But they still counted as bribery.
Then I recalled one of the techniques used by Rafe Esquith, a past Teacher of the Year and Oprah honor recipient, in the fabulous documentary, The Hobart Shakespeareans, and it was unequivocally a form of bribery: good performance/behavior gave his middle school students "dollars" that could be used to buy real coveted items, such as a guitar, at "auction". It not only worked as an incentive but taught kids the value of how quickly money can go and to learn the value of delayed gratification. (I highly recommend this documentary to parents and teachers).
From the Time article, here in a nutshell is the sense of ire from parents and educators about paying kids to learn: