today is a weird day i have been on edge for so long its crazy i feel so weird trying to figure out if this boy likes me or not doesnt seem like cause he hasnt hit me up yet maybe hes just playing it safe.
if you have nothing to do hit me up cause im bored
Should good grades be rewarded with cash?
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Several years ago, I would have written to the "No" side in this debate. I thoroughly believed that the best reward was the knowledge of a job well done. Children should be praised highly for good grades, instilling within them an appreciation for intrinsic reward, such as the desire to learn and become better, more educated people. Extrinsic reward, such as prizes and money, should be thoroughly discouraged. Too much extrinsic reward would surely teach the child to strive after this, rather than become life-long learners.
Non Monetary RewardsMotivat
I stepped into my first job teaching equipped with this powerful knowledge. I would instill intrinsic value within my students.
I was discouraged when my adolescent students did not respond to my smiles. I was appalled when they were not inspired by my praises.
I opened up my how to teach books with a vengeance, turning to the pages that demanded we teach the children how to be rewarded with the knowledge of a job well done. I wanted to take the book to my students, show it to them page by page and say, "Look. You see. Something's wrong with you guys. This is supposed to work!"
Defeated, I started giving out small prizes. I gave out pencils, candy, and toys for good effort and good behavior. And it worked. The students' efforts, behavior, and grades began to increase. They developed desire to finish their assignments and listen to the lessons, expecting and looking forward to the rewards that followed.
I thought to myself, "I have failed. I am not an effective teacher. I have resorted to extrinsic rewards in order to survive the day, and now my students will never appreciate the value of learning. And it's all my fault."
And then one day, my principal came to my classroom and handed me my paycheck, and suddenly it dawned on me.
Not once, during all the time I had been there, had my principal ever come to my classroom and said, "You will not be receiving a paycheck this month. Your reward will be the knowledge of a job well done."
I realized that I had been expecting my students to be much better people than I was, than nearly every working adult in the United States economy was. Very few of us would work for no paycheck, no matter how much intrinsic value, no matter how much desire to do a job well done, we might have. Even if the paycheck was not necessary for food and clothing, we would still want it for our own prizes, for the jewelry and the hair styles and the golf clubs and the football tickets and the vacations and the games and the fun we love to have.
We are rewarded with all of those things when we clutch that paycheck in our hands. And we expect it, demand it, week after week and month after month. If we did not receive it, a thousand "well done's" and a thousand smiles would not get us to go back to work the next day.
So why is it that we expect a few well done's and a few smiles to be enough to get a child to go back to work the next day, if we do not even expect this out of an adult? To do so holds a double standard.
Of course, perhaps I just have to tell myself all of this so I no longer feel guilty when I hand those extrinsic rewards to my students for their jobs well done. Regardless, it makes my job much, much easier.
Learn more about this author, Crystal Loveless.
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Should good grades be rewarded with cash?
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Point out how proud a child should be of himself if he achieves high grades, as opposed to how proud you are, making it clear the grade and the accomplishment belong to the child.
* Stress to the child the most important grade is always the one for conduct. If a child excels in conduct, i.e. behaving in class, turning in assignments on time, participating in class discussion, then the academic grades will truly reflect his capabilities and be the measure of his ability they are intended to be.
* Celebrate your child's achievement of good conduct with whatever reward you deem appropriate; such as, a new outfit, a desired video game, a special outing, or whatever gives the child pleasure. Always stress the reward is for good conduct.
If you have multiple children you will find the above tips prevent the inevitable sense of unfairness toward one over another. All children cannot perform academically at the same level, but they can have equally good conduct.
By starting right at the beginning of your child's educational journey allowing his grades to be between him and his teachers, and continuing in the same consistent attitude throughout his school years, you will be rewarding your child with a gift more valuable than any amount of money. You will be allowing him to possess his own achievements and sense of self worth.
Your child will grow up to be a highly productive individual, who will surely achieve great things because he is self motivated.
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Should good grades be rewarded with cash?
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When your student grows up and has the ability to obtain superior employment or a lucrative career because he is well educated, he will be monetarily rewarded. In the meantime, equating good grades with opportunities to "cash in" is a mistake.
There is a psychological component to the correlation between learning and grades. When a child starts school, there is an unspoken agreement established between the educational system, the teachers and your child. The child pays attention, performs to the best of his ability and is rewarded for his efforts with grades. The child quickly realizes, the more effort expended, the better the grade. The priority is to learn; the reward is the grade.
The parents role is to use the grade merely as a reflection of the progress the child is making in his educational journey. Putting too much emphasis on grades, using rewards and punishment, transfers the grading system out of the educational arena into the realm of parental discipline.
The report card belongs to the student. It is a reflection of the student's achievement or failure. It has nothing to do with parental performance. Parents often brag about their child's grades, or become angry if the child does not perform to their expectations. A child cannot be rewarded or punished into learning. You also cannot "buy" good grades.
Once parents begin to interfere with the learning process by attempting to "control" the child's grades with inappropriate response, such as promising rewards of money, a cycle of dysfunctional learning behavior is created. The emphasis is no longer on learning to the best of the student's ability. The focus suddenly converts to getting good grades to "please" the parents or obtain the promised reward. When the reward is withheld for less than stellar performance, the child loses motivation and getting poor grades is often the resulting act of rebellion. Learning is out of the equation, as grades become a power struggle between parent and child.
Ways for parents to avoid interfering with the student's learning process, and allowing grades to be their own reward:
* View the report card strictly as a progress report. Be supportive if your child's grades indicate he is struggling. Your child's efforts are best measured by the conduct grade. If your child has good conduct, he is probably performing to the best of his ability. Contact his teacher and ask for suggestions on how you can help your child.
* Be objective.
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Do you pay for good grades?
by Angie Felton Oct 25th 2007 3:01PM
Categories: Education
My older kids' report cards were really good, so I treated them to lunch at their favorite restaurant AND sprang for dessert, which I thought was sort of generous.
According to them, it's pay day for some of their peers.
Apparently some parents give cold hard cash for good schoolwork: $25 for an A, $10 for B work. My non-honor roll mental calculations confirm lunch and couple orders of pie is a bargain!
Do you reward good grades and if so, how?
I'm not sure we have the budget to pay for smartness on top of all the other kid-related expenses we're already dealing with.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1SKL 10-25-2007 @ 3:17PM
I can't see paying for a "B" unless it's a huge improvement from the prior grade.
I could see setting up a schedule and sticking to it for all of your kids. Whether it's pay for an A or pay for a set amount of improvement or some combination. The problem is that it will be easier for some siblings to cash in than the others. And having a different pay scale for each will seem unfair. So I'm not sure how motivating it ends up being overall. Moreover, until teen age, most kids can't really think ahead well enough to "plan" for getting those bucks. My younger brother, for example, would never think of how to improve his 9-week grades until the 7th or 8th week, which was of course too late. (Taking away the Nintendo did work, though - apparently the intense loss provided a daily reminder and GPA increased by 2.0!)
I think good students are internally motivated, so payment for a good grade is usually overkill. Payment for a less-than-stel
Reply
2Ann Adams 10-25-2007 @ 3:26PM
Not money but we almost did the restaurant treat for grades and/or effort.
Citizenship grades counted too; almost as much as the academic.
Reply
3Ann Adams 10-25-2007 @ 3:26PM
Not money but we almost did the restaurant treat for grades and/or effort.
Citizenship grades counted too; almost as much as the academic.
Reply
4Maggie 10-25-2007 @ 3:43PM
I considered paying for grades and then I read "Parenting Teens with Love and Logic" by Jim Fay and Foster Cline. They convinced me that I need to let my kids accept the responsibility for their grades, good or bad. You can learn more at www.loveandlog
Reply
5Nicole 10-25-2007 @ 4:28PM
Research shows that paying someone for something that can be intrinsically motivation actually LOWERS the motivation over time.
Taking your kids out to dinner is a family activity that increases your time together and lets your kids know that you appreciate them doing their best. What a nice unexpected treat for your kids, that lets them have a treat from you...but doesn't take away their intrinsic rewards and motivations for their hard work.
However, paying for grades is really unnecessary and sets up a competitive vibe that I really don't like. Plus, then the grades become a means to an end rather than the reward themselves.
Reply
6Joy 10-25-2007 @ 5:00PM
We did dinner out at their favorite place to eat. It was kind of nice since one of our boys naturally did better at school than the other. I didn't expect straight A's, just the best they could do. One boy did better at the grading part and the other at the "social" grades so they equaled each other out and both got to go. They still have really good memories of it and we still like to go to Behihana's for special occasions.
Reply
7ame s 10-25-2007 @ 5:31PM
NO!
I have one daughter working on her 5th year of straight A's, one daughter working on year 3. I would be so broke if I had been paying for A's.
In our home, money is earned by doing extra tasks around the house. Getting good grades, scooping the litterbox, those are "freebies".
Reply
8Anji 10-25-2007 @ 5:40PM
Why would I pay my child to do something he should be doing *anyway*? That's like paying him to clean his room - bloody ridiculous. My kid should be doing these things because they mean something, because it is just *something he does*, not because he wants remuneration.
Reply
9Eva 10-25-2007 @ 6:36PM
I seem to recall being allowed to go on a small shopping trip when I had straight A's, which seems reasonable. Don't know what we will do for the little one.
Reply
10Eric 10-25-2007 @ 10:21PM
My dad has always offered $100 if I had all 100... never happened. I can see my sister, in her senior year, maybe... if she's in easy classes like me.
Reply
11Caelligh 10-26-2007 @ 1:07AM
I wouldn't do that, especially since the grades mean next to nothing.
Reply
12Clarissa 10-26-2007 @ 2:51AM
I can't see paying for grades....grad
Reply
13abb 10-26-2007 @ 10:49AM
We paid $20. for A's. Nothing for B's and he paid us $20. for anything less than a B. Interestingly, he only earned one C.
Reply
14Jessica 10-26-2007 @ 2:24PM
NO! Success is the reward. I am a teacher and I hear kids talking about this all the time and I find it absolutely ridiculous. It means grades will have no intrinsic value. Can't we TEACH values rather than BRIBE for them?????
Reply
15A 10-26-2007 @ 3:14PM
I don't think it's "paying" but rather a reward for doing well.
In my case, I didn't get paid per grade but rather based on what my lowest mark was. The most I could ever get was $50 and that's if my lowest grade on all my subjects was 100% (!!!).
As for a special dinner, I supose but that wouldn't be my cup of tea. If it's a reward then it should be something that the child considers "special".
Cheerio!
A
Reply
16acm 10-26-2007 @ 6:53PM
Let me reinforce what Nicole said -- offering money for grades teaches kids to devalue success for its own worth. (The experiments are quite literal: children "paid" with a cookie for playing with some toys report enjoying the play much less than kids who just played with no "bribe.") I can see the reason one might think the opposite, but unthink it!
:)
Reply
17ShapingYouth 11-04-2007 @ 10:47PM
Agree with Nicole and above, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Money often costs too much."--and in the case of chasing carrots for grades, I believe it costs kids in self-esteem, rather than creates it...self-wort
That said, they're fed a pop culture teeming with materialism and consumption based values that skew this meaning substantially.
In fact, I just wrote a piece about this on Shaping Youth, our nonprofit, dealing with 'media & marketing's impact on kids'---all about how IBM is now PAYING employees to eat properly in an attempt to reduce childhood obesity.
I'm conflicted here, because in deconstructing
Here's the link. Weigh in if you want...
http://www.sha
Reply
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Is it smart to pay for good grades?
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(Our daughter's in preschool, by the way, so this is all still theoretical for us.)
If parents do want to pay for grades, Kiplinger's Bodnar said, they should be conscious of the differences in children's natural abilities, intelligence and learning styles. Having more than one child makes this even more critical. If one kid has a learning disability, for example, a parent might want to reward improvements in grades rather than the grades themselves. But then they may have to contend with issues of equity if they wind up punishing one child (the achiever) for a C while rewarding the other for the same grade.
"It pretty quickly becomes unwieldy," Bodnar said.
It's a slippery slope
Money can be like drugs: It can take more and more to get the same effect.
If cash becomes your child's primary reason to achieve, you may well lose your leverage when she's old enough to earn her own, Bodnar said. Either that, or you may find yourself constantly upping the ante to keep your child's interest.
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It may start out as a few bucks for an A, she said, "and by high school it's 'How about a car, Mom and Dad?'"
Bodnar recommends parents who want to use cash rewards do so for a limited time to avoid these side effects.
You may be sending the wrong messages
I'll quote poster "No_Rulz": "Paying for grades sets kids up for an unrealistic expectations of the future. How many people in the working world get bonuses every six weeks for doing the job that is expected of them?"
Furthermore, as much as we'd like to believe that hard work and achievement are always rewarded in the marketplace, we know differently. Success also is tied to picking the right field, staying ahead of trends in our industries and economy, developing relationships and connections with others, and knowing how to negotiate, among other factors.
Talk back: Do you pay your kids for grades?
In other words, there's a difference between working hard and working smart. Our kids need a good work ethic, but they need to know it takes more than that to succeed.
There may be better ways
Even parents and experts who support pay for grades say praise, encouragement and parental involvement are equally, if not more, important motivators.
If you want to avoid cash payouts but still reward your kids for their successes, consider experiences instead, such as dinner out or a special trip.
"Experiences cost money, but unlike cash, a nonstandard, shared outing takes a special and lasting place in your child's memories," said Judy MacDonald Johnston, a co-founder of Blue Lake Children's Publishing, which produces children's magazines and money-manageme
I like this approach because it fits with all we're learning about how experiences contribute more to lasting happiness than stuff does. For more details, read my colleague MP Dunleavey's column "7 ways to buy happiness" or read her book, "Money Can Buy Happiness.")
Video on MSN Money
What's the proper allowance?
Think about what you want your children to do with their money before you decide how much to give them.
Johnston recommends defining each family member's "family contribution" -- the unpaid, nonnegotiable tasks and expectations for being part of the family that can include chores, behaviors and achievements.
Maintaining a B average might be part of a child's family contribution, Johnston said. Anything below a 3.0 draws consequences, such as the loss of a treasured privilege, while achievements above that mark merit special rewards. For example:
One A merits a family dinner out at the child's choice of restaurant.
Three A's merit a concert or sporting event ticket.
Straight A's merit a family overnight trip to the destination of the child's choice.
"Each family's finances and dynamics are different," Johnston said, so parents "should customize the reward system to meet their needs."
Get the latest from Liz Pulliam Weston. Sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter.
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HTMLPlain TextLearn more about newslettersIf you'd like to share how you motivate your child to succeed in school and in life, visit the Your Money message board.
Liz Pulliam Weston's new book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life,"is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finan
Published Jan. 14, 2008
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I was a straight-A student who sailed through school without much effort.
By contrast, school was an ordeal for my husband, who's dyslexic.
So guess which one of us wants to offer our daughter cash as a reward for good grades? Hint: It's not me.
Plenty of parents do give money in exchange for A's and B's -- often $5 to $20 for top marks or $100 for a straight-A report card.
Cities are getting into the act as well. New York City rolled out a pilot program last year to reward kids in poor neighborhoods for good test scores. Fourth-grade students in select schools can receive up to $25 for their performances on each of 10 standardized tests, according to The New York Times, while seventh-grader
But the trend disturbs many experts on parenting and money.
"Rewarding good grades with money is really a gray area," said attorney Jon Gallo, a father of three and co-author with his therapist wife, Eileen, of "The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps To Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children." "Some psychologists believe that paying for grades is a bad idea because it substitutes an external reward -- money -- for an internal sense of satisfaction and therefore interferes with developing a work ethic."
Janet Bodnar, the deputy editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, a mother of three and the author of the book "Raising Money Smart Kids," agreed.
Talk back: Do you pay your kids for grades?
"You really want them, by the time they're 16 or 17, to be doing (well) on their own for the internal satisfaction of a job well done," Bodnar said.
When Bodnar expressed these views in recent columns, though, she got plenty of flak from parents who pay for grades. Many made the argument that going to school is a child's job, making it appropriate to link pay with performance.
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Should your kids get an allowance?
Bodnar has another perspective: that going to school is the child's role in the family, just as her role as a mother is to plan meals for her kids.
"It's not something I expect to get paid for," Bodnar said. "It's what I do as part of the family."
Here are the major arguments against paying for grades:
It may not be effective
The research so far is mixed. One study by Johns Hopkins University researchers said paying for grades and attendance seemed to improve both among low-achieving students.
Attorney Gallo pointed to another study of high school students' motivation for doing well in school. The research, conducted by the nonpartisan research group Public Agenda, found the kids rated being paid for grades seventh behind such factors as their own sense of satisfaction and pleasing their parents.
Anecdotally, results seem to be all over the map.
Psychologist Gary Buffone, the author of "Choking on the Silver Spoon: Keeping Your Kids Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise in a Land of Plenty," said his two now-grown daughters did well on their own in elementary school but responded to payment for grades for a few years in junior high and high school.
"All kids don't need this," Buffone said. Some respond to external praise from parents and teachers or to the good feeling they get from their accomplishment
Several parents on the Your Money message board, and at least one former paid-to-succee
"If I had children, I would consider paying for grades because it did help me," wrote poster "mardavtwo." "High academic performance was expected of me, (and) the money was just another form of positive reinforcement. I believe it helped me make a link between performance and compensation."
Video on MSN Money
What's the proper allowance?
Think about what you want your children to do with their money before you decide how much to give them.
Others disagreed. "Berzerk," a 19-year-old poster who was paid for good grades, said it didn't work.
"It didn't make me any more motivated to do any better in school, and all of the kids that I knew that were being offered money and got good grades (did) it because they had a good work ethic and a (desire) to do well," Berzerk wrote. "Money had nothing to do with it."
The Gallos tried paying their own kids for grades with mixed success.
"Money did motivate one of our kids for a while. It didn't work at all with the other two," Jon Gallo said. "If we had the chance to do it over, we wouldn't pay for grades."
It may not be fair
Even if my parents had wanted to use their limited funds to pay us for grades, it would have been a horrible idea in our household.
While I barely broke a sweat in school, at least before college, my sister struggled for every B. Rewarding my natural ability and punishing her lack of it by paying for grades would have been cruel.
I thought about that when poster "leopardgirl" related her childhood experience of being paid for grades:
"When I was in school in the 70s, my parents paid us $1 for each A and 50 cents for each B on our report card, plus $20 in the bank for college," leopardgirl wrote. "I was always happy on report card day because I usually got straight A's. My brother (got) mostly B's, and my younger sister mostly C's. She would start to cry on the school bus on the way home on those days, because she really did try to do well."
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Cash for Grades
April 30, 2008
By Kathy McManus
Comments (39)
Education opens many doors.
But should the main one be at the bank?
School districts throughout the country are increasingly paying students for coming to class, taking tests, and improving their scores as part of controversial incentive programs known as “cash for grades.”
In Baltimore, high school students who make the grade can make some money—up to $110 for raising their scores on state assessment tests.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, passing students can turn a school day into pay day, earning $300 if they attend 90% of their classes for the year.
And near Atlanta, eighth and eleventh graders who take part in a special after-school study program are paid $8 an hour—more than the
minimum wage in most states.
Supporters of earning while learning point to increased attendance and higher test scores at underperformin
But critics of the programs—many of which are privately funded—say the payments are simply bribes, and that using money as a motivator sends the wrong message to kids about their responsibility to learn.
Would George Washington Carver have come up with his inventions in horticulture if someone had “bribed him?” asked one critic. Would Marie Curie have been inspired to spend long hours in the lab? “What kind of message do we give unmotivated kids,” he wondered, “when we give them something they never earned?”
Tell us what you think: Should schools pay students to learn? Is learning all the way to the bank responsible?
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Comments
Not Such a Bad Idea
At first this seems nothing more than a bribe, as critics note, but in thinking it over, I think it’s not so bad. Learning for the sake of learning and as an investment in their future is not an easy lesson to impart on many kids. And the results are, they learn. After all, would most people have stayed in college or sacrificed to move up in our careers without being motivated by a better career, more money, or whatever motivates one? Would you have done it solely for the reward of learning and self improvement?
Sandy | 11 months, 1 week ago
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I wouldn't have a problem with this
If my child’s school had a program like any of those listed in the article. I think the kids that are scoring higher on tests and are going to school more often must be learning SOMETHING. What this article does not mention is what percentage of the school’s population that DO NOT receives any of these “bribes”. The article focuses on the percentage of increase in number of those who pass the tests or improve their attendance. The article does not state the actual starting point, so let’s say a school with 1,000 kids in it had 200 kids passing the standardized tests, then after the “bribes” the percentage of kids who then passed the standardized tests increased 40% then the number of kids passing only increases from 200 to 280 out of the 1,000. 720 students are still not passing. My feeling is that if “bribes” help the kids learn AND pass so they can graduate, then that is great! But also what needs to be mentioned is “bribing” does not always work. I know there a lot of parents out there who tell their kids I will give X amount for each A, B, C or even D and it still doesn’t change how well the kid does in school.
B. Ruble | 11 months, 1 week ago
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Perhaps I shouldn't comment
I don’t have any children, on purpose – don’t want any – can’t stand ‘em. Having said that, my parents paid me one dollar for every A on my report card (nothing for anything less than an A). It doesn’t sound like much, but I always looked forward to it. I didn’t knock myself out trying to make straight A’s, but I do think it made me try at least a little bit harder. Also, the article says many of these programs are privately funded, which sounds OK by me. The real question is: When did being smart become a BAD thing, and when did “work” become a dirty word? Come to think of it, when did READING become “work”?
Marlo | 11 months, 1 week ago
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What's the problem?
Each person has his or her own motivation factor within. Some kids will be motivated by money; some will be motivated by learning itself. Children develop their minds and moral boundaries as they grow. If even one child, who wasn’t interested in books or school, is motivated to study and get better grades because of cash incentive, then who knows…that child may realize that he or she really DOES love to learn. That child might have been an at-risk student who graduates and gives back to society what was given, plus a whole lot more. And I don’t quite get this argument: “Would George Washington Carver have come up with his inventions in horticulture if someone had “bribed him?” asked one critic. Would Marie Curie have been inspired to spend long hours in the lab?” Why WOULDN’T they? If they were motivated by the love of what they were doing, why would offering them money for it have been a negative thing? And the last question also makes no sense to me: “What kind of message do we give unmotivated kids…when we give them something they never earned?” If “unmotivated” kids are motivated to get good grades for cash, I think they earned it!
Donna Shelton | 11 months, 1 week ago
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Fontana
Finally someone who looks at statistics instead of listening to anecdotal blurbs. Thank-you B. Ruble and your name sounds familiar…
Kina Barnum | 11 months ago
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No Way
Bottom line,children go to school to learn. I never was paid by my parents or teachers for making the grades. And the same went for my kids.It was expected.
Pam | 11 months ago
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Fontana
hmm…well I think paying children to get good grades depends on a couple of things: the child’s personality, also the parents communication/
This is what I mean, you do not want your child to pick up on negative habits about money. If a child doesn’t care at all about working hard for their grades well paying them may not be the best motivator for them to learn about “self-discipli
I am an ADD adult. I’vd had it since I was kid, and teenager. I got poor grades, but in no means was I an dumb person and I knew that. So, someone like me, in the past, trying to get paid for my grades, would have been disappointing since it appeals to higher grades. Why not reward “families” for working to have their kids go to school. I’m not saying in monetary means.
To me I can see a lot parents not teaching the right idea about this program since we seem to be in a culture of instant gratification and greed. But to some, I’m sure there is a lesson and respectful understanding of self that will benefit the ones who REALLY understand.
Kina Barnum | 10 months, 4 weeks ago
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Seems futile.
The idea of paying kids to do well in school seems rather pointless to me. Certainly, it can boost test scores and attendance records, but what do those mean in the long run?
If the goal of education is learning for its own sake, this is pretty clearly counterproduct
If a child is interested, from a young age or not, in science or math or literature, she will put her own effort into studying that subject. As an adult she will work to obtain and succeed at a job she enjoys. Payment may be appreciated, but is in no way necessary to “make” her try at something she enjoys.
If a child is not particularly fascinated by a school subject, she won’t work particularly hard. If she’s paid, that may function as a short-term motivator, and cause her to perform better by the school’s standards, but it won’t make a difference for her own interest. She’ll go to college or not, but not be interested in a subject or career enough to devote the effort needed to succeed. The odds are that such a person will end up working at one of the numerous filler jobs—things nobody especially enjoys doing, but people work at because they need to earn money. Paying such a child to attend or succeed at school only reinforces the idea from a young age—work isn’t something you enjoy or really try at, it’s something you do so you can get paid.
Certainly it’s nice to get free money, especially if it is well-earned, but if it doesn’t help the students learn, what is its purpose? The answer is simple: school funding. Much of school funding is dependent on the test scores and performance of the students who attend those schools. Paying students to do better, especially if much of the funds come from private sources, can actually be cost-effective for the schools. But while this may be an effective way of solving the school’s problems, it doesn’t do much for the students.
If the schools have extra money, it should be spent on improving facilities, teaching materials, or teacher salaries—whate
Denton | 10 months, 4 weeks ago
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Student Responsibility
Students should have to work for their grades without compensation. Compensation comes later through working and getting good grades and accomplishing our goals and dreams.
Diane McElroy | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
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money is good
I think it’s a good idea. I finished high school in 2004 and I wish they had paid me because I most likely would have gone every day. It’s hard for teens and nowadays kids from 12 and younger than 12 sometimes have kids and its hard for them to go to school, work and take care of the baby so they have to leave school. I know a lot of girls who wish they could have finished but couldn’t because they had a family to raise. With a program like this… a lot of teen moms and dads would love this program and a lot of teens that are on their own would, too. Also I had a lot of friends who where 15 and 16 living on their own and selling drugs for extra money while working a legal job, if going to school paid they would not take the risk of going to jail to pay for rent or a bill. People nowadays need to realize that a lot of teens and younger kids are taking the role of adults and extra money for doing something we know we need to do is beautiful. I’m a 21yr old mother of 3 and I love it. I have my own house and I’m doing good but if school paid while I was there I might be doing better. So I think this is a good idea because schools bribe all the time, just with different things. In my high school if you had bad grades or bad attendance you couldn’t go to the next school dance, thats a bribe, be here and do good and you can go to the dance. I even had a teacher that we had after lunch and if we got there early he would ask us to do his lunch dishes for an extra 5-10 points on are grade. I think I was there everyday to do dishes and I hate doing dishes. So bribes are going on anyway, why not make the bribe money?
cynthia sanchez | 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Most Partnership principals nix
the idea of paying for grades
Paying high school students for achieving good grades is not the way to improve academic achievement, according to members of The Principals’ Partnership. When asked “Do you think students should be paid for earning good grades or higher test scores?” in the 2008 Principals’ Partnership Poll, almost 83 percent of the 438 respondents rejected the idea.
Of the 362 principals nixing the idea of pay for grades, most reported that students should be intrinsically motivated.
“If we instill a sense of personal pride and self-disciplin
“Success/achie
Some principals point out that extrinsic rewards, such as paying for grades, actually can have a negative impact on students later in their lives.
“I absolutely do not think students should be paid for earning good grades,” said Susan Vivano, principal, Cleveland Naval Junior Academy, St. Louis. “Extrinsic motivation is short lived and ineffective. It is only when we internalize something that it truly becomes part of us.”
“I am not in favor of students receiving money for grades,“ indicated Gale Dunkas, principal, Fall City (NE) High School. “I think that there can be some incentives for students to learn if they don't have that desire. But the problem is what happens when those incentives go away. I hope the student has developed the habits and desire to continue to learn. Parents and schools need to find ways to help students motivate themselves intrinsically rather than extrinsically.
“The good grades that they receive and, more importantly, the learning that takes place should be valued as 'the pay',” believes Blanca Cavazos, principal, Arivin High School, Bakersfield CA. “When we give monetary value to the learning, we completely destroy any possibility that students will value learning for the sake of becoming knowledgeable. We actually rob students of that connection.”
“Part of our responsibility as educators is to help develop responsible, accountable students,” said Brenda Lewis, principal, Foothill High School, Bakersfield, CA. “Students should not be paid for earning good grades or higher test scores. We want students to value education because it will prepare them for higher education or any job they pursue after high school, and not because we put a dollar value on education. Most students understand that as students their job is to go to school and prepare themselves for the future. The pay for their success will be their high school diploma and any honors and recognition they earn along the way.”
While the majority of principals opposed the idea of monetary payment, many supports the idea that students need to be recognized for academic achievement through incentives and scholarships.
“Payment for good grades and high test scores comes in the form of a college scholarship and a degree that opens the doors to the future,” reported Theron Murphy, principal, Timpanogos High School, Orem, UT.
“I believe in other incentives such as homework passes, lunch line passes, movie tickets, and the like,” said Nancy York, principal, Navarro Academy, San Antonio..
“There should be some incentives put in place to reward students,” recommended Debra Crump, Douglass High School, Chicago. “In many schools we focus so much attention on negative behavior. We have to uplift students who want to do good and are earning good grades. Incentives are just a way to say, ’W e believe in you. Keep up the good work. We are here to support you.’”
“I do not believe students should be paid for good grades,” said Rufus Black, principal Fairfax Campus, Kansas City, KS. “There are other incentives that are effective to help students earn good grades—field trips, awards, time to work in areas they enjoy. They may choose to go play in gym or outside, read, or play educational games.”
Deborah Kizer-Balfour, principal, Englewood High School, Chicago, believes that paying for achievement actually could harm the pride students find in obtaining good grades.
“Students who get good grades and score high on test have a sense of pride and dignity in their accomplishment
Other school leaders saw value in paying for grades, especially in areas where students and their families were financially stressed.
“In urban areas, where students are struggling to support themselves and helping with their families some form of financial help makes sense if we are to expect them to spend time after school studying,” pointed out Arthur Cox, principal Granger Senior High School, West Valley City, UT. “In low socio-economic areas the realities are that many students are expected to work long hours and help with the family. This would make it difficult or impossible for large groups of urban students to put in additional after school hours studying.”
In our community, the majority of our students face financial hardship daily,” said Cindi Ollis, principal, Channelview High School, Channelview, TX. “Incentives for good grades and higher test scores would be welcome. I would like to see the data regarding any schools that have implemented this type of program.”
While many principals held strong views pro or con to the pay questions, others are wrestling with the answer themselves.
“I have mixed emotions,” reported Doug Parry, principal, Sparks High School, NV. “At one point in time I would have said absolutely not. However, I know this model has been experimented with in some school systems with positive results. One of the biggest problems in education today is the lack of student motivation; this even includes our brightest students. If financial incentives raised student achievement, maybe it is something for schools to seriously look at.”
Aida Tello, principal, Sam Houston High School, Houston TX, holds a view on the payment issue that perhaps should be communicated to the students themselves.
“I believe students are paid for earning good grades and having higher test scores when they receive their diploma,” she indicated. “They are paid by having more opportunities for scholarships to attend college. The grades and test scores go so much further than students care to realize. This opens up so many doors that eventually will lead them to an excellent payoff! The long term effect is well worth every good grade and every high test score!”
this man thinks that he owns me its pissing me off to the fullest extent.i seriusly want to punch him in the fucking face!
today is my moms bday.have to get her a bday present.hope she likes it
i like a boy lets see if he likes me