There have been several experiments by school districts at paying students for attendance, good behavior, and good grades. The most recent attempts in Washington, D.C., New York City, and even our very own Houston have shown some promising results. Money is a powerful incentive. Click on the link below, read the article, and leave your thoughts about "money for grades." Posts should be 50-75 words.
6th Period
ReplyDeleteI don't believe paying kids for good grades is wrong. School is essentially a full time job, and many students have to chose between good grades and getting a different part time job after school. Especially in the Harlem Children's Zone Project, disadvantaged children may have to work to support their family, and the money from their grades may make the difference between eating or not. There are very few long lasting positive incentives to encourage kids to get good grades, candy or praise only lasts so long, but rewarding kids with money can also be an important lesson on saving and smart spending
2nd Period
ReplyDeleteIf students were to be paid for good grades, it must be done with moderation. Although school is a daunting task, the powerful incentive of money could very well motivate the cheating issue to escalate even more. The money has to come from somewhere, and there are lots of students out there making good grades, so we shouldn't be compensated an insane amount so the economy doesn't go bankrupt.
Kylee Brouwer
ReplyDelete2nd period
Although money is a good incentive for anything, I do not believe it is right to pay students for simply getting good grades. I believe this may cause upset in the economy as it may influence students who would otherwise get a minimum wage job to put more time into studying just because it may be easier money. If students decide to focus on grades rather than wage, the economy would be left with an excess of many minimum wage jobs that high school students typically occupy, causing prices to increase and quality to decrease.
I do not believe in paying kids for good grades. A student should be self motivated enough to know that if they get good grades, they will get a high paying job. Kids who are paid to get good grades are raised with a silver spoon in their mouth. They never learn the importance of simply doing things to better yourself without a monetary reward.
ReplyDeleteJanelle Rodriguez
ReplyDelete2nd period
In a perfect world students would be getting paid for going to school, however we are not in a perfect world and kids should not be getting paid for attending school. A major reason being that it would cause the economy to fall, people who work while attending school would probably stop working in order to focus on grades and earn money that way. There is also the fact that students cheat, and those students would basically be getting free money without earning it or studying to get it. Causing poor character skills and the mentality that they could cheat their way to get paid and not really know how to work outside of school were real world skills are needed.
2nd Period
ReplyDeleteI think that being paid for good grades is a method waiting for trouble. The incentive of getting an education is to yield a prosperous future not to get quick money. Getting paid to get good grades is not an appropriate factor. Education is about the knowledge gained and one's determination to better themselves. It all starts with ones determination and if their determination is perverted cheating may be a result. Therefore, kids would play the system by cheating to get good grades and in return get money for it. People respond to economic incentives because it's apart of our nature as human beings. In the short run the idea of paying students for good grades seems profitable for school districts in regards of recognition. In my opinion, this is basically bribery from the school district. In the long run, people who abide by systems that involve getting paid for good grades may find negative externalities to arise. So yeah, getting paid for good grades is wrong.
2nd period
ReplyDeleteMoney often drives people to better their work, such as earning promotions and raises. However, kids should not have the pressure to over perform for a paycheck. Money would take the focus off of the overall objective of school which is learning. Kids would be influenced to cheat on test and quizes to get more money and inevitably ruining their chances of learning.
I believe that paying kids for Good grades is actually a good thing. Think of it like positive reinforcement. Students would do good if they get something out of it. Also, paying mainly high school students is a great thing because then they would saved that money and use it to pay for minor costs in college. It think it's a great way to keep students on track. However, I could see it as a problematic situation for some kids. Maybe the rich kids might not work as hard as other kids, but even so it would be their issue.
ReplyDeleteArij Moiz 2nd
DeleteCarina Hung, Period 6
ReplyDeleteAs demonstrated through the existence of school grades, another type of incentive, some students are more willing than others to do whatever it takes to achieve the grades they desire. Some methods of maintaining good grades may stunt students’ abilities to truly learn. Paying students for good attendance and behavior may be worth consideration, but offering money, which has over time proven to drive individuals to do countless unspeakable things, is another incentive to cheat.
Sarah Rassam
ReplyDelete6th Period
I believe that paying kids for good grades is wrong because students should desire to succeed for their own good in the future rather than to receive a reward in return. Although it may create good results in the short run, it won't last for long. Students should be motivated to learn for their own benefit in the long run rather than gaining that one incentive, which is money. Education should be for kids to explore their passions and interests in life. If kids have money handed to them as a result of good grades from a young age, they will stop being motivated to succeed as they get older if they are no longer rewarded.
Meyer Wilson
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Paying students for their good grades has its pros and cons. Giving kids money for a good grade will over all boost their GPA’s and better the school’s overall stats therefore gaining them even more money for their students. Students will begin to be even more prone to cheating just to get them the money. Paying students for grades will also be giving students the idea that they will always be payed for what they should already be doing.
Period 4
ReplyDeleteAlthough I feel that paying children directly for their good grades is wrong, I do feel that giving them some incentives or small rewards is a good idea. Personally I feel that a student's grades should be because of their own doing, not just because their parents are offering them $20 for every A they make. However I do understand that there are many kids out there who give up working a job so that they can focus on education, or even some other kids that have to give up their education to earn an income. I think that parents should reward their kids with meals or something extra at the end of the semester for earning good grades, however it should be more of a reward for working hard, not the other way around.
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ReplyDeleteKody Ngo
ReplyDelete6th Period
I do not think students should be paid for making good grades. Money should not buy smarts, motivation or school success. It can’t even buy good grades for very long. Though there may be initial improvement, numerous studies have shown that over time, rewards take out the excitement in a task which is exactly the opposite of what the intention was for. Rewards also foster a “what’s in it for me?” attitude. If the reward is money for good grades, it sends the message that the reason to work hard in school is to enrich they're wallets rather than their minds. It also puts the burden on parents to continue dangling carrots in front of their kids as motivation. And if the student doesn’t enjoy history, is a $20 payout required rather than the standard $5 for an A? I believe that students who are rewarded for good grades start to feel entitled to a payout, which robs them of the ability to cultivate a love of learning and a sense of responsibility for their own education.
Oluwamuyiwa Peters 2nd
ReplyDeletePersonally I believe paying children for doing good in school is a horrible thing. I feel it trains children to expect compensation for everything they do. The fact that we live in a social media age where everything is liked and retweeted doesn't help things. In the past people went to work to help out their families, they believed in earning an honest wage by doing a good job a work. Now we live in an age where customer service means nothing to employees and people are constantly searching for new jobs. This isn't only bad socially but economically as well. Secondly paying children to learn devalues education.The ability to be able to learn is a privilege we take for granted.Our predecessors thirsted for knowledge. Some people would seek and teachers and books as well as pay money to learn trades and arts.I feel to pay people to learn would go against human nature; which is to constantly seek out new things for the love of adventure.
In my opinion, we should pay kids for good grades. People naturally respond better to economic incentives. This can proven time and time again that when money is on the table, people work harder to try and get it. It is a part of human nature. and kids are absolutely no exception.
ReplyDeleteDrew Garza
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Honestly, there are two sides to defend. On one hand, reinforcing students for doing good with money will definitely encourage positive results because in reality, everyone responds to money. Paying kids to do good in school would definitely get more students to do well in school, but at the same time, cheating would still be an issue as long as they didn't get caught doing it. Honestly however, I think paying kids for good grades and conduct will promote the popularity of good performance in school. One other thing I wonder about though is where all the money would be coming from.
Mervin Cherian
ReplyDeletePeriod:6
I believe that giving money to kids for making good grades is a good thing. First of all, it is an incentive for the kids. Another reason why I believe we should implement this scheme is because if jobs do it, then why not do the same with kids. They give bonuses and raises for those who work well. It works for them so why not do the same with the kids. I believe in positive reinforcement where you should tell your kids that they can do better, rather than saying no more television. Most kids now a days would just sneak out if their parents told them that they cannot go anywhere. This is not solving anything. By using positive reinforcement such as giving money for making good grades can solve most problems.
Ronak Patel
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I agree with bribery for children to do their homework to a certain extent. Incentives to do homework create less time for the student to procrastinate and it gives the parents the power to make their kids do homework without punishment. The extent to which I do not agree is that the student may work to generate enough money to buy whatever they want, and then soon after purchasing the product, they cease any work.
Period 6
ReplyDeleteI agree with paying children for good grades because it gives students something to strive for. Some students get lazy and do not want to do anything but if they see that you can get money off of it, they will try harder thus improving grades which then makes the school and district look better. It is also a way to the real world because in some colleges students get paid when they get good grades, which is through scholarships. So it is a win-win situation for the school as well as for the student, so we should pay kids for good grades.
Joshua Long
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I believe paying children to get good grades, have good attendance, and have good behavior in school is the right thing to do. For those in high school, who may also even have a job, there is pressure for keeping up with schoolwork and actually work. If students were able to be paid for their achievements, they could pay for many of the social events at school, pay for any school fees, save money for college, it could be put to use.
Neelam Patel
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I agree and disagree with paying students to get good grades because it gives them an incentive to continue to get good grades which will help them in the long run. But, the negative part of paying students for grades is that they can find ways to cheat to finish the assignment or cheat on the exam. This could cause the purpose of education and school to devalue because the student is only there to get paid for doing work they should already do.
Taylor Mott
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I think that “money for grades” would have both positive and negative results. As for the positive results, this system would ultimately lead to higher grades. Students would be incentivized to actually do their homework and study in order to get better grades and in turn get paid. However, money is a much more effective incentive to cheat the system than the knowledge that truly learning the material would earn a student. Therefore, money for grades would result in the negative consequence of increased cheating.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Kimble
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I support the idea of providing financial incentives for kids who make outstanding grades. I think the positives more than out weigh the negatives. With proper education on the reality of life and it's lack of positive reinforcement, i think the expectations that might result form bribing children could be limited if not removed all together. Besides, scholarships are practically based on the same idea, but often do not function as incentives rather a rewards. Financial incentives are similar to scholarships but more frequent and of less value. However, these differences would provide the benefits of rewards and incentives.
Nathan Schaper
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Occasional Financial incentives from parents, sure, consistent payment from schools for grades, not at all. Giving a child $5 or so for an outstanding grade on a challenging test or something of the sorts is a very powerful incentive, but when the child feels as if it has become a new salary, then it has gone too far. There is a fine line that parents have to walk between keeping their children motivated (it's really not the schools responsibility), and bribing them. If the child beings to think of good grades as equaling money for them, using malicious means to get those grades (Cheating, etc.) seem even more appealing.
May Liew
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I don't agree with paying kids for good grades because I think children can be impressionable at a certain age and this measure would negatively alter the way kids perceive monetary incentives. I think it would not be beneficial in the long run as they develop the natural inclination to do their best regardless if someone is dangling a carrot in front of them. They would not develop the gratifying desire for personal success based on a natural drive they acquire young when they begin to realize what in life makes them happy. If they start to only look forward to short and momentary payments to fulfill that need, the children will not understand the big picture that they are working toward or the direction they want to be headed in life. All they know is that they will be rewarded, but what about the other moments in life that deserve to be recognized, like helping someone out? Would they help knowing they don't get rewarded for that?
Devin Laird
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I believe that it would be nice to pay kids to go tho school but then some kids might not try to excel and try to graduate from high school cause once they graduate then they have to either go to college or get a job which to some students seems like more work than staying in school. Also where would they get the money to pay the students to go to school, people complain already about taxes being to high already paying the students would just increase the amount of taxes that citizens have to pay.
Saniza Sunesara
ReplyDeletePeriod - 6
I think that schools should not pay students for getting good grades. This would just destroy the whole purpose of getting an education. Education is received to prepare for and to succeed in life. With the students getting money, they would be more inclined to get the money rather than actually learning the information. This can also result in many students wanting to cheat and get the money easily. And they will just destroy their future and it will be harder for them once they get older and they have their own responsibilities.
Jason Bailey, Period 6
ReplyDelete[Yes, I know this is way over 75 words, but I couldn't resist :-) ]
Paying students for "good grades" is an idea that is completely unfounded on multiple fronts when one goes into the details.
First and foremost, what would we define as a "good grade?" A 90? An 80? A 100? Moreover, some classes are far more difficult than others - so how do you scale the numbers then? Simply put, there's no way to definitively define a "good grade" without generating a lot of controversy.
Second, how much would we pay a student for a "good grade?" Regardless of whether it was a flat amount or scaled based on how high the grades are, the amount is just a recipe for disaster for two simple reasons. First and foremost, if the value placed on "good grades" is too low, then the time and effort to put in place the system would just be a waste of time and resources, and students would feel like "good grades" aren't worth that much. Second, if the value of "good grades" is too high, then this would be a massive money dump into the school system. Consider the mathematical scenario below:
Suppose we paid each student $5 for each "A." Let's be extremely conservative and assume that the average student only receives two As (averaging out the straight-A students with the majority no-A students). If there are fifty million students in our school systems, then we will be spending HALF A BILLION DOLLARS just to give the average student $10 for grades.
Not worth it. At all.
Finally, where will the money come from? It would almost certainly come from the taxpayers. Essentially, your parents' increased taxes would just come right back to you. Alternatively, the tax dollars from poorer families would be going to "subsidize" smart students. That's just unfair on multiple levels.
Paying students for "good grades" is a ridiculous idea on so many levels that it shouldn't even be a debate to begin with. Economically it's ludicrous - and no amount of psychological benefit (if any) will make up for that.
Jane Hua
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I think providing financial incentives for kids who get good grades are beneficial, however it should be done in moderation. According to the blog post, positive reinforcement is a strong incentive for children to work harder. However, if a parent were to pay his or her child for everything, the child may learn to expect a reward for everything he or she does later in life.
Joel Sibi
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
I think that providing monetary incentives for kids who do well and get good grades in school is a good thing. However there is a limit to how much and how far it should be done. Everything in moderation is a rule that needs to be followed. The providing of money for good grades should be an incentive to the student and never the sole motivator for the grades he or she is getting. If this were to happen the children get conditioned to always needing something to do their best at something even when it may not be plausible later in their lives.
Neethu Thampy
ReplyDeletePeriod: 6
I do not believe in paying kids for good grades because it creates a mindset in kids to think that education is not important and they're less likely to actually learn in classes. However, I agree with paying kids with the highest grades as a reward for their hard work. But education not money should be the focus in schools.
Truth Thomas
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I believe that paying students for good grades can be a positive thing for students. Giving money to students who work hard and make good grades creates motivation for those students to keep working hard and also motivates students who do not do as well to try harder. Also, starting at a young age can help teach students that hard work does in fact pay off and also teaches them to work for what they want.
Alexus Guevarra
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
Although money seems like a great incentive to paying attention in class, students should want to get good grades for their own future rather than a few more bucks in their pocket. An education itself is an incentive that not all children can participate in. In addition, paying students money for good grades would not only lead in positive consequences, but negative ones as well. The school system currently if full of delinquents who believe with cheating they deserve the grade they get. Now imagine if the schools were willing to pay for good grades, Kids were already cheating for free.
Stanley Johnson
ReplyDelete6th Period
I don't believe that students should be payed for grades. If students get paid for their grades they will never find the importance of gaining knowledge rather than the materialistic thing that come with money. Paying students for grades will be ultimately detrimental for the students future. This form of notation will eventually cause students to become greedy. This will cause students to put their primary focus on money. If students get paid for grades they will not develop the skills and the self want for success. Without these self-determination skills students will not be able to do big things in the future. If students get paid for grades some students will have so much motivation that will ultimately lead to higher amounts of cheating. Although they will try to get better grades they will not do it in a trustworthy manner. This will cause students to be academically dishonest in their school and also in their jobs. All in all, students should not be paid for grades because these future adults will not be able to do good deeds for other without expecting something in return.
I do not believe the student should be paid for good grades. Their incentive to do well should be because they want to be successful in life, not because of the promise of money. The reality is that in life every good action is not rewarded, and I believe that rewarding kids for getting good grades which is something they should do automatically, is giving them an unreal sense of what the real world will be like. I do believe in rewards but monetary rewards for things such as the grades don't make the cut in my book. money should not make the world go around, money should not always be the motivation. This ideal places a huge power in money instead of things that are invaluable like happiness and well being.
ReplyDeleteRushil Mistry
ReplyDeletePeriod: 6th
I think paying students for getting good grades is a good thing to a certain limit. While paying them would motivate the students to do better in classes wha should be done to stop this habit later is that the amount of money they receive goes down causing them to still earn good grades. while I also think that the habit of paying them for getting good grades might only cause them to pass the classes and not learn anything. I think if schools would pay for students to earn good grades what's going to happen is that the percentage of cheating that happens would increase since everyone wants good grade and that would get them money and so some of the students would start cheating to maintain there grades and therefore at the end of the day the students wouldn't end up learning anything.
Tolu Ojo
ReplyDelete6th Period
I don't believe that kids should be paid to get good grades. As soon as you begin to reward the kids for something that they should already be doing, they will no longer want to do it. Kids should want to get good grades because of the rewarding feeling it already provides. It should be an expectation for kids to do as well as they can in school. Once incentives are introduced, kids no longer will want to work hard for themselves, but simply for money. Giving kids money for doing what they should be already will also give them unrealistic expectations for the real world. Kids will grow up to believe that every good thing that they do should be rewarded with money, and when they go into the work force, reality will hit them hard.
Stephanie Urbina
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
Money in general can be deceiving. I believe that its wrong to get rewarded with money for grades. What if you do something good, youre going to expect a award right? I believe that you should feel rewarded within yourself about your grades. Feeling proud about your accomplishments and seeing what you did was involving no awards or money. Money shouldnt motivate you to get good grades. It should be what your trying to persue like for example a career that you've always wanted to major.
6 period
ReplyDeleteMany studies have shown that people will work harder when they’re getting something out of it. Money is a great motivator when you have something you need or want to buy. Paying kids for good grades has proven to motivate them to work harder and get even better grades. So I think kids should get money for good grades
Asare Dua
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I believe that paying kids for good grades is a really good idea. I remember growing up as a kid i was rewarded most of the time for bringing home good grades, those days are long gone now. Paying kids reinforces that they try, to essentially get a reward. I mean school is kinda like a job for kids. We go to school five days a week for seven hours straight, then we come home and do even more work that includes homework. Paying kids would make them want to go to school even more, knowing their is an incentive waiting for them.
Humdaan Balagamwala
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
I believe paying kids for good grades is not exactly the best idea. I think paying or rewarding can be good, to an extent. However it may lead to kids believing they are entitled or working hard for the wrong reasons. What happens when the kids get to college, where they don't get any monetary reward, will they be able to motivate themselves? This is a good idea, but if used incorrectly good ruin the kid's sense of entitlement. Many kids are able to get good grades without expecting any rewards, this would little to nothing to motivate kids that ultimately are doing enough for their own future. In a way we are all trying to get good grades, so we can go to college and in turn make money. In conclusion, I believe positive reinforcement is a great thing, but paying kids for good grades isn't.
The concept of paying kids for good grades is a good theory, but not in practice. If the children are given the access to a lot of money so suddenly, they will begin to believe that college isn't necessary. Much like most students who have jobs and believe that those jobs are enough to get by in life. Also, our country tends to keep the bar raised High no matter what. Sometimes this may seem like the correct thing to do,but in this instance not as much. If every student got good grades in the country, and gained much more money, the colleges will be extremely harsh in picking the acceptances for the college. Not only that but since the government will be in more debt, the colleges won't be properly funded, and the price for college would increase significantly. Research and classes would be extremely limited in community colleges and the balance would not exist.
ReplyDeleteZoe Leibowitz
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I think that paying kids for grades is a ridiculous idea. It not only teaches kids that working hard isn't an expectation but instead is something that should always be rewarded. A lot of times, people work hard, and either they fail, or something doesn't come of it. Instead, paying kids for schoolwork will teach them to not look at education for what they could get out of it in terms of knowledge, but what they can get out of it in terms of money. Once someone were to take away that money, kids would stop working hard in school. Whereas if kids didn't get paid and were simply required by their parents to do well in school, they would continue to work in that fashion regardless. It basically motivates kids to put forth the effort in school for all of the wrong reasons.
Doris Chien
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I believe paying kids for grades is the worst idea ever. The motivation of students for getting good grades would be for money instead of actually trying to learn the curriculum. It can teach bad incentives and habits and corrupt the education system. A student should work for what they want because they truly want to be successful rather than because they know there will be a reward at the end of it.
Edwin Cabrera
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
Paying kids for good grades is not a good idea. Personally, my parents have never paid me for getting good grades because they taught me that getting good grades is something that I needed to do because school is a necessity. I used to be jealous of the kids that used to get paid for good grades because my grades would be better. The true incentive to get good grades is to make your parents proud and in the long run, getting good grades without incentives will benefit the child. Getting good grades should not be rewarded because it is something that kids need to be doing on their own despite their parents telling them something or not.
priyanka ranchod
ReplyDeleteperiod 6
I believe that money can be a rather ideal incentive for getting students to do well in school; however, i do not attest to paying students for their grades. If an individual parent chooses to do so as a reward then okay but paying the general census of students would not be ideal. I think that receiving an education is a privilege, not a right. We in the US especially are very blessed to have such a good education system, and I feel that if we pay students to go to school, the initiative to actually learn will diminish. In addition, this would cause issues within the economy. Furthermore, I think that by paying students to go to school, you are training them to expect rewards for all of their actions, which I don't believe is adequate.
I believe that paying for kids as a positive reinforcement is beneficial to the student. However, it will only help if it is a reinforcement, not a deal made with the Student. The point is to reward the child for their hard work, not to make them attached to the money and have them do anything to attain it. I believe students should be paid as it is a good incentive for them to try harder in school. However, it should not be overdone. As a reinforcement for younger kids, it may be more beneficial to not give money but to give smaller rewards like extra play time. For high schoolers and college kids, a small amount of pocket money would be good. The money should not be a large amount, but a small one to motivate.
ReplyDeleteErica Wong
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Paying kids for grades is not wrong, and is an incentive for them to perform better. When one has the direct money in front of them,its a lot easier to make the decision to try harder in school than knowing that you'll make money 10 years into the future. By giving kids money for grades, it would help a lot with truancy in my opinion-that way they have some incentive to even try to stay in school.
People always like to say that it is not about the money, but it honestly is. Thus, money is the best incentive hands down. Using money persuades children of all ages to obtain better grades. Not only will it help the student who are underprivileged, it will also help the economy due to the raw fact that students love to spend money usually as soon as it obtained. Much like the article claims, people do not work hard because they like to but instead for something (usually money). Many kids do not try to their potential in school but by giving them a bigger incentive, we can give kids a reason to study harder!
ReplyDeleteSarah Johnson
ReplyDelete2nd Period
Paying kids for good grades is one of the best incentives for them to do better. However, I don't believe this a positive message as it will not help the student for the better, it will only be about the money. After they succeed they might revert to old behaviors. If a student or child really wants to get better grades in school it will show. In the long run rewarding someone for good grades is deceiving because in the real world you are not rewarded for all your hard work.
2nd
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that students should not be paid to make good grades. The reason behind this opinion is that students will take the money for granted, and they will go out of their way to ensure that they get the best grades, even if it resorts to cheating. Also, less priveledged individuals who may have slight learning disabilities due to improper teaching at a younger age may find it difficult to get high grades, even if they are trying their hardest. Good grades may come easy to some, but it may prove to be very difficult for others, causing them to become discouraged. Also, students will believe that every good thing they do should be rewarded, which is not how society preforms in this day and age.