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By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just gratitude. Examples:
•Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso last week promised to spend more than $935,000 to give high school students as much as $110 each to improve their scores on state graduation exams.
[From Tanya]
17 comments:
It's interesting that even school districts are putting a price on learning. I've heard of numerous occasions where parents of students give money to their student for receiving a solid GPA, but the fact that a school district has to resort to these measures of motivation demeans the learning process, at least in my opinion. I suppose that because the kids are now learning what they previously were not learning is a positive effect of the bribery, but can learning really have a price? Does earning good grades actually deserve a monetary reward?
It's unfortunate that the satisfaction of accomplishment and the new knowledge gained in studying are not enough to motivate students.
It may send the wrong message.
Could this lead to more effort in cheating?
Sorry, that's a little pessimistic.
I think that this is interesting because instead of getting at the reasons for most people to fail out of school is not being addressed. instead you are giving them the wrong message that they should only work hard if it results in money. I find this very disappointing.
I think Gianna makes a good point about cheating. It's fascinating how some schools would choose money as an incentive as opposed to other types of motivators. I remember in middle school I got 20 bucks from my parents for every A I got. I suppose this is sort of the same thing, only it's the public system. I can't say I necessarily agree with it, but if these students aren't motivated on their own, what else is going to get them to do better in school?
For the most I agree that these monetary incentives bring up other questions such as those already posted, but this idea is not actually entirely new to me to be completely honest. In high school we had science programs that offered stipends ( in which I participated...) to get and help students with science fair projects; it's somewhat like paying researchers for their work, I think, especially when some students had provoking and plain smart projects. But, like those previously mentioned, I would hope students still value learning in and of itself.
Another thought... perhaps, if the monetary incentives are exclusively for the state-issued exams then students would work harder for the extra money and as a result they would learn more and have a stronger feeling of accomplishment.
Maybe the end result would be a discovery that learning is rewarding in itself.
I agree about the idea being not entire new. It's not necessary a bad idea. In today's society, education for knowledge's sake is only secondary to the ultimate goal: get a job and make money. If you end up loving your job then its a definite plus in so many ways. However, it seems that we cannot escape the constrictions of money in our lives.
It's questionable whether or not the school districts should give money for improving on the state graduation exam, but I think they're pushing it by giving money to students just to attend tutoring sessions??
It does feel like the schools are bribing students to do better in school. What happened to learning for knowledge? But it does sound like getting free pizza hut pan pizza for reading books. Except now instead of pizza the students get money and instead of the free pizza being worth $5, the students are getting over $100. Same principle?? O_x
For this-- it made me think about where the money for schools are going. Directly to the students. Hahaa! Or rather-- it will question whether money should be put there, instead of better computers-- classrooms-- school supplies-- etc.
Instead-- kids will be getting it almost directly.
I don't know. Perhaps it will start the incentive to do better-- or as the others said-- the incentive to cheat...
Or purposely do bad-- THEN "improve" a lot-- in order to get the money.
What has our education system come to when earning money is no longer the long term goal and instead the horse needs to be led by the proverbial "carrot" little by little? Sadly in many communities, job opportunities have become increasingly hard to come by, and many kids have accepted that their future looks bleak (ie drugs, gangs). This is likely the reason the kids aren't motivated to try so hard in the first place; that dreams of making it out of the "hood" are full of hot air. But I don't think that after years of their development being neglected, that magically monetary incentive will help them achieve. And just because they attend the session, does it mean they have to try? It's kind of just a piece of gum trying to plug a failing dam. But that's just me.
This article is great. If I am being paid to get good grades, it is only an incentive for me to work harder. This is a great idea, especially for struggling college students like me, a junior in college who has been wearing the same sneakers since freshmen year of college. If getting paid for an A is going to get me some stylish clothes to study in, I am all for it!
This is an interesting idea. On one hand I don't think that putting success in monetary terms is a right, I think that these kids should be wanting to learn for knowledge's sake. On the other hand its really a win-win situation. If the student makes a little money and the school system finds an easy way to improve grades then where's the harm.
Moreover, in high school (at least at mine) they beat you over with the head with statistics about how much more a college graduate makes than a high school graduate who makes more than someone with no high school diploma, etc. This really just a more direct way of doing the same thing. Plus, I don't want to shock anyone by being the first but high schoolers are immature. The quest for knowledge is not necessarily at the top of there lists of priorities. Giving a little incentive to hit the books isn't too bad of an idea.
This seems especially worrisome as applied to education in our test-centred age. It's not even putting a price on learning or knowledge, just memorisation, which I think makes it a bit different to Raquel's point about funding for science projects. In her scenario, students are being encouraged to become involved with subject matter. In this case, it seems to be mostly about scores. It won't necessarily help students to engage any more with knowledge.
I agree with everyone that the idea of promoting education is good, but the concept of it is bad. By allowing students to receive money from tutoring session, the district is comparing education to doing chores. Education is something sacred and to actually live in a society where we have free education, that should not be taken advantage of like this. Instead of giving out money, how about promote a system that helps the children? Many children who are falling behind are not stupid, but they are lacking in basic skills that are needed to succeed. As a tutor I see this in many children. They need positive reenforcement from educators and just knowing that someone is proud of them can make a difference.
Alice San
It is sad that our schooling system has to give away incentives in order for people to learn. Attaching a price tag on learning devalues it in my opinion. It reminds me of the idea of Pavlov's dogs in which Pavlov carried out a series of experiments in which he manipulated the stimuli occuring before the presentation of food thereby establishing conditional reflexes. This is related to this in a sense, because what are these kids going to do when they enter the real world and see that getting a good grade or scoring well on a test does not always mean that you will get an incentive in the form of money or luxuries.
This really does work though. When I was in high school if you got a high score on the California exam the government gave you a couple grand calling it the governor's scholarship. It was indirectly the same as this but it is a great incentive either way.
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