I don't see any blame going on here, just a complaint about inconsistent parenting. Giving the child $50 unconditionally and then taking it away after putting conditions on it suddenly is very confusing and upsetting. If the father wanted it to be a "reward", then he should not have given it in the first place. Reward =/= love but gift=love (just think of holiday gifts). This is why OP made the final statement.

You can call it confusing, but if I was the kid, it would be pretty obvious to me: I got the $50, until my parents realized how badly I was screwing up in school. Then, I would come to the obvious conclusion that I need to do better in school if I want to have fun and get rewards. Then, I would be driven to do better. It's basic human rewards patterns

Still not a reward. It was a gift. OP's father had every right to not give the $50 until good grades were proven. Instead he gave it as a gift and then changed the rules.

OP equates gifts (money or not) with love same as most people do. We give things to people we care about. If OP's dad gave a new sweater for Christmas or birthday because he wanted to do something nice, then it isn't nice or fair to take those things away later because OP made a mistake elsewhere, months before. (I don't think I'm getting my thoughts out the way I want, ugh, oh well. I tried)

It is in no way unfair for a parent to punish their child for not doing well in school. Also, that's what report cards are for. To show the parents how their child is doing in class. This could be a wake up call that the dad needs to help out, but OP still doesn't deserve that money. Maybe in the future when those grades do come up.

I don't get why this has been downvoted, I completely agree, grades don't necessarily reflect how much effort someone puts in, yes obviously there is the chance that OP didn't put in much effort but some people struggle with academic studies, and even though they work really hard they still don't get the top grades. It's a grey area and there isn't enough info in the FML to immediately cast OP off as a slacker purely because of their grades.

Like I missed 80 days and made a 100 on my algrebra exam. Grades don't mean crap. Some people just don't have to put in any effort to understand whiles others struggle and no matter how hard they try they just can't make good grades.

There are so many variables things To your example. What level of algebra? Do you have experience in algebra previously? What was the teacher grading on?

I completely agree. There are way too many factors in earning grades for it to be a foolproof measure of someone's actual effort (and I'm a public school teacher!). When I was in high school my parents believed in rewarding effort instead of grades. I took a full load of honors classes my first year of high school and I went from straight As to Bs and even a C from a vindictive teacher who had it in for me. For some kids, a C is really the absolute best they can do given the class material and the teacher and the circumstances. Remember that "what teachers make" Slam poetry video? "I can make a C+ feel like a congressional Medal of Honor and I can make an A- feel like a slap in the face, how dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best". So, all I'm saying is we shouldn't judge the OP for "barely scraping by on Cs" without knowing all the facts. Especially when familial pressure to do as well as the highest achieving sibling can be crushing. Furthermore, OP's father gave the money as a gift, and changed the rules to make it a reward instead when he saw the report cards. Consistency and fairness is the best way to teach kids lessons, whether in the classroom or at home. He should have made it perfectly clear from the beginning and waited to give rewards if he meant for the money to be conditional, but instead he presented it as an unconditional gift and then took it back. This is what OP is complaining about.

stop defending someone if you "don't know all the facts"

Or, stop attacking someone if you don't know all the facts.

37 got my thoughts out the way I wanted. Thanks for that...

Pretty sure this is more a case of a gift equating with love than about the money itself. You know, since OP's father initially presented it as an unconditional gift.

OP didn't expect anything. They were GIVEN a GIFT without having asked for it. The gift was presented as unconditional. The gift was then taken away after being changed to a "reward" with conditions. The complaint is about inconsistency. I do not see anything here that makes OP out to be the entitled brat everyone seems to think they are.

The $50 wasn't a reward. It was a gift (of love). Later, dad decided it SHOULD HAVE BEEN a reward and took it away.

and about the most loving thing that a parent can do is help their child to be the best that they can be even when that child resents them for it at the time. Giving your child a gift can be a sign of love but withholding one can be too, only it's much harder to do.

Unfortunately, the problem is that the gift was NOT withheld. The OP's father was inconsistent by changing the rules suddenly and that no conditions were set for this "gift" beforehand. I completely agree with 33.