I’ll give you $20 if you get an “A” in science on your next report card….If you get a 3.0 GPA, I’ll take you to Mexico…. I’ll buy you a car if you graduate with honors… What happened to the reward being satisfaction for a job well done?

Some children, and even college students, are offered an extra incentive from their parents to get good grades… but is this helpful or harmful?

According to an experiment done at Rochester University, it is detrimental.

Professors Richard Ryan and Edward Deci conducted an experiment in which they divided college students into two groups and gave each group a Soma cube puzzle challenge (like a Rubik’s cube) and a stack of magazines. Ryan told each group to work on the puzzle, but only offered one group payment for each puzzle design that they completed correctly.

After some time, he told both groups that their time was up, but to give him 10 minutes to record some data. Instead, he continued to observe both groups without them knowing. The group that was offered payment immediately put down the puzzles and began to read the magazines. The group that was not offered payment continued to play and challenge themselves with the puzzle.

His conclusion was that the offer of a monetary reward based on performance dampened the desire of that group of participants to continue working on the puzzle. For the paid group, their focus was on the compensation and not the activity. “Once the reward is over, they’ll do no more,” says Ryan.

Ryan says that all humans have three basic psychological needs: the need to belong/feel connected, the need to feel competent and the need for self-determination.

“When those needs are satisfied, we’re motivated, productive and happy,” he says.

He adds that often, rewards are given for outcomes as opposed to valued behaviour .

 “A reward that acknowledges a great effort is more effective than one that is promised upfront for getting an A. Appreciation is always a better motivator than control,” he says.

Bribing your child to get good grades obviously does more harm than good, and encourages children to gain a sense of entitlement. They begin to think that the only things worth doing are those in which they receive some tangible reward. This cultivates an attitude of laziness and doing the minimum required to get by. They are robbed of the feeling of self-accomplishment that comes from putting in the hard work to achieve something greater than they thought they could. Parents have turned their kids into minimum wage employees.

For another article on both sides of the issue, read this: http://www.today.com/moms/should-you-bribe-your-kids-get-good-grades-8C11145698

Now, about that appreciation…. 

A Calgary school has decided to cancel their honour roll program because they say it “hurts the self-esteem and pride of students who don’t make it.” St. Basil Elementary and Junior High School has axed their academic rewards and year-end celebration ceremony for approximately 250 students in grades 7 to 9.

“Awards eventually lose their lustre to students who get them, while often hurting the self-esteem and pride of those who do not receive a certificate,” stated a letter to parents from school officials.

Many parents are shocked and disappointed that the school would take away “a sense of purpose for young learners and an incentive for students to work harder to get better grades.”

“The kids that care, that are trying but don’t ever achieve one, well there’s something to be learned from that,” said Jason Redelback, whose 14-year-old son is enrolled at St. Basil.

“You teach kids how to win, you teach kids how to lose,” Mr. Redelback added. “But you also teach them how to improve themselves and give them goals to strive for.”

In my opinion, this kind of compensation and reward are acceptable. There is no monetary carrot dangling in front of a student’s face. It’s recognition afterwards that a student has worked hard, through self-determination, and achieved something worth celebrating. I think to take this away, just to make kids “feel better” when they don’t do their best and don’t get an award, is counter-productive to those that strive for excellence.

 Of course, they will still feel proud inside of their accomplishments, but it’s nice to have that formal certificate from your school saying ‘we acknowledge how hard you worked.’

That being said, there will always be the kids that can land straight A’s no problem, and those who may have a learning disability or struggle to raise a mark from a C to a B. Perhaps the honour roll could also honour those students that have put in extra effort overall, instead of focusing on a select few.