Some parents offer their school-age children money for each high grade (mark) they get in school. Do you think this is a good idea?

Some parents offer their school-age children money for each high grade (mark) they get in school. Do you think this is a good idea?

Nowadays, getting high marks in examinations has become increasingly important in the eyes of parents. They resort to various kinds of parenting methods to push their children to work harder and harder. This essay holds the notion that offering money to children for the marks they obtain is not an appropriate strategy. The reasons are as follows.

First, offering money would undermine the true aim of education, namely, acquiring knowledge. Many parents take the money as an incentive to motivate their children. However, children in response tend to study for the sake of earning money. Take my young nephew as an example. His parents used to give him money when he got an A in primary school, and he would be thrilled and study harder. Nevertheless, he refused to read more books or learn other skills outside school, because he will not be awarded for doing these. This outright utilitarian attitude towards studying is undesirable because it makes children solely care about monetary reward, not appreciating the process of obtaining knowledge.

Second, the strategy is inherently problematic in the sense that it conveys the idea that only marks are essential. We should bear in mind that participation in class, coursework, or even eagerness to learn carry equal importance. Offering a monetary reward for children is too exam-oriented an approach. According to a survey conducted by China Daily, almost 80% of the primary schools in China have introduced multiple assessment methods in education, rather than focusing merely on exam marks. The conventional notion enshrining exam marks is now out of date. It is thereby inappropriate for parents to award their children solely based on academic performance.

Concerning all the ideas and cases discussed above, we can draw the conclusion that offering money to children for marks is not a good idea. The key to education is to let children be self-motivated, without any undue burden of getting good marks. Had children been encouraged to study independently and eagerly, they would have benefited much more from our education system.