Paying children to make good grades can be an effective incentive for some children. Many parents are resorting to financial incentives for their children to perform better in school.
Incentives for Good Grades
Even some school systems are experimenting with such incentives. For example, New York City began a pilot program of monetary incentives to children in poor neighborhoods for better test scores.
However, praise, encouragement, and the development of intrinsic motivation to learn are crucial for the full development of the child and can be more helpful to the child in the long run than extrinsic incentives. There are advantages and disadvantages to extrinsic motivations and rewards.
Advantages to Paying Children for Good Grades
Though opinions are mixed, a study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University said paying for grades seemed to improve attendance and achievement among low-achieving students.
Extrinsic motivation, such as paying children for good grades, is a good incentive for children who, for whatever reason, lack intrinsic motivation to study, learn and get good grades. Some school systems which are experimenting with it are seeing some advantages in monetary incentives.
Those who favor monetary incentives for grades argue that it is not unlike adults receiving pay and bonuses for doing their jobs. Therefore, they believe monetary rewards for grades prepare children for living in the real world.
Cash rewards for good grades are an incentive that children can appreciate and understand. It is more tangible to them. They are able to take the cash they earned and use it to purchase whatever they want. Parents who favor cash incentives feel that it teaches children to value hard work and achievement.
Disadvantages for Paying Children for Good Grades
Because children have varying learning speeds and levels, giving or withholding cash incentives as coercion for performance can put undue pressure on slower children and cause resentment among students and siblings.
Effective home schooling is a full time job that allows little time for other necessary household duties or fun activities. Such a time commitment can negatively impact parents’ personal space as well.
Home schooling puts much pressure and responsibility on the parents. Parents who home school their children often differ in their methods and objectives. It is possible for them to sometimes feel inadequate if they fall into the habit of comparing themselves to other effective home schooling parents.
Attorney Jon Gallo, a father himself, co-authored with his therapist wife a book called, The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children. Gallo believes that cash incentives for grades are a grey area. Gallo said, "Some psychologists believe that paying for grades is a bad idea because it substitutes an external reward – money – for an internal sense of satisfaction and therefore interferes with developing a work ethic."
Research conducted by a nonpartisan group, Public Agenda, found that students rated being paid for grades seventh behind other factors, such as their own sense of satisfaction and pleasing their parents.
In conclusion, the point must be reiterated that there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to paying children for better school performance. Less intrinsically motivated students, as well as those students who are low achievers, may most benefit from cash rewards. Monetary rewards to students who are more intrinsically motivated and value learning may be unnecessary.
Reference:
Gallo, Eileen and Gallo, Jon. The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children. New York, NY: NAL Trade, 2005.
Additional information on effectively educating children can be found in the article, “Home Schooling: Choices & Strategies for a Home School Education.”
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