<p>Opie, you bring up LOTS of things in your post and I am sure your wife is a superb teacher. It is a very difficult job, as you know.</p>
<p>I used to teach elementary school. I don’t recall ever using candy as the “rewards”. I recall stickers being VERY popular as rewards. </p>
<p>I recall one of the main “reward” type things I used. Each kid sat down with me at the beginning of the week and “contracted” for something she/he needed to improve. For some kids, it was something behavioral. For others, it might be academic. For some it might be social. Whatever it was, it was an individual “goal”. At the end of the week (it may have been the end of the day…I’m forgetting!), if they had accomplished that goal, they got a “smile-o-gram” (I forget what it was called, either that or similar) which was a positive note home about reaching whatever the goal was that week. These “happy grams” really meant a lot to kids. Having their parents get such a positive note about whatever the thing was, seemed to go over well. </p>
<p>I’m all for positive reinforcement. I am not sure we need sweets for that. </p>
<p>On the other topic, I agree with Garland that what you send in for your own kid’s snack is not the same as what a school might allow someone to send for a group snack. The latter ought to be healthy. Also, if someone in the class has a peanut allergy, no peanut products should be in the room. But birthday treats seem like a once in a while treat for a special celebration, which doesn’t imply to kids that they ought to eat that stuff all the time but rather only on a special occasion. I can’t see doing away with that.</p>