Here's what neuroscience tells us: rewards, when used thoughtfully, trigger specific emotions that release neurochemicals critical to strengthening memory and deepening learning. Simply put, a reward that genuinely excites a student isn't just indulgent—it's neurologically beneficial. Yet education often hesitates to leverage this insight, even as we struggle against shrinking attention spans and increasing demands for instant gratification elsewhere in society.

In traditional education, exams tend to be fixed, immovable events. They happen when the system says they happen—regardless of whether the student is actually ready. And that rigidity is often what fuels the anxiety around them. The pressure builds as the looming, inescapable date approaches—one you either survive or you don’t.