Writing for Academic Discussion Is rewarding children to study a good idea? - revised later -

The effectiveness of using rewards to motivate children to study is a topic of much discussion. Some argue that providing incentives is a powerful tool to encourage academic effort, while others believe that reliance on rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation. What is your perspective on this issue? Is rewarding children to study a good idea, and why?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        What kind of rewards do teachers give to their students?

2.        Do you agree with rewarding children for their efforts and achievements?

 

☆Hints for Points

Good

1.       Rewards makes learning a game, and children like games.

2.       Rewards visualize how much students have learned.

 

Bad

1.        Rewards may help lose sight of the meaning of studies. Children will lose intrinsic motivation.

2.        Rewards lose effect soon as students get used to them. They will not be motivated in tasks without rewards.

3.        Children who are not good in class would be unhappy.

 

 

☆Sample Answer

【Thesis】Praise from teachers and other students are rewards that correctly recognize the student’s effort and lubricate relationships in class, and so it is necessary. However, rewards in other forms would be useless, I think.

【Supporting Details】Students should know why they are doing the task for effective learning. If they know the purpose of their studies, leaning itself will be the reward, and rewards will be like party gifts; you would be glad to get them, but you wouldn’t care less even if you don’t as you have enjoyed the party.

【Counterargument-treatment】Jessica may be right that using rewards is effective with young children who cannot be aware that the study is good to them, and yet, I doubt the effect of teaching young children something that needs rewards to keep their attention. Subjects should be interesting to learn in the first place, and people can learn only what they believe they need in the end. If children learning multiplication table by heart boring, it is because they haven’t been assigned tasks of adding the same number multiple times in 81 patterns. After the task, the laziest child will find the multiplication table worth learning most. Although some children may think of carrying the table, and that is a novel idea in the area of smart phones, the child will cram it after losing a number game with an opponent who has learned all the multiplications. Winning a game could be a reward, but it is not, in a strict sense here in this discussion.

【Conclusion】In the end, classes that do not rely on rewards are based. (264 words)