<p>While I believe that students should strive for good grades, I don't think getting good grades should be the criterion for rewards. It creates perverse incentives, as I tried to suggest earlier. I'd rather my S got a B in Abstract Algebra than an A+ in Underwater Basket Weaving. I have always told my S to take the most challenging courses he was comfortable with, do the best he could, and not worry about getting the highest grade. As long as he kept up with the rest of the class, that was fine. It has been very liberating for him. It has freed him from having to play safe and boring.</p>