10th July 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
At this time of year students are at the point of sitting exams, and many parents are having discussions as to how they might incentivise their children to perform better. Many parents support their children through exams by offering words of encouragement, tea and biscuits, and help with revision where required. Some use different tactics, offering their children rewards such as trips, concert tickets or, frequently, cash for hard work and good grades. As a tutor I find the practice of cash for grades a little troubling, but does it affect the work that tutors do?
In short, yes. Let’s start with the basic principle of giving monetary rewards in return for grades. This supposes that students would not work as hard to do well in their exams were they not given a cash incentive. If this is the case, then private tutors definitely have their work cut out for them teaching students to love their subjects. But is a £50 incentive here and there enough to make the different between A and B grades? Probably not. Most tutors find that students are either motivated to revise or (more often) they are experiencing some difficulty, which most likely cannot be overcome with an incentive.
The job of a tutor is to prepare students for exams in numerous ways. Tutors teach any material that students are struggling with. They should help students create a revision timetable and discuss any issues they are having sticking to it. Stress, fear, overwork and poor concentration are the most likely candidates for interfering with students’ ability to revise. Cash incentives aren’t going to address those issues.