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Paying kids to make good grades?

post #1 of 14
1/29/08 at 3:28pm
Thread Starter 
What do you guys think?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/educati...7-grades_N.htm

Good thing, bad thing? I'm a little torn, but then again, my parents gave me a little bit of money for each A I made in middle school/high school and it hasn't affect my work ethic any. Then again, I'm a perfectionist, a people pleaser, and very demanding on myself.
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post #2 of 14
1/29/08 at 3:35pm
I think it's wrong. It sends the wrong message to them. They are given the message that they will only put in effort if they get a reward for having done so. That makes for rude and lazy adults who feel that they are entitled.
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post #3 of 14
1/29/08 at 3:39pm
Thread Starter 
I agree that we have something of a "reward junkie" generation on our hands right now. I've heard professors and others complaining about how kids want to be praised for every little thing they do, even the things they're supposed to do.
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post #4 of 14
1/29/08 at 4:15pm
When you step into the real world, are you not compensated with bonuses, raises and other compensation when you do a job well done?

I don't think it should be over the top rewards (i.e. too much that it makes them cheat), however I think it should just be enough that there isn't a huge price different between an A and B
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post #5 of 14
1/29/08 at 4:25pm
I feel that it is just like a raise or bonus for good work in your career and it is no different.

My parents gave us money for every class we got a certain mark in, for me it was A as I generally did not get lower than a B, for my sisters who had lower average grades they had various grades they had to make.

My school also allowed us 'bonuses' for good grades or best improvement. For work experience placements those with top grades and most improved got to choose from the list of approved placements first etc
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post #6 of 14
1/29/08 at 4:35pm
No ... I was given a quarter for every 100% paper in subjects I struggled in ... 1 for every b and 2 for a 's on report cards... but on the flip side I got grounded till the grades were all at a b level ... I work hard when I need to and at 30 am learning I cant control everything...

YES there is a SELF serving generation coming up but it was their parents NOT parenting that caused them
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post #7 of 14
1/29/08 at 6:21pm
I think it's a good idea if you know what will work for your children. My parents gave me so much money for each A and B. C's were not allowed. There was one and only one time I made a C (this was NOT for lack of trying or slacking. I struggled with math and was having a hard time understanding the material.) and I was grounded for the full 6 weeks and had everything taken away from me and could not go anywhere until the grade was raised. I had an A the next 6 weeks...imagine that.

I am an overachiever so once I got to high school, I no longer needed the money. I would strive for good grades on my own. I think that it could work very well, but it can also go the other direction. It just depends on each individual as a person, what they are taught and what their work ethics equate to.
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post #8 of 14
1/29/08 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lunasmom View Post
When you step into the real world, are you not compensated with bonuses, raises and other compensation when you do a job well done?

I don't think it should be over the top rewards (i.e. too much that it makes them cheat), however I think it should just be enough that there isn't a huge price different between an A and B


Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
I feel that it is just like a raise or bonus for good work in your career and it is no different.
i agree. i reward my students for doing their assigned classwork [ok, not monetary, but same idea, & the rewards are extrinsic]. my parents didn't pay us, but that was 30 years ago.
kids are more concrete thinkers than adults. & while 'good work is its own reward' is great in theory, how many of us would work for free?
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post #9 of 14
1/29/08 at 7:22pm
My grandma gave me a dollar for each A and my parents had a standing deal for $25 for a straight-A report card.

I get no bonuses, barely any raises, and my performance is measured on a "Let's see how my manager is feeling this fiscal year!"

Do I expect rewards for a job well done? Not really...but it wouldn't hurt to be fairly measured.

But that isn't the point. I just wish I had to work harder in school to get those As, because the curriculum really wasn't challenging for me. I would have appreciated the rewards much more, that's for certain.
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post #10 of 14
1/30/08 at 11:52am
It works with some kids, so is certainly worth a try.

Our German nephew was a bit of an underachiever at the age of 11 or 12, and I was especially disappointed in his English grades (I'm a native speaker), so we made a deal with him. If he managed to pull up his grades, and get a "good" or "very good" in English, I would take him on an extended trip to the U.S. when he turned 16. That was all the motivation he needed. He not only managed a "very good" in English, and got his trip, but he also graduated as class valedictorian with a perfect G.P.A., won some prestigious awards, and is now studying engineering.
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post #11 of 14
1/30/08 at 7:27pm
I think it is a very BAD idea. Kids should be able to go to school and learn without getting any money in return. I teach 6th grade and I am sick of kids asking me for money whenever I ask them to do something. I told the students they need to do their homework and one of the students asked me for $10 as an incentive!!! I was shocked!! I talked to the other teachers and I will start a "prize box", I guess it's something you really need to do these days. If they do all their homework they get a pencil, gel gripper, or an eraser. I really hope it works. I tired of seeing all the d's and f's and a room full of blank faces!! If parents want to pay their kids for their grades fine, but the school district should not be doing it.
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post #12 of 14
1/30/08 at 9:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eburgess View Post
I think it is a very BAD idea. Kids should be able to go to school and learn without getting any money in return. I teach 6th grade and I am sick of kids asking me for money whenever I ask them to do something. I told the students they need to do their homework and one of the students asked me for $10 as an incentive!!! I was shocked!! I talked to the other teachers and I will start a "prize box", I guess it's something you really need to do these days. If they do all their homework they get a pencil, gel gripper, or an eraser. I really hope it works. I tired of seeing all the d's and f's and a room full of blank faces!! If parents want to pay their kids for their grades fine, but the school district should not be doing it.
I agree. My parents gave me rewards for good grades, but why should the school do it? Most schools around here are fighting for money, so is it the schools responsibility to reward their students? Is it coming out the the schools budget that should go to learning materials and raises for teachers?? Aren't good grades reward enough?

Yeah, bonuses, incentives, etc. Wait until they get into the workplace and realize that not every company gives bonuses, raises or incentives. I get a max of $0.39 cent raise every year, and that is IF I get everything perfect. I know there are some jobs out there DO do decent raises and incentives, but unfortunately, they are not the norm. So why teach kids that they will get money for doing what they are supposed to be doing....which is learning.

I agree that kids today are money driven. My nephew's last birthday party (he was 5)...he opened the cards first to find out how much money he got. He got over $200...and he was 5! Then he opened the wrapped gifts and wasn't interested in any of them. That is just sad.

I think if the school does anything, they should give a certificate showing they raised their test scores, or a gift bag with useful things...but I really don't thing someone that young should be rewarded with that much money from the school district. What else could that money be spent on??
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post #13 of 14
1/30/08 at 10:29pm
I don't think this is a good idea at all. It's nothing more than a bribe to get kids to do good in school. They should be motivated to get good grades, by teaching them how doing good in school, will help make them successful in their future. Sure, if the parents want to reward their child for getting a good report card, that's fine, but this is nonsense, for the schools to pay them money, every time they get a good grade. A "jobe well done, I am proud of you" should be good enough. When and if these same kids decide to go to college, who is going to motivate them to get good grades then? Besides, where is this money coming from? I see at the moment, it is from private donations. But I better not hear that tax payers money will be used for this!! My hard earned tax money goes to pay for the schools and the materials to help children learn, it is not to pay them to make good grades. It is up to them to make good grades, by wanting to strive for a better fututre for themselves.
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post #14 of 14
1/30/08 at 10:41pm
At first I thought, no way. How will kids learn self-motivation? But then I read this part:

..."It's an incentive to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a more rigorous class," he says. "This teaches them that if they work at something very hard and have a lot of support, they can do something they didn't think they could do."

If it's to motivate kids to try to achieve something they otherwise wouldn't attempt, then it could be a good thing. Tricky, though... do they also pay the already-motivated students? That could be not good and could actually change their motivation to a monetary one.
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