Open Topic -- ABC News: "Does Paying for Grades Really Work?"

I found an interesting article from abcnews.com titled, "Does Paying For Grades Really Work?" by Ann Pleshette Murphy and Laura Lacy (Feb. 18, 2008). The article discusses the Spark incentive program that participates with Family Academy, a NYC public school, which pays fourth and seventh-graders for good grades and attendance. The Spark program participates with 60 NYC public schools and was created to narrow the educational gap by giving students short-term rewards that will be in their long-term best interest. The money students earn is deposited into the students' bank accounts and they are free to spend it however they wish.

There are other programs similar to the Spark program in about a dozen states. For example, "in Albuquerque, N.M., students at the Cesar Chavez Charter School can earn up to $300 a year for good attendance. In Santa Ana, Calif., kids who do well on their math tests can earn up to $250 and in Baltimore, students can take away $110 depending on their test scores."

These specific programs are very new and have not been studied, but "research on rewarding children for good grades shows that despite short-term gains, it may be detrimental in the long-term by decreasing their motivation, especially when the incentive is removed." Aside from this research, students are excited to make the cash

This article raises a number of issues, but I'd like to focus on the issue of ethicacy. A scholarship is a reason to give students money to do well in school, not to pay school-aged children to do well. A scholarship is given to a student who is already performing well in school and the money they will receive helps that student stay at the level of achievement that they are at. If you give a student money to do well in school and it works, what happens when you stop paying the student? Will they continue to do well? I don't think so.

I understand that urban students need an extra boost. Unfortunately, most of these kids are not receiving the pat on the back from Mom and Dad at home, or they may not have any motivation to learn how to read and write once they reach the high school level. The Spark program and others alike are saying that poor, city kids (who are mainly African Americans) need to be bribed with money in order to succeed in school. These programs are saying that poor kids cannot be inspired or engaged by a teacher to learn, and is a target for racism.

If you pay a child to get good grades, than the student is working for the money verses working for receiving an education. What are we teaching our children when we offer them money for good grades? I doubt very much that paying students pursuades them to love school for learning. We are teaching them to work for money, not for the greater good. We are teaching our children to become greedy, and that money is the only thing in the world worth having. We single handedly ruining our children's morals.

Also, who is saying that this child will use the money earned wisely? If this is an idea worth exploring, maybe an education fund should be set up for the student as payment towards their college tuition. Or maybe the money earned could go towards a greater good of a class dance at the end of the year or some other kind of nice treat.