Can this actually desperate measure actually be for real?
The skinny:
Learning is supposed to be its own reward, but when that doesn't work, should students get paid to do it?
That's the question two Georgia schools are asking in a 15-week pilot program that is paying high-schoolers struggling in math and science $8 an hour to attend study hall for four hours a week.
The privately funded "Learn & Earn" initiative, an idea from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is touted as the first of its kind in the state and one of a few similar programs nationwide.
Well, at least we're zeroing in on the truth of it all:
The hope is that the bribes will boost students' motivation to learn, attend class and get better grades.
Bribes are when you pay someone to do something they shouldn't do. Incentives are when you pay someone to do something they should do. :-)
Posted by: Fred Bartels | January 25, 2008 at 05:43 AM
Wow. That'd really make me mad if I were getting good grades already. I might, out of either belligerence or greed (maybe a combination of the two), start failing on purpose.
Were I doing poorly already and someone offered me money to sit somewhere- I'd be happy to do it and continue doing poorly while collecting my money. The B bonus stuff might help but I doubt it. That money will put some unique pressures on teachers as well especially when you're dealing with students where that money might really make a difference. Do I give Johnny a B instead of a C because he's trying so hard and needs the money?
It's also interesting to me that they've tied the cash to grades rather than standardized test scores.
I predict a large mess.
Posted by: Tom | January 25, 2008 at 09:49 AM