Bring yourself back to middle school, when the only thing on your mind is that boy/girl you have a crush on and your social problems with your friends. You were probably more concerned about being popular rather than your science test coming up in the following week. I know if my parents said "We will reward you with a little cash for each "A" you ear," I would have been all up in that science book! Mary Arguelles writes in "Money for Morality" that she feels this is wrong. However, there is nothing wrong with rewarding students for good academic performances; students could even benefit from it.
Being rewarded for good academic performance can act as a strong motivation for some students. I wish my parents had paid me for earning good grades. Then I would have worked a lot harder through middle school and high school especially through high school because I needed the money. Lots of teenagers feel all their homework can be pointless. It's not until the end of their school career they see the big picture. So why not give them a small picture until then. An example is "Getting an "A" in this class will give me money to go shopping." This student would be looking very forward to receiving the money, so she works for an "A". In the end, all those good grades add up to a great grade point average. So where did rewarding hurt the student?.
Some students need the extra motivation and satisfaction of rewards. When Arguelles" son brought the idea of rewarding for good academic performance, she replied, "Doing well is its own reward. The A just confirms that." Her son was probably thinking, "What a load of bull." What 13-year-old thinks like that? It may sound wrong, but it's true. It doesn't mean, "Misplaced virtues are running rampant through our culture." It is a normal way for a teenager to think. Arguelles also says, "Throwing $10 at that sends out the message that feeling alone isn't good enough.
