As part of the National Math and Science Initiative, some high schools have opened up their Advanced Placement courses to all students, and those who score a 3 or higher on the A.P. exam earn a $100 reward, as do their teachers. While these monetary rewards may simulate the work environment and motivate students to work harder, they ultimately serve as bribery to bring out greediness in the already competitive school environment.
Students, immersed in their studies and the school environment, often lose track of the outside world and what their futures will look like. They sometimes fail to recognize that as adults, they will get paid for their work, with the chance of promotion if their effort is worthy enough. High schools rewarding students with money for high exam scores replicate this concept of working for money, reminding students of what real life is like following their academic careers are over.
Offering monetary rewards is also an exemplary way to motivate slacking students to be more successful. While good grades might not encourage some students to study and do well in school, money is an entirely different stimulus. For students whose families are struggling to make ends meet, any extra cash is necessary, making money a great motivator in school since these kids need it for survival. Other students, whether or not their families require money, but are simply money-hungry, see monetary rewards as highly desirable treasures and sources of extra income for personal use. These awards kill two birds in one stone in that they motivate students to do well, offering them good grades and money.
Although they motivate students, monetary rewards for exam achievement are unfitting in a school environment as competitive and intense as Great Neck North. Not only is the Great Neck school district ranked among the highest in the nation, but it also fosters extraordinary achievement among its student body, who both work hard and are talented in their endeavors. For this reason, their is a competitive drive fueling much of North’s students to succeed and excel one another, making the environment more tense as compared with other schools in the region. Making money an addition to the list of circumstances motivating North students, including good grades and the one-upping of others, would intensify an already ambitious and rivalrous community.
Bribery is another angle from which monetary rewards can be interpreted, and its moral burden outweighs any benefits of paying students for excellence. Students should already be motivated by the mere allure of success and good grades; if these appealing notions weren’t effective enough in instilling unhealthy antagonism and competition between students, money would instigate greed and increased corruption. Bribing students is immoral and brings out the worst in people, and should be avoided at all costs. Schools who bribe their students are carrying out wrong, unhealthy, and unnecessary policies to solicit motivation which should come from other places.