From the article: Tips On Getting Your Teen To Do Their Homework...
Earning good grades in their high school classes is a worthy goal for teens. Good grades help empower a love of learning and make their future endeavors easier. But they do need to be earned, which is hard work. How do you motivate your teen to get their best grades possible? Share Your Advice
Money for Grades
- Money for grades has motivated at our house. I have 2 high school daughters, both doing great! I pay $10 for A’s $5 for B’s $3 for c’s if they get a D they pay me $5 and for an F they pay me $10. I think life pays for a good job, and while kids are in school, that is their job!
- —Guest Sandy
Using Arbitrary Standards
- As an educator, I would prefer that grades reflect the intrinsic value of learning rather than being work that earns a salary. However, education is also tied to the work world, which does reward with money. Young people may not develop a love for learning right away but the habit of study can develop that over time. Money for grades can motivate but must be awarded within the actual capabilities of the child. An arbitrary standard of money only for As may be too high for an individual kid so one must know what one’s child is capable of achieving.
- —Guest John Stinespring
Fiendish Plan
- For my 11 and 8 year olds my fiendish plan is to make an A worth an outrageous amount of money. Make the A worth the effort. They each have 6 subject areas in their report cards. I’d say making an A worth $20, a C worth $2 and a B about $8 - this will likely get their attention.
- —Guest Scott Boyer
Rewards other than money
- I reward with computer time. My girls love to be on you-tube looking up their favorite songs or playing video games so I reward each A with 2 hours computer or video game time, each B with 1 hour and 30 min for each C. If they get a D or an F, they lose their time altogether. It has started working recently, because they don't want to lose the other stuff they earned because of being lazy in one class!
- —Guest Annette
Non-Payment
- Hi - as an educator, life long student and mother of 4 - I believe that you set the best example by your own love of knowledge. I wouldn't dream of paying for good grades as they carry sufficient intrinsic rewards and make the kid look pretty good too!
- —Guest Bonitaj
Works while it lasts....pros and cons
- I rewarded with money for about 2 years, but when the economy turned and I couldn't afford to keep it up, her grades actually went down. She told me her incentive to keep working hard was gone when I stopped paying her! I think it's a great concept, as long as you can keep it up. I'm not sure what I can do this year to keep her motivated, although, it aggravates me because I was self-motivated. Now I tell her that her reward is A) self-esteem for good grades, B) getting into a good college C) getting a good job! It's not getting me very far and I wish I'd never started with the money in the first place. She's the one that will reap the rewards of working hard not me, she just doesn't get it yet (16 yr old).
- —Guest Anna
