do you know that children are getting paid MONEY to perform well in school? what message do they get?

Question

what message is given to children in grade school when they get paid DOLLARS to perform well in school?

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun13/0,4670,PayingforGrades,00.html

what kind of lunatics are giving donations to pay children to get good grades? george soros?

will this become a trend, so that we will be taxed (more taxes!) to provide more than $10,000/year for every punk that does not want to learn anything in school, other than to get the MONEY?

i think rewarding children with money for good performance sets them up way too early to become money sheep. what will they teach their own kids, that the only thing worthwhile in life is THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR? will they need to be paid to play football next?

i'm an old fart that got gold stars next to my name on the class list for studying hard to perform well in school. i WANTED my stars. now teachers can't give stars--discrimination!

if kids won't study to gain good grades, then they do not deserve to lead in the future.

Answer 1

All you people that say "its like the real world, where you get paid to produce" are way off. In the real world, there are consequences to failure--getting fired or passed up for promotion. But the schools are feel-good factories, where no child's self esteem must be bruised.



So, what will happen is that the kids who don't get paid will cry and whine, and the teachers will give them rewards for "trying hard." Soon, getting paid will become an entitlement. and the whole concept will be watered down into meaningless futility.

Answer 2

Sorry to burst your bubble but that is how the REAL WORLD operates. In a fictitious scenario, if you secure the company's largest, most profitable account, you get a promotion. This means you get paid more. Same is those selected schools. In New York City, Joel Klein implicated this program in the lower income neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the Bronx to give kids, would normally not have an incentive to take their education seriously, to take their education seriously. In a neighborhood where these kids' parents barely have a high school education, why not give these disadvantaged kids an incentive, like cash? It's a win-win. Not only will these kids gain an education that can help leave the ghetto and be productive people for their generation, but they can also get paid. What's so wrong with that?

Answer 3

Very intersting, your last statement says "if kids wont stud to gain good grades, then they do not deserve to lead the future"



I disagree, I have may friends from college that only study to get good grades and every once in a while i bring up topics from previews classes where they earned an "A" and they cant remember crap. People should study for life not for grades.



Getting paid cash for good grades is just an incentive that has been going on for some time, I mean i know my dad bought me a new car toy when i got an A in math... but this time I get the cash to pay for it

Answer 4

Isn't that why we all work... for the money? Incentives have always been used, whether it was the gold star, fake money to use at the school store or being able to wear jeans on Friday. I paid $5 for every A. If the kids wanted to drive, they had to pay for their insurance and gas. This meant they had to earn the money. What's wrong with learning the correlation between work and earnings? Yep, millions are being paid to those who want to play football, basketball, baseball, etc.

Think my sarcasm regarding the millions paid to sports 'stars' was missed.

Answer 5

It gives children the wrong idea about education. For them, learning and doing well in school becomes a game, a competition. Instead of learning so that it is a personal achievement that marks their future, learning becomes a sport, a mission. In theory it is good, as children less eager to work will be more motivated if they know that money is the prize, but in practice it will only anger children who already work hard, and will perplex less ambitious kids. They will grow up and be surprised when they don't get paid at University, and that working hard in an office doesn't equal the pay to running a company.

It will become a political disaster, as children who worked in school for money will want similar demands in any job they have, which would lead us through the dark tunnel of Communism / Socialism.

Answer 6

We give people money for good grades everyday; it's called hiring them for well paying jobs because they got good grades.



If it takes paying them to get them to understand this concept, so be it.



As long as there is no cheating, and the money comes from charities, I'm all for it.





Addition: <>



Isn't this the definition of charity? As long as tax dollars, ie. mandatory charity, is not used, go for it. I don't care if Stalin pays up.

Answer 7

I think it unfortunately reflects the mores of modern-day American society. Money is what is valued most in this society. Learning for learning's sake is actually scoffed at and individuals who receive PhD's in subjects that are not valued by the market often find themselves unemployed or vying for relatively low-paying teaching jobs.

Answer 8

Sometimes, students feel as if they don't need to do well because it doesn't matter. If they are being paid, it is more like a job with an incentive to work hard. I would not agree with spreading it farther, but maybe in inner-city schools it might be helpful.

Answer 9

I think learning for learning's sake is something that takes maturity. Most of us simply are not that mature until we're stuck in the middle of our lives and then we look back and say, "Wow, I wish..." I wish I had finished my college degree but the idiocy in most of my college classes just bored me to tears so I didn't. I still read and self-educate because I can.



My parents paid me for good grades, and my mom is one of the best teachers I've ever known - her students love her! I'll pay my son for good grades or do whatever it takes to get him to study until he's old enough to realize he should study for himself because it'll get him more out of life, because he'll be smarter, because he'll be able to hold better conversations with more educated people, and because knowing things is just fun. But, until that level of maturity kicks in, I have absolutely no problem paying him for good grades.

Answer 10

NOT OPPOSED



I would think the message would be

learn more earn more



educations primary goal in America has always been about making more money in the future, ALWAYS

so

if starting kids out in the right direction means giving TANGIBLE rewards now----I'm all for it

Answer 11

I'm one of those kids who's parents say ill give you money for good grades...and i dint get good grades just for money...i work my butt off for my grades and i try my hardest at everything i do....when my report card comes around and i have good grades i tell my parents to keep the money cause i got the grades for me and not them....but they always make me take it anyways

Answer 12

They are feeling what it's like to perform in real life...Get paid to do a good job that's all. If they want/need the money then they will do well.

Answer 13

Well, my kids don't get paid.



But sorry there old duffer....whether they 'deserve' to lead the future or not, does not change the fact that they will anyway. You plan to live forever?

Answer 14

They learn that if you work hard you get paid more. Seems like a reasonable life-lesson to me...

Answer 15

That's a good message, I wish they did that when I was on the honor roll.

Answer 16

Yeah, I heard this too and I think it is absurd. That would be like me getting a bonus for showing up to work on time...

Answer 17

Seems to me they learn that hard work is rewarded. Good message.

Answer 18

President Obama will fix this.