Lion Loot is a small piece of paper, like a tickets or a coupon given by the teachers as a reward for good actions. Students in level 3/3.5 get Lion Loot every day in seventh and eighth grade, by the end of the year most of them have almost 80! The now ninth graders are wondering, “Where did all the Lion Loot go?“

During the new school year, in ninth grade, not having changed  their actions, most only have five lion loot, and it’s the second marking period. Students have taken notice. They are all asking themselves, ”Am I doing something wrong?”  

It is significant for kids to collect these pieces of paper to ‘pay’ at the ROAR Store or use them to go to see a movie in the school which costs about 10 Lion Loot. The Jr. High also does Recess Day and other fun activities where students also need a certain amount of Lion Loot to attend. At the beginning of the year, there was a large assembly about doing good deeds and being rewarded for them with Lion Loot. Now the ninth graders are worried they are getting unfair treatment and are contemplating the significance of it.  

 The homerooms each made up skits to reinforce with their peers the good actions that would deserve Lion Loot. The students acted out things like picking up other people’s messes, saying please and thank you to teachers and each other, helping the teachers in the classroom and participating in class. 

Those basic things are being done on a daily basis by  ninth grade students, but do they get Lion Loot for those kinds of actions? No. The only time there is Lion Loot is when these students get 100% on a test, which is almost impossible.  Ninth grade teachers also give it out when they are desperate for someone to raise their hand and when there is a quiet class. Every time the teachers would ask someone for a favor, many students volunteer in hopes of a Lion Loot but a lot of these opportunities , according to the helpers, get missed by the teachers.

It seems as if problem students often get more lion loot.  If these students do one good deed or get one good grade they are rewarded.  On the other hand those who try to be respectful day  in and day out and work hard every day go unnoticed.  

It is understood students need a positive reinforcement but when movie day comes, every day average and performing kids might not be able to go because of lack of Lion Loot. The only time upper level ninth graders seem to have a lot of loot is when they take a specific class and one teacher is committed to passing it out.

Perhaps an alternative could be established for students with teachers who don’t have Lion Loot as a reward crossing their minds or don’t like to give them out. Lion Loot should not be eliminated, but possibly  students could have a different reward for different reasons. For example, being allowed to attend reward movies could only be for those that made Honor Roll in the previous marking period or rewards for perfect attendance or even rewards for those with good grades in certain classes.  

Don’t give up ninth graders.