An increasing number of breakthroughs in many fields, particularly academia, nowadays has necessitated a rewarding system, which people hold different opinions about. While those who make progress academically should be rewarded, I believe it would be better if schools prize students based on merit, as they possess more potential when it comes to innovation.
On the one hand, recognition and praise serve as a powerful source of motivation for learners who show improvement. Simply acknowledging their efforts is enough to instill pride and confidence in them, which are indispensable in propelling them even further to accomplish more. In Chi Lang high school, for example, students who exhibit significant progress in terms of grades in a month will be given a shoutout in front of the whole school, along with some prizes. This does not sound like much, but it means a great deal to such students themselves. Some individuals even make it to the top position of their classes in the following months. This goes to show the importance of awarding students for their determination to overcome their own limitations.
On the other hand, I think that it is more worthwhile to offer rewards to students with top academic performance. This stems from the fact that they are already equipped with a decent amount of insight into certain domains. Such knowledge enables them to accomplish innovations that will likely change society for the better. Therefore, acknowledgement of their exceptional academic results serves to keep their motivation alive. A good example of this is that some schools in Vietnam have implemented a merit-based reward policy, which awards students scholarships of varying values for achieving prizes in city-wide competitions. Not only does such a policy recognize students’ outstanding talents, but it also inspires their motivation to achieve even more.
In conclusion, while offering praise and recognition to those with progressive effort is important, I firmly believe that doing so to individuals with incredible results carries more weight. This is because innovations that benefit society from such students are more likely.