Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Rewards for Students

Here's an article from today about attempts to deal with the ambition gap.

(AND, if you comment on this article, you get a point. Should you?)

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I have yet to see this amount of rewards for doing well in grades or tests. The most we ever got at our school was the piece of paper that said that we had passed the WASL or got perfect attendance, but never money for good scores.

Step-Mama to 4 said...

I am not a fan of certain reward systems, like allowance. If the parents have to work to clean the house the children should too, i don't feel like contribuiting to the family and what they are doing should be a reason to earn money

Unknown said...

The graphs that we viewed in class provide a good counter-argument to my essay because my main point was creating creating ambition. I though rewarding students for things like good grades would help do this, but the graphs show that the children who were given the tokens were less likely to return to the book!

Unknown said...

Rewarding students for their good grades and AP exam scores is a bad idea. They will get a bad impression and will expect a reward for any successful achievement. But as The New York Times journalist Brooks says, these students need to learn how to delay gratification.

marcusm said...

"We either get social science or social change, and we need both." This makes me think at least testing should be done, but it seems all the negative implications resulting from the reward system wouldn't be worth it.

Joseph Perry said...

Positive reinforcement can come from money; eventually the majority of positive reinforcement stops coming from the parent altogether. Real positive reinforcement should be direct, positive results from a real source that has a direct application to the real world. If a child does work or tasks of the required amount, cash reward wouldn't be a bad idea. It has a direct application to the workplace. If you do well, you're alotted a certain amount, and if you go above and beyond the required amount, you may or may not be rewarded beyond the initial amount. I'm not saying you should be giving a ten year old 100 dollars for every good grade in a class, but slip them a few bucks and teach them how to correctly use the money. Money management is an important lesson that should be taught at an early age.

LoReNa said...

Dang... maybe I would have tried harder had I known that I would get money in reward! haha... growing up I never got an allowance, and rarely was applauded for bringing home straight A's. I used to think I was doing it for myself until I got into High School. My reward-less self-esteem started going down hill. I was no longer motivated until my teachers noticed a decline in my grades. They were the ones boosting my confidence. Parents should engage in "rewarding" their children, even if it isn't money.

JaNet G. said...

I always got good grades growing up, but my parents never seemed to care much, they were in there own little lala world.
When my daughter grows up, im going to make sure she is being rewarded with prizes, it shows that you care and are there for support.

Chandra Pease said...

Alright I'll admit, in high school i did the whole get money for an A grade at the end of that Trimester. I will say it worked but not all the time, sure i knew i would get 50 bucks at the end if i got an A but, i wouldnt cheat for it, and the money didnt matter cause i had a job any way, it was just knowing that I understood what i was being taught and what i could prove i knew, was what i enjoyed. But for many yes, rewards works, but it could make it a wierd transition when that goes away. When you grow up and have to clean the house daily or get kids to practice on time, we dont get a money reward for that. okay a wierd example but you get what i'm saying:)

Aubri_Gonzalez said...

Growing up, I always got good grades. But not just for myself,but to show off them and not get in troubl at home from my parents. My parents had high expetations for me, so I was not rewarded for having good grades, it was a way to not get in trouble.

Justin Burton said...

I think that this is an interesting idea but the problem is going to be that they are just working for a reward. Later in life in the work setting they may in fact just work for rewards. Aren't they going to feel silly when their perfect work attendance does not get them some extra money.

Unknown said...

rewards should be given when you do something great, not something that you should be expected to do. When you get out of school and lets say you are in sales, just because you create your ad, and you also do file your report on time does that mean you deserve a bonous of somesorts? NO, i think students need to be held accountable more for what they do, and dont do.

Tanner U. said...

I have never been rewarded anything. I mean i usually dont get like the best score but pretty good. And i believe that give rewards is a huge incentive to doing better!