salvation

By Caitlin Meadows Growing up, my elementary school implemented a merit system. Every staff member carried around little yellow pieces of paper called “bobcat awards” that motivated students to voluntarily complete acts of service. When a student had collected enough, he or she earned a lunch period spent in the “bobcat room” (the band room) complete with a special dessert treat and rated G music playing from a boombox. The best part about earning this reward? The status. Since the bobcat room was right off of the cafeteria, these well-behaved, honored students got to walk right on past all of their [...]