Opinion: RIP Falcon Feathers? Where’s the PBIS?
For as long as many can remember, Falcon Feathers have long been a part of Jordan’s culture. These small, pink slips of paper had the purpose of encouraging students to show positive behavior, and were given out to students as a reward for demonstrating said behavior. Students could also redeem them for various rewards at Jordan’s Falcon Store. However, in my freshman year at Jordan, I began to notice that they had almost completely become irrelevant. Students were rarely given Falcon Feathers, and I also barely heard anything about the Falcon Store. This year, and for more years to come, I feel that Falcon Feathers may continue to fade out, and that they should not be used anymore if this is the case.
In addition to losing their relevance, Falcon Feathers are losing their credibility. I remember hearing administration and teachers promising that Falcon Feathers would make a comeback, yet nothing much has changed. Although I do know of teachers who still use Falcon Feathers and have their own incentive systems, with rewards usually including candy, the ability to change seats for a day, and even a free period, I feel that it’s exhausting for them to have to constantly keep track of them and get supplies to fuel these rewards.
It’s ironic that a major goal of Jordan’s School Improvement Plan (SIP) is to “Strengthen Jordan’s schoolwide SOAR expectations and reinforcement system to explicitly teach and recognize positive behaviors, increase student belonging, and ensure consistent responses to minor, classroom-managed behaviors.” If Falcon Feathers are supposed to achieve this goal, then why are they seemingly becoming extinct? Why are we relying on something that hasn’t been used with no explanation?
So whether we revive Falcon Feathers from life support or bring in a new program, JHS needs something to encourage the positive student behavior the adults in the building all want to see. It’s stated in our SIP, so let’s make something happen.
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