--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If everybody is rewarded just for being…" description: "\"If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the same sort of effect as you do when you reward every student just for being enrolled. You des..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa6/s-i-hayakawa-15018_alive_if-everybody-is-rewarded-just-for-being_340853.jpg" --- # If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the… ![“If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the same sort of effect as you do when you reward every student just for being enrolled. You destroy not only education, you destroy society by giving A's to everyone. This is a philosophical consideration that bothers me very much as I sit in…” quote by S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa6/s-i-hayakawa-15018_alive_if-everybody-is-rewarded-just-for-being_340853.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa6/s-i-hayakawa-15018_alive_if-everybody-is-rewarded-just-for-being_340853.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa6/s-i-hayakawa-15018_alive_if-everybody-is-rewarded-just-for-being_340853.jpg) > “If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the same sort of effect as you do when you reward every student just for being enrolled. You destroy not only education, you destroy society by giving A's to everyone. This is a philosophical consideration that bothers me very much as I sit in the United States Senate and see the great budget allocations going through.” [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rewarding everyone equally erodes merit and devalues achievement, leading to societal decline. **In simple terms:** Giving all the same reward destroys standards. Key Takeaway Preserve standards, reward merit. Themes education merit society policy inequality Mood critical reflective Type analytical political When to use this quote - school grading - government funding - workplace incentives - college admissions - social welfare programs Key Concepts philosophy public policy economics Questions to Reflect On - How would you balance fairness with excellence? - What alternative incentives could encourage participation without diluting value? A Different Perspective If standards are too strict, they may exclude those in need of support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Budgets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budgets/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Senate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senate/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest reward for a student is not a good grade. 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Hayakawa > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [It is the individual who knows how little they know about themselves who stands the most reasonable chance of finding out something about themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/it-is-the-individual-who-knows-how-little-they-know-about-themselves/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [So I will say it with relish. Give me a hamburger but hold the lawsuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/so-i-will-say-it-with-relish-give-me-a-hamburger-but-hold-the-lawsuit/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [How anybody dresses is indicative of his self-concept. 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Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [In the case of drama (stage, movies, television ), there appear to be people in almost every audience who never quite fully realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/in-the-case-of-drama-stage-movies-television-there-appear-to-be/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Good teachers never say anything. What they do is create the conditions under which learning takes place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/good-teachers-never-say-anything-what-they-do-is-create-the/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Agreement is brought about by changing people's minds - other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/agreement-is-brought-about-by-changing-people-s-minds-other-people-s/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Republicans are people who, if you were drowning 50 feet from shore, would throw you a 25-foot rope and tell you to swim the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/republicans-are-people-who-if-you-were-drowning-50-feet-from-shore/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/in-a-very-real-sense-people-who-have-read-good-literature-have-lived/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [I believe we are being dishonest with language minority groups if we tell them they can take full part in American life without learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/i-believe-we-are-being-dishonest-with-language-minority-groups-if-we/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) [Explore all 44 S. I. Hayakawa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. 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"That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If everybody is rewarded just for being alive, you get the same sort of effect as you do when you reward every student just for being enrolled. You destroy not only education, you destroy society by giving A's to everyone. This is a philosophical consideration that bothers me very much as I sit in the United States Senate and see the great budget allocations going through.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "S. I. 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