Updated Forecast: In Excess of 8" of Snow, Plus Wind
And Now, 10-20 Inches
Federal Govt. Closed Tuesday
Snowmaggedon 1.0 in Time Lapse
Morning Roundup: After the Snowfall Edition
From the Washington Post's report on the Capital Gains program, in which students at certain D.C. middle schools are paid cash for good grades:
Eventually, scholars will evaluate whether the incentive works. But for now, the best gauge might be the reaction of students on payday. Interviews with parents, educators and youths reveal that most students compare their earnings as soon as they're handed out, excited by the financial reward. A few, in a show of apathy or rebellion, destroy checks intended to help them. And some walk home disappointed, envelopes closed.You know what that kind of sounds like to me? Report cards. As a crackerjack student, I relished in receiving As, despite sometimes abysmal attendance records, and would run to compare my report cards with the other kids. So long as the news was good, that is. Too many minus marks, like asterisks hanging on my self esteem? Or Bs (or worse)? With tail tucked in shame I'd slink away from the public square.
Grades weren't just metaphors for incentives when I was a kid—they could be exchanged for cold, hard cash. I got a nerd rush for making good marks, but I also got scrilla at home. I don't remember the exchange rate, exactly, but I do recall getting Dragon Warrior II one semester for a good academic showing. Plus I could take the same report card to the arcade and get tokens for grades. (And that could be done five or six times.)
Point being, learning was never exactly learning for learning's sake when I was in public school. If anything, it is more likely the case that learning is for learning's sake alone in those poorer districts where the 15 participating D.C. schools are located, where families perhaps can't afford to provide material incentives. Where's the problem in D.C. (with Harvard University) stepping in and offering those rewards on an accelerated schedule to boost performance?
The Post describes one very serious flaw to the program:
Payments have been inconsistent, Woods said, even as the program calls for consistently good behavior. One afternoon in late February, D'Angelo and his brother Kyree, both sixth-graders, received their money. But their sister Diamond did not.That detail alone makes me wish that Michelle Rhee would rethink the program. That teaches students that they cannot depend on school and authorities to consistently recognize their efforts. That's discouraging! Inconsistent discipline is no discipline at all."They didn't give none of the eighth-graders checks," she said, adding a moment later, "It's okay."
The money, where it is to be had, is pretty good! I would like to have made $1,000 between October and now for something that I was basically forced to do.
Photo by dcJohn
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Cash my ass. What the hell is wrong with intrinsic rewards? School systems are so busy rewarding mediocre performance they don't have the time to prepare these kids for the 'real world'. I feel this gives the kids an impression they will always get something out of life. I'm afraid the desire on the part of the school system to make sure "all little children feel special" will create a generation who expect something. When merely showing up for school gets you on the honor roll, you tend to get a distorted view of the world.
""They didn't give none of the eighth-graders checks," she said, adding a moment later, "It's okay.""
Eight years of school and this child can't form a proper sentence?
I believe that in the real world, people get paid for their efforts. Yes, these students' efforts are towards their own enrichment, but we want them in school, and these payments are cheaper than funding anti-truancy programs, more police on the streets, and the cost of the inevitable crime that bored teens cause.
Further consider the economic benefits of a workforce that is at least barely educated, vs one that isn't good for anything, and sits on the dole. It's worth paying for that change. In 15 years, these kids will either be productive, contributing tax payers, or drains on the system. For our own sake, we should pay the penny now to save the pound later.
I don't see the direct correlation between paying for grades and reduction of crime, truancy, and requiring more police on the streets. Do you have statistics that show this?
I will also say your phrase "isn't good for anything, and sits on the dole" seems to fit those who are paid to do nothing (paying for grades in a 'rewarding mediocre performance' school system). I see more return in a system that supports a broader view of the value of a good education.
To support this I would like to see those who have put their education to good ends, meet with the students and help them understand why their education was important to their success. Far better to expose the children to positive role models that the drug dealers, rolling in cash, "just down the street".
As to "In 15 years, these kids will either be productive, contributing tax payers, or drains on the system.", are there statistics that back up the claim that paying for grades creates a productive workforce?
A quick review of discussions on the Web seem to point against such programs.
The Washington Post's article mentions how some of the kids would pour water on their checks because they were $40 and it is an embarssement to them. These kids should be more appreciative that DC has decided to give money for grades. To pour water on the check shows how ungrateful they are and they should just abandon the whole thing. What DC should do is put the money in a savings account and upon graduation, they get the money. They don't graduate, they don't get the money. Personally I don't believe in giving cash for grades. The parents need to give more validation for getting good grades and to think of the future.
Hey punk, you can sign that check over to me if you don't want it!
Truly fabulous. I know what will fix the system--throwing money at it. Let's pay kids to learn. Enjoy it now, because it will never cost less. If they cared about money, they'd get a job. If they care about a future, they would take education seriously. You can't pay them to care about their future. Maybe the school should pay their parents to parent next.