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School is supposed to aid our children in the real world; it gives them the knowledge and tools necessary for life after high school. The grades a child receives in school not only show the educators (and parents) what their child is excelling in and learning, but they are also an assessment of sorts. An assessment of their skills, their strengths, their weaknesses; much like the assessment I receive at work. However, a student's assessment is on preliminary basics like science, math and their ABC's whereas my assessment is on professionalism, communication, and how well I do my job. But the basic implication is there. Grades are like assessments at work.

Receiving a good assessment at work means that I may receive a raise, a bonus, or other incentives to continue the good work that I am doing. So, following this argument of grades being like a job assessment, good grades should be rewarded.

In High School my mom adopted the method of paying me $1.00 per "A" that I received. Sure, yeah, that prompted me to continue to get good grades. I don't know what the going rate would be now, but it should never exceed the parent's budget. The worst thing to do is suddenly realize that your child took you seriously and received a lot of A's and now you can't afford to pay.

However, if finances are an issue then rewards can be gained in other ways. Try a point system with the grades. A's can be worth maybe 5 points, B's 4 points and so on down the list. At the end of each semester or an interim (9 weeks) a child adds up their points and then receives a reward from multiple choices: a trip to the park, a night at the movies, cash, or having friends over. In many businesses rewards in the form of vacations or monetary bonuses are given for good employees. For receiving "Employee of the Month" at work I received a free meal for 2 and $50.00 in cash.

This is not bribery or trickery of any sort because in order to get the good grades a few things need to happen: 1) the student needs to study 2) the student needs to complete all tests and homework 3) the student needs to pay attention in class. All this equals up to learning. Getting rewards for grades equals better grades which equals learning.

Unfortunately, in this society we are ruled by income. We need an income to survive, we need cash or credit (and then cash to pay the credit) gone are the days when we could give fresh eggs to the doctor in exchange for the medications he gave us. Money rules the world, and even though we do not want to teach greed to children, they need to understand the importance of a dollar. If they have their own monetary reserves they are less likely to spend it as foolishly as when it comes out of mom and dad's pockets. Parents can even place a stipulation that out of every so many dollars, the child has to save money.

Yes, rewarding children with cash for good grades is beneficial to the child. There are virtually no consequences for this type of reward whereas food rewards can lead to eating disorders and health problems. But, let's not forget that in addition to cash rewards, a child also needs praise which is perhaps the most important form of a reward.

Learn more about this author, D. Anderson.
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