact, even an equal ratio of praise to criticism in a married couple predicts divorce. We all thrive with a more positive ratio.

But even if you buy that (and you should, it’s rock solid behavioral science, and as educators we should all appreciate the scientific method), here’s the rub – teachers are super busy. Incredibly busy. On top of juggling 25+ students at once, they are watching their emails, running between 2 and 10 behavior plans, wiping literal noses, and somewhere in there trying to teach a math lesson. In all that busyness, educators forget to praise. That's not a criticism. It’s just a reality. Busy people forget things.

But kids need praise. Badly.

Enter the token economy. When you have a physical ticket or token or whatever you have, it serves as a prompt for you to give behavior specific praise! It’s a glorified reminder system to give our students the gift of acknowledging their success. Yeah, the kids like the ticket and the stuff, but they LOVE our attention. They LOVE our encouragement. They LOVE knowing that we care about them and see their hard work paying off. They LOVE knowing you LOVE them! Classrooms using a token economy have much more behavior specific praise, and a far more positive climate as a result. Tokens prompt you, as the adult, to share your love.

So that’s the big deal about the tickets, and that’s why PBIS emphasizes them so much. We all need reminders in a busy job, and they are a simple, efficient way to achieve this goal. So the next time someone grumbles about your school's cat cash or bingo bucks or whatever you have - help them remember that what matters is the relationship, and the token economy just helps facilitate it.

Is your school or district ready for PBIS? Or ready to tune-up an existing PBIS system? We can help. Get in touch to see how we can help you meet your behavioral and social emotional goals.