Grades Poll

ggmae

Something that motivated me during high school was that if I had a certain GPA, my parents would have gotten a discount when adding me to the car insurance. That made me feel like doing a good job in school would benefit someone else (in this case my parents) so I worked a bit harder to make sure that would happen - and it did.Fishy - You just reminded me that my Grandparents gave me $20 whenever I made the honor roll. I never expected it though - it was just a nice surprise.

katiewhompus

I didn't get paid for grades, I was hard enough on myself for getting less than A's I didn't need incentive. We would go out to dinner if I got a really good report card.A lot of kids in my school did get paid for grades because their peer group was very "anti-smart". People would intentionally do poorly on tests or not do homework because if you were smart it was a bad thing, like you were above everyone else. So some parents starting bribing with money. Then kids who were smart to begin with could be like "dude, I get money" and play it off.I won't pay my kids for grades, but they will get little rewards for getting good grades consistently. I think even a "oh wow, great job" can go a long way and kids don't hear that enough now.

julezlee

LauraT - your sister would've gotten along with my brother. Pretty sure he only got through high school because his g/f did all his work. Were there consequences for him? Heck no! Did I have my mother threaten to take away basically everything in my room because I once got a B in 8th grade Algebra? You betcha!

mocha beans

Yeah, I also got railed on for getting a B in English class once.  Like mom acted like I got an F.  It sucked.

tlv204

Something that motivated me during high school was that if I had a certain GPA, my parents would have gotten a discount when adding me to the car insurance. That made me feel like doing a good job in school would benefit someone else (in this case my parents) so I worked a bit harder to make sure that would happen - and it did.I had the same motivation, but I paid for the car insurance myself, so I guess it's still selfish :)Also, random story: The only time in my life I ever got a C was in art class in 4th grade.  The d bag's name was Mr. Zitman of all things. I'm still mad about that. Who the eff gives a 4th grader a C in art? I'm assuming it was because of all of my talking and not because of my artistic skills, but who knows. Anyway I'm not sure how my parents did it, but the healthy dose of guilt they instilled in my has always made me motivate myself for some reason. I have always hated getting anything less than an A. I hope my kids are like that. Only maybe less neurotic. And better at art.

mwhitson14

Were there consequences for him? Heck no! Did I have my mother threaten to take away basically everything in my room because I once got a B in 8th grade Algebra? You betcha!Do we have the same parents?

ring_pop

Can you come to my school and give parenting classes? Kthanx.Aw! That's really sweet of you to say, thanks!

LauraT25

Oh wow Julez are moms are more alike than I thought.  I got grounded for a month in 9th grade because the previous quarter I had over 100 in English because of this big extra credit project I did.  That same year, my sister got a plane ticket to Florida because she finally got a B on an exam.

crfische

I cried after every calculus test I took. CRIED. Because I had no flucking clue what I was doing, but my parents wouldn't let me drop it, but they didn't want me to get a bad grade in it either. It was the worst.I ended up with a b+ for a semester grade. I think my teacher felt badly for me and gave me a B+ for effort, because it wasn't based on skill. He was also the athletic director though...so that might have worked in my favor.

LP11509

No.  Especially if I had 2 children.  I would want each child to do the best that they can, and don't want them comparing their grades.  Every person has a different strength and weakness. As much as we want to think that our children will excel in school, some people's talents lie elsewhere. That's not to say that I won't encourage them to work hard and do their best, but if my kid sucks at math, I'm not going to punish them for it as long as they are truly trying.

SarahPLiz

i never got paid for good grades. They were expected because I was gifted, and school was never really a challenge for me. I once failed a math quiz, the week after my little sister was born, and really beat myself up about it, but my mom said nothing but to do better next time. My mom is a teacher, so maybe that had something to do with it. While my parents didn't pay me, I did get full tuition to a private univeristy, and extra scholarships as I excelled there. I have a diploma that says summa cum laude on it, and they announced at my college graduation that I was the only person graduating with a 4.0 that year, and that I had maintained that avg since 1st grade. I was freaking proud. That was payment enough for me.

sarah0725

Oh, and I could also see this causing major problems in the family dynamic. In my family, there are four of us, and my two elder brothers and I were all too big for our britches in school and had reputations for being straight-A students. It was hard for my sister to follow in our shoes, and she struggled a lot when she was in elementary and high school. I can't imagine how much worse it would have made her feel if we were getting paid for grades and she wasn't.Good thing my parents were broke all the time.

ggmae

Sucrets - While I was the over-achiever of the family, I guess you could say that my brother was the under-achiever. Even though my parents didn't reward us monetarily for good grades, my brother got a car after he had gotten really shiitty grades for years and years. That never made sense to me (and still doesn't.) More was expected of me because my parents knew I was a hard worker. My brother, not so much.

ggmae

I did get an allowance however, and my parents opened a bank account for me when I was ten, trying to teach me how to manage money. That lesson didn't really stick. We did too. The deal was that any money I handed over to my mom would be put in the bank account and was not to be touched until I was 18. I was very careful with how much I gave to her, because I knew that I wouldn't see it for a while. To this day, I am not so great at saving so I guess it didn't stick for me either.

Moneypenny424

Nope, I wasn't paid and I won't pay my kids.  Like others have said, I wanted to do well for myself...and well honestly, if I'd ever brought home another lower than a B, I would have been in trouble. Kids need to understand the importance and value of achieving things that are not tied to a monetary reward.

LesPaul

I was never paid for good grades - I was pretty self-motivated and excelled on my own.  However, as a parent I have used this tactic to try to motivate a smart, lazy child who didn't seem interested in good grades for any other reason.  Potential scholarship money doesn't motivate her, nor do threats or losing privileges.  Never say never . . . some kids really take to monetary incentives, and you might find that this really works for your particular child.

SummerBoston10

My grandparents paid me for good grades and my parents always bought me stuff on report card day.  I almost always got straight As and I graduated with a 3.98 GPA.  But honestly, the rewards had nothing to do with why I got good grades or tried hard in school.  Sorry but getting $5-10 for a A in a class was not going to motivate me to study for hours for an exam.  I did well and tried in school because it is not in my nature to not care.  I never understood how kids could come to school without their homework done I cared and wanted to do well and that is what motivated me to do well in school.  Plus, I like to learn.  I guess I was just an overachiever and it has continued because I am only 28 and I have three degrees and am considering another some day!I don't see anything wrong with rewarding kids monetarily or otherwise for a job well done! 

Sooles

in elementry school we didnt care... in high school if we got good grades (me, brother and my H - we all lived at my moms house) she would take us somewhere awesome for dinner as a reward..

BioGirl21

I think my brother and I got a quarter in elementry school for every Exceeds Expectations that I got, maybe a dollar. After elm. school, we didn't get anything for good grades. I probably won't be paying my kids for good grades.

tmm140

My parents took me to Friendly's with good grades for a "fancy dinner". No for paying my kids, taking them out for dinner like mine did wouldn't hurt. I think if they work hard they should be rewarded for something!

SoSweet06

My parents didn't pay for good grades, but they did punish for bad grades. It didn't scar me for life...I am much more motivated than FI, whose parents did not encourage good grades. My grandparents did bribe us though...$20 for straight A's, I think. I don't think it was a motivation as much as a bonus though...I don't remember ever thinking, "Gee, I better study for this test so I can get $20." It was just something nice they did.

saschaduran

I got paid for my grades. But I was extremely motivated and hard on myself. I would lock myself in my room for hours if I struggled with a subject. I graduated with a 3.99 and it was because I loved school, not for the money I got. But the money was nice. I think I got paid for a bunch of stuff, and I used that method with my daughter. I paid her $1 to sleep in her own bed at night. My grandpa used to give her $2 if she would give him a kiss. Come to think of it that is a pretty horrible lesson to teach, huh? Next time around I may think that through a little more. I do agree with allowances for chores though. You do want to teach your child money management, or being rewarded for doing their "job" whether it is school or chores. Thats how the real world works. And since 10 year olds can't work...it is nice to have them "earn" their money to save for special things they want.