money As a reward for each high grade at school
Some parents offer their school-age children money for each high grade (mark) they get in school.
An increasing number of people begin to discuss whether it is a good idea for parents to offer their school-age children money for each high grade they get in school, and many people air their opinion based on their own value systems. The majority of people tend to claim that a clear effort-reward system built by parents incentivize their children to study hard and thus cultivate diligence in their whole lifetime. However, does the claim really ring true, conforming to the real situation? I find myself not on the same wavelength with such an idea. It is my contention that using money as reward for high grade will mislead the value systems of children.
There are a bunch of reasons to support my perspective. For starters, holding exams in school is a way not only for children to review what they've learned in a period of time but also for teachers to track the condition of each student. Linking monetary reward with high grade distorts the meaning and purpose of exam, and what's worse, it will misguide some children to do the wrong thing in order to get the money from their parents. For example, the children may cheat during the exam for the questions they forgot to review and still score high and receive the reward. Besides, offering money as a reward indirectly instill the concept into the children that money is the ultimate purpose for doing anything. That is, without money as incentive, the children probably will not pay any effort to achieve better performance in other extracurricular fields such as sport competitions and club presentations.
Although some may claim validity of the argument that sound communications between parents and children about the true meaning of money reward can solve the issues raised above. At first glance, the argument appears to be somewhat convincing, but further reflection reveals that it leaves out some significant factors that should be addressed to substantiate the argument. For children, the attractiveness of money is not from itself, but probably from the toys and snacks that can be purchased using the money. That is, children ultimately will link money reward with toys and gifts, instead of the attitude of diligence. The communication is not persuasive nor powerful as the simple concept directly given by the high-score-and-reward system.
Of course, there may be some people who may disagree with my position on this matter. They may claim that the frequent high grades scored by children are the direct prove of the success of the money reward system. However, I think the reasons I have provided in favor of my point of view are stronger.
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