Back when I was younger, it wasn't uncommon to hear parents tell their kids, "study hard. If you come first position or you performvery well, I'll ger you something." Usually, depending on what the child liked, it was: a bicycle, a ball, a doll, a dress, shoes, a visit to somewhere like fancy like to a park or an eatery, and a lot of others.
Children like to hear things as thar. It fuels their motivation to study harder. It's same for other areaa too. With an incentive in view, they put in extra effort. Often though, as the school term progressed, some of them begin to lag and lose that zeal they had started with.
But the initial energy tells something. It tells that rewards worked. At the end of term, most schools organize a party and there, they offer gifts to kids who top their class. If you watch any child who goes on to bag a prize, you would see how happy it makes him/her to get that thing irrespective of how useful the item will be to him/her personally. You'll also notice how their friends or classmates would gather around them to see what they had gotten with tiny hints of envy which I consider normal.
While I was a home educator, I usually got drinks, snacks or sweets and offered to whichever kid performed really well. Practically, i favoured that one the best. Usually, I make sure everyone gets a thing but the one(s) who outperformed got more stuff. I wouldn't deny that on the regular, these kids were eager to learn but I noticed thar the little gifts I gave made them extra-studious.
Generally, if a person performs well, it is encouraged and expected that they get a reward, a bonus tip or even accolades. Personally, I'm in the know of how far that goes to make them keep on in that might and also to serve as a challenge to others to put in some more effort.
Rewards can be a good motivation, as it often fosters competition. Healthy or not, what matters it that the aim is being achieved. It would be bothersome though, if a student would, inspite of the obvious academic growth that more attention to studies yield, refuse to study unless they are offered something.
As a student currently, I need all the money that I can lay my hands upon as the bills I have to sort out are usually, seemingly endless. But then, depending on the person or their level(say children in basic classes), giving money might not be the best option. An equivalent gift that they would still appreciate and which will be beneficial to them should suffice. Sometimes, rather than giving cash, sorting out certain bills or granting a scholarship might br a better alternative.
Overall, I encourage rewards for academic excellence. It not just encourages the student in question to not stop studying but also encourages others who aren't performing so well to put in the required time and effort, for there's always reward for excellence.
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