Before you read
How angry were your parents with you when you got bad grades?
What rewards did they use?
What punishments did they use?
How did your mother or father motivate you to do well at school? For some we got a stick such as a loss of one month’s allowance or maybe being grounded for a week. Or perhaps they did the opposite, maybe they gave us a carrot such as promising some kind of reward like a gift of a computer if we passed some milestone such as getting a black belt in taekwondo or gaining entry into a nice university course. You may find the following short story interesting.
In Miami a 7th grader is getting a lesson in public humiliation. A high school father is making his son stand at a busy intersection with a sign saying, “I want to be a class clown”, because he got 3 F’s. The sign is also asking cars to honk if they think getting 3 F’s is bad. It seems to be paying off. His son says he is sorry and will promise to do better. His father said, “he has been screwing up in school - his behavior and academics are bad. And right now I’m trying to send a message to him”, but he said that the embarrassing sign was a last resort.
Guessing meaning from context
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. The answers are below the table.
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Not allowed to leave a place because of doing something bad |
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The final action taken to achieve something |
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Dividend, return reward for some action |
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Very strong embarrassment |
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Reward or punishment, incentive |
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Doing something as a way of communicating what someone wants to say but by using actions |
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Failure, big mistake, not achieving because of some foolish action |
A=6, B=1, C=3, D=5, E=4, F=7, G=2, H=8
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
1. Some managers use the stick to motivate employees, while others will offer a carrot such as a bonus for achievement of sales.
2. The airline had all it’s Boeing 737s grounded while the airplanes were checked for safety.
3. The teacher grounded the boy for texting in class.
4. Finishing my degree was the biggest milestone in my life.
5. Playing four games and losing four was humiliating for Manchester United.
6. The company’s investment into Vietnam ten years ago seems to be really paying off now.
7. By giving large fines for corruption, the government is sending a message that they won’t allow bribes. And this was a last resort after many years of asking them to change.
8. They say that we screwed up because we failed to see the opportunity to invest in that market.
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
What carrot or stick does your boss (or other person) use to motivate you?
2. Do you agree with grounding children for failing? When do you think we should ground them?
3. Describe a milestone in your life.
4. What is your opinion about the father’s humiliation of his son in today’s story?
5. Do you think that using a stick to motivate really pays off?
6. What message should the U.N. send Syria to stop its actions?
7. Can you agree with the story that humiliating his son this way was a last resort? Why or why not?
8. How was the student in the story screwing up in school?
ECK Education
