Do you reward the kids for good report cards? What's the criteria?
When Boog brought home his first progress report last year (that gives general grades for categories instead of the breakdowns) he had all S's (meets grade level expectations) and O's (exceeds grade level expectations). My MIL offered him $1 for every O and 50cents for every S on his report card. That was a mistake. There were 11 categories on the progress report and 50 areas on the report card. I think she owed him $42. We got a chuckle out of it and learned the lesson (it was Kindergarten so we really didn't know). She gave him $10 and told him how proud she was of him.
She continued to give him $10 for each report card that had all S's and O's. He just received his second report card for this year and Hubster wanted to reward him (like his mother does) and thought a Lego kit was a good idea. I said "No." Here's my thinking...
I want to encourage him to do well but I don't think money is the answer, or a toy, at least not now. In looking at his report card he did achieve all S's and O's, but 2 of his O's dropped to S's and no S's went to O's. Does this deserve rewarding? I'm very proud of how well he is doing and have told him that repeatedly, but if we are going to reward him shouldn't it be when there is improvement? Or would that cause him to sandbag when he gets older?
I don't remember getting paid for grades. That's not to say that it isn't a good tool. I just think a system needs to be put in place and stuck to. Next year, second grade, he will get letter grades. I think an all A report card deserves special treatment. I also think that bringing a grade up deserves attention. What methods do you use? I need suggestions now so we can set the expectation before the year starts. Please help.
How do your expectations differ in subjects that you excel (or not) at? If you love math do you expect your child to do well, especially since you can offer so much support? I'm awful and History and Geography. Does my kid get a pass in these subjects because I can't give him as much help? (I'm planning on learning it all with him. Maybe it'll stick this time.) Does someone like Richard Willich expect his child to do well in history, specifically civil war history, with all the materials available to the child? Again, I'm asking for ideas. What do you accept and expect? Does your knowledge affect what is expected of your child (ren)?
I'm off to research the topic and will be back with some experts thoughts on this situation.
i'm 13 and in 7th grade. i've never gotten a "B" before, and I normally get $30 when report card time comes around. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, payment from mom and dad is not a good habit to encourage doing well in school. I think that we should teach that education benefits the child and that in itself is the reward. Extra effort or outstanding achievement deserves a special treat, as you say. We liked to do things like allow a fun night with a friend or pick the movie or treat for family night. A praise and recognition kind of thing. Working hard to improve oneself sometimes warrants more than just a treat. That depends on the difficulty of the matter at hand.
ReplyDeleteSomething small shouldn't be a problem. I got all As most of the time, but I never got anything for it. I didn't need a reward for doing something I should be doing anyway, since it was very easy.
ReplyDeleteSomething small shouldn't be a problem. I got all As most of the time, but I never got anything for it. I didn't need a reward for doing something I should be doing anyway, since it was very easy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, payment from mom and dad is not a good habit to encourage doing well in school. I think that we should teach that education benefits the child and that in itself is the reward. Extra effort or outstanding achievement deserves a special treat, as you say. We liked to do things like allow a fun night with a friend or pick the movie or treat for family night. A praise and recognition kind of thing. Working hard to improve oneself sometimes warrants more than just a treat. That depends on the difficulty of the matter at hand.
ReplyDelete