An "A" = $500?

[daleduke17]

http://pantagraph.com/articles/2008/...d181854807.txt

What a stupid idea. What happened to working hard to better yourself? I worked hard in school (well, somewhat) since I knew failing was a bad thing.

I do not believe a school should be offering money for grades like this. Especially when so many schools are having money issues nowadays.

Just another waste of money that will end up screwing this nation up more than it already is.

[Greenday]

I think the Department of Education should spend money on...making sure schools actually have good teachers. We need better teachers more than ever, yet there are so few openings because teachers get tenure and stay there, whether they are good teachers or not.

[Sylvia727]

My mom paid me for my report cards. Her theory was that since this was my job as a student, I deserved a little spending money for doing it well. I got $10 for an A, $5 for a B, -$5 for a C, and -$10 for a D, plus a $10 bonus for straight A's. With seven classes and four report cards, I could earn $320 in one school year, which is really more than enough for snack food and cd's. I have to say, it worked well for me. I tried for the straight A's every time.

That being said, I don't think this should be coming from the school itself. Yes, incentives are a great motivator, but surely they can use something else. Some ideas that worked in my middle and high schools were: class lets out early, allowed to wear clothes against the dress code (hats and jewelry for us), allowed to travel off campus for lunch, allowed to travel during study hall. My gym teacher offered "free days" in which we did whatever we wanted in the gym. High school students like recess, too, as long as it's called something different.

Why won't the school district spend that money on hiring teachers or updating texts? Even one more teacher can reduce class sizes enough that students get their questions answered. And focusing their efforts on test scores seems...small-minded.

[Boozy]

I like your mom's system, Sylvia...especially the deductions. Clever woman.

I didn't get paid for my grades, although some of my friends did. I earned my spending money doing work around the farm before I was old enough to get a "real" job. Perhaps if we didn't farm, my parents would have rewarded me for my grades. I don't know. They did like the idea of "earning" your allowance, whatever you did to earn it.

I did ask my dad about it once, telling him about my friend who was given $100 for her B in English. I asked why I got nothing for an A. He made the valid point that I didn't have to work very hard for my A, but my friend had to work her ass off to get that B. He said (and I'm paraphrasing here): "Hard work pays off in the real world. Some things might come easy for you, but no one's going to pay you just for being special." I wish I had listened to him earlier. The older you get, the more you realize that your parents were right all along.

[jedimaster91]

I wish I had listened to him earlier. The older you get, the more you realize that your parents were right all along.

I hate it when that happens. And especially if something comes out of my mouth and I turn around looking for my mother.

[AdminAssistant]

A's were always just...expected. Which worked quite well, actually. Now, my school did something called Renaissance, which rewarded those on the 'A' Honor Roll, the 'A-B' Honor Roll, and those students that had made an improvement in their grade point. It was a great system. We got special field trips, prizes, all kinds of neat stuff. Of course, I went to a pretty small school, and that system might not be feasible in a large school.

[powerboy]

I do not like the idea of the school paying kids for good grades. I never got paid for any good grades. The reason I got paid, was because I done my chores. I can see a lawsuit happening now. Well little Johnney got $600. My daughter Susie only get's D's and she didn't get paid. The school is discriminating against us.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

The older you get, the more you realize that your parents were right all along.

Lucky you. All I've learned as I've gotten older is how little my parents actually know about the real world. They live in their little boxes and I face the world alone.

[anriana]

I don't think there's anything wrong with schools rewarding pupils who get good grades, but I think it should be something other than straight cash. Kentucky has a system where good grades and test scores get you extra scholarship money.

[AFPheonix]

This is private money that is being paid to the kids, not from school coffers, so that's a good thing.
It sounds like an interesting idea, especially since the article says it's getting more kids to try AP classes who normally wouldn't, but I worry about the precedence it sets as far as motivation goes.
Learning for learning's sake is fun. Learning the underlying principles behind the problems you're working is important for applying that knowledge to other pursuits, as is picking up good problem solving skills. I worry that this will make some kids only put forth effort for tangible rewards and not necessarily some if the intangibles.