Some think schools should rewards students who have the best academic results, while others think it’s more important to reward students who achieve other types of success (such as sports, music, and good behaviour). Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

It is common to reward students for their academic 1success, but manysuccess but many today believe schools should also recognise other areas of excellence such as athletics and behaviour. In my opinion, rewarding academic results is more important 2because this recognition is a powerful motivatoras it is a powerful motivator and 3should not be extended to other pursuitsshould not be replicated for other pursuits.

Rewarding academic success is part of 4a long-established system of controlan historic system of control. 5The purpose of such rewards is clearThe purpose is self-evident: 6to encourage continued academic successto psychologically compel continued positive results. For example, in many East Asian countries such as Vietnam where good marks are highly valued, it is not uncommon for parents to offer 7students financial incentivesfinancial incentives to students, schools to regularly hand out certificates of excellence, and teachers to highlight individuals for praise. All these 8rewardsdistinctions are powerful extrinsic motivators that draw students away from 9the often monotonous subject matter itselfthe, often monotonous, subject being studied itself to monetary gains, public recognition and the esteem of one’s teachers, respectively. This effectively exploits 10a basic desire for recognitionbasic desires for respect and reinforces a pattern of academic excellence.

However, despite the benefits listed above, 13other activities already provide their own rewardsother types of activities contain their own rewards already. 14A student who behaves well in class will typically earn the appreciation of teachers or simply do it out of their natural temperament and therefore not require compensation. Students with athletic prowess enjoy the 15admirationreverence of their peers and 16participating in the sports themselvesthe sports themselves. These built-in rewards apply to a variety of 17areas of achievementfields of success outside traditional school subjects. In fact, rewarding 18activities that students already enjoy for their own sakebehaviours that students already enjoy doing in themselves might actually hinder motivation. 19Students could potentially become more focused on the reward than the experience itself and an intrinsic drive will become extrinsic, ironically now requiring tangible reinforcement to continue.

In conclusion, 21rewarding academic achievementrewarding academics is a proven method of reinforcement that could have the 22unintendedopposite effect of decreasing intrinsic motivation when applied to other areas. Teachers and parents should be wary of the subtle difference between encouraging children and establishing a near-Pavlovian relationship.