Should good grades be rewarded?
If the child performs well or even performs well at school, it is a source of joy and pride for parents. But how do you best show that? Are special rewards or gifts for good grades the right way?
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In this point, the spirits are different again and again. While some parents and educators believe that rewards would make children no longer self-learning, others consider a reward system to be a helpful and effective way to encourage the child's motivation.
Reward as an educational resource
If you use money or other gifts to bring your child to something, you have to ask yourself these questions: is this educationally meaningful and which values do I anchor in my child? Because all too easily, "material enrichment" becomes the main goal and the sole motivator for high grades, home help, etc. On the other hand, learning is the work of the child, and why should it, if well done, not be rewarded become. As in almost all cases, it is important to find the right measure. On the one hand the performance of the child should be appreciated, on the other hand it should nevertheless learn that it learns for itself and not for money or other rewards and privileges. But how is that possible?
School is work
One way to encourage motivation through a reward system is to consider the school as a child's work. This "activity" is paid in line with performance. Thus, a kind of bonus system can be developed in which the child receives a certain amount of money depending on the achieved grade. It should be noted that it also receives money for less good grades. The "earned" sum at the end of the monthly pocket money. Accordingly, the amounts should be adjusted.
This system has the disadvantage that there are no or very little money in bad grades, even if the child has really worked very hard. The child learns: It is not the achievement that counts, but the result. This can be frustrating, especially for children who have a hard time at school, and gnaw at already distressed self-esteem. Result: Children who are not so combative give up.
Praise and punishment
For parents who generally refuse a reward for good grades, the following rule should apply: A praise for great efforts and correspondingly good performance, no punishment and no allegations for bad grades. Even though we live in a materially shaped world, children are dependent on the pride, the goodwill and the attention of the parents, and a praise of the parents sometimes counts for more than a coin pressed into the hand. However, bad grades should not lead to aversion of the parents or even to a despicable attitude. This can plunge children into despair and puts a lot of pressure on them, because it feels like they are only loved when they perform well.
The middle ground
How are you doing right now? It makes sense to reward extraordinary achievements - not the obligatory one in the German essay, which your child achieves without much effort, but the three in math, for which your child, who always brings home in this subject always four and five home, eternally bluffing. Reward the effort, not the grade. This is just fairer than rewarding good grades uncritically. Especially for parents with several children, who have different levels of learning, this system has proven itself - even though it is often not that easy to teach the children. If you do not want to donate money, think of other rewards. Maybe your son will be relieved of a domestic task for the three in math for a week, or her daughter, who finally writes the two in English she worked for so long, may wish a trip of her choice with the whole family.
Which rewards are appropriate?
Many parents who want to reward their child for good grades choose money as a gift. In this case, usually only the result, but not the invested power is taken into account. Family-friendly and less materially oriented are non-monetary rewards such as the already mentioned exemption from housework or the free choice of destination for the next trip. Always make sure that the reward is appropriate and not a habituation effect, in which the child at some point demands a reward for every little achievement. This is also helped by clear rules, which are set at the beginning of a school year and which adapt to the level of achievement of the child. It is best to write down the rules together with the child: for a three in math, it does not have to bring down the garbage for a week, a one in German (his weakest subject) gives five euros, with a certificate average of less than 2.0 that can Child wish a family trip, etc. The ingenuity is set here no limit.
"Not for school, but for life, we learn!". This quote from Seneca may well be correct, but most of the meaning becomes conscious when we grow up. For children, school is hard and often annoying work and our school system is often inadequate to give children the joy of learning. Rewards for good performance - if awarded in the right setting - can increase the motivation of our children.