New York City is considering giving its students money for good grades. What do you think?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Cash for Grades
New York City is considering giving its students money for good grades. What do you think?
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41 comments:
Its a good and bad idea. The reason its a good idea because maybe students will acutally do better in school and start to take it seriously. Maybe this will serve as a boost for the students to work hard and get rewards. This might acually boost the confidence of other students who always got bad grades and make them work harder. Its a bad idea because of the fact that eventhough the students are getting good grades are they learning the material that is supposed to help them when they start to work in the real world. See the students might be getting good grades and all but latter on it might hurt them in the future because they got good grades but they didn't remmmber the material needed in future classes. It also might hurt them because of the fact that they might expect rewards for everything they do good. Because in the real world if you do good on a job their is not always a reward for you. So your going to have these kids expectation to high because they think they will get something if they do good. To me it almost sounds like they are treating them like dogs because only dogs get rewards if they do something good. These kids shouldn't have to be paid to get good grades it should be their number one prioity everytime they step into the school building. What they need to do is sit down with the parents and get the parents involved at the schools because if the parents get involved and help the kids with their school work they will probaly do much better
I think that that is a good idea for a number of reasons. The students would get a real world experience of getting paid for their efforts. They would also strive to gain better grades than others to gain the most money. However, the students would study with the wrong mentality:instead of studying to gain knowledge, they would study to gain money. It goes both ways. That would be alot of money that the gov. doesn't have anyway!!!
I think it's a bad idea. Students should want to work hard for their grades and I think that by adding this money cap it will only further motivate the students that are already hard workers, and will further seperate the kids who just don't care.
i think that this would be an awesome idea because I know it would want me to read more and earn higher grades in my classes. Although we shouldn't have to bribe someone to make better grades, it can help kids learn to study more to make better grades on tests and quizzes. The only thing that bugs me is where are they going to get this money from?
I feel like this seems like a good idea because it does provide a motivation and incentive to work hard but at the same time i also feel that kids will not care about the subject at all and only about the money. For this reason i don't think that they should do it. i feel like it is putting too much emphasis on money and will influence kids to care too much about money.
I don't think it's a good idea because then it will create a feeling in future students that in order to do anything in life they must get something in return, when during your youthful years a person should learn to do things because it will make them better as a person vs. getting a benefit back from it. Also, it just makes money that much more important, which shouldn't be a goal in society.
As if man isn't already greedy enough, now you're telling me we have to get paid to learn? Although nothing would make me happier than to get paid for going to school, it's just not a good idea. School would become just another lame part time job with only the purpose of being there to get paid. Sure it's incentive, but for all the wrong reasons.
Kids should want to learn, not learn to want.
Well, I'll be moving to New York. But, truthfully I think giving incentives will overall increase school test scores. Especially for underdeveloped schools, students will have a reason to go to school and a stronger desire to keep thair grades up. It is an opporunity for students to learn and make money all at once. Giving money could also be the equivlent of a paycheck. When you go to work you get paid, thus when you do your classwork you get paid. The only problem I see is the funding for such a large scale program. It would eventually have to come from the people's pockets.
OK i would be sooo rich just by perfect attandance and reading my summer readig books. This program sounds too good to be true! I think putting this program into effect would have some major advatages. Those student who have to work and go to school simintaneously each day (and have the difficulty of fiiting in their time to study) this program would alleviate so much stress for them.
Yes, it's cool that people are considering handing out money for good grades and perfect attendance. However, it doesn't necessarily mean they rewarding people for hard work. Someone can cheat on a test and get a high grade, while another student studies endlessly and recives a lower grade. It is not 100% going to motivate children to work harder. So I feel this is not such a good idea.
Giving out money for good grades would certainly provide motivation for kids to work harder in school. However, what about the kids who work really hard but still can't seem to get the grades? Or the kids who get good grades because they cheat on everything? Also, getting good grades does not necesarily mean that the person earning them is actually learning what they are being taught. I don't think the goal of this idea is to get kids to focus more on the money than the learning material. I certainly wouldn't turn down any money offered to me, but I don't think bribery is the fairest or best way to motivate kids to get good grades.
I'm not to sure I like the sound of this article... As a money hungry student yeah it sounds good i'll be getting money. The program as a whole, I dont agree with it. It seems to me that if the schools start paying fourth graders to make good grades they're always going to expect money or a large reward for good deeds..no longer will a "pat on the back" sufice. Kids should want to make good grades for themselves, not for money. Also some children may not be at the same academic level as others so the "smarter" kids get money while the "slower" kids who try just as hard dont get a reward. I dont like the whole concept. If this is what it's come to..to get kids to try then that's sad. In the future money will no longer be good enough..what then?
Honestly, this is what society needs! Real motivation. Everyone knows that the world revolves only around happiness. Who needs happiness, who needs love? Oh, please, money is all we need. I hate the Beatles. "Love is all you need?" YEA RIGHT! Who gets "proud" of their achievments? That's blasphemy.
I honestly think this is a terrible idea. There are some students who don't try that hard but somehow get really good grades, while other people try incredibly hard to do well in their classes but barely pass. It would be horrible to reward those students who don't try as much based only on a grade point average.
i think that if you pay kids to do work in the long run it will hurt them. When you pay them to do their work then thats the motivation, then when they get to the point when they dont get paid then the lose the motivation and inevitely stop working.
I THINK ITS A GREAT IDEA! Of course, Im sure this would create a lot of problems in the long run. But honestly, i would work so much harder for real money. Kids these days don't understand that they need an education, but they do understand why they need money. When teachers tell us they are doing the same if not way more work than we are doing, i always want to say, well your getting paid for it! But if the idea actually pulls through we wouldn't have to worry about that.
I think that it is a bad idea to pay students. For one, you should want to do good in school and not be bribed for earning good grades. When you get into college nobody is going to pay you to stay in your dorm and study. You have to pay the college!
Giving cash for good grades isn't a bad idea. It would be a great motivator for kids who lack any other type of motivation and it would be an award for the kids who are already doing very well. I disagree when they say it will add more pressure onto the students to do well, the students decide how hard they're going to work to gain an award. And if not money, there are plenty of other rewards they can offer to motivate students. I mean, come on now, who wouldnt want cash???
What's the point in staying in school if you can make the same amount of money running a fast food lane at the local McDonalds.Why do twice as much work for the same amount of money. The only thing this "incentive" program is going to do is provide the next generation of kids with a false sense of financial security. The need to improve your future, rather than present, financial situation should be motivation enough to study. If you don't want to be at school, then there is no reason why you should be. And if you do want to be in school then there shouldn't be any need for incentives. The money brought in for this program would be better spent improving nyc, to create an encouraging environment where kids actually want to learn
I think it would be a bad idea to give kids money if they make good grades. Sure every student would like to make money while doing required work, but then it will hurt them later in life. They will expect to be paid for everything they do.
i think that this is a very controversial subject because there are both pros and cons about giving students money for good grades. The benefits would be that, on average, students grades would go up because of the incentive of money. A negative, on the other hand, is that it teaches students that they should only work hard if they will get something in return. This could have a positive immediate effect, but in the long run, it would be bad because people would learn bad work habits.
I think it's a bad idea becasue some people work really hard and just aren't good test takers making poor grades compared to people who tests well and the don't even spend one minute studying. Also, Students should want to work hard for their grades and not only because money is involved.
I think it wouldbe a good idea to give students money for making good grades because then probably more students would try harder in school. I also think that it is a little unfair considering grades dont always reflect how hard a student is working at school. Sometimes an easy teacher will give all students high grades without doing much work and studying and then sometimes in a really hard class you can work really hard and not make the smae kind of grades
i personally wouldnt mind getting paid for getting good grades.. but honestly it wouldnt be good. it would cause kids to think that they shouldnt do anything unless they have an imediate reward for it, which would hurt them in life because thats not how its always goin to work.
i personally wouldnt mind getting paid for getting good grades.. but honestly it wouldnt be good. it would cause kids to think that they shouldnt do anything unless they have an imediate reward for it, which would hurt them in life because thats not how its always goin to work.
i don't think it's is that great of an idea. Although it gives students an incentive to get better grades and to study harder, students will be working to do better for the wrong reason. They won't be studying to actually learn something from the class.
The idea seems more likely to cause schools to become progressively more eager to force teachers into teaching for a test, as opposed to actually teaching. In the event the schools aren't swayed by the extra funding, the students themselves will still probably begin to focus solely on scoring higher.
A lot of people are saying it's a bad idea because it will make kids only work for the money reward, but don't most kids now only work for the grade? Besides, doesn't Mr. Pye do something similar with the pies for 100s? That's an incentive other than just reaching for a 100 because it shows that you know the material. That Ernest Logan guy said “What really matters in education is continued student progress, not perfect test scores,” which actually isn't true at all. A lot of teachers put so much pressure on students just to get a good grade in their class they lose their focus on the fact that they are supposed to be teaching the subject, not just trying to make their kids pass. There is a huge difference but most people don't even think about it. Even though it is basically bribing students, I think that the cash incentive idea is actually a really good one. I know that, to me, a B isn't that bad of a grade to get on a test or quiz, but if I were to get money for an A, you know I would be studying for that A. Teenagers are known for never having money, so if they were to get money by studying harder, I am pretty sure most students would study harder.
I think they have good intentions yet it isnt very smart to start paying students for good grades. It would lead to cheating and lieing. Plus I think it would just cause the students to buy stuff they shouldn't have like drugs and alcohol. Another use for that money would be to pay our wonderful teachers or pay off the national debt.
I think its a good way to get people motivated, but it probally wont be enough money to persuade the students that need betters grades to work harder
The idea can go both ways, it can be seen as both good and bad. On one hand, it motivates the students to do well and it drives them, but it also hurts them because they are recieving a false perception of life; there are no goods and rewards for performing well in the real world, so in an overall opinion i guess the idea is more harmful than useful.
So I wrote a really long comment, but it got deleted because my password did not work. This is basically what it said:
I think this program would be great for students in 5th and 6th grade where the advancement in reading would help tremendously and set the tone for the rest of their high school and college careers. However, any grade past this is would hurt a student more than help them. People need to understand that a reward is not always necessary to learn something; self-motivation is needed for the best kind of learning. This program should just help kids when they are first developing reading habits in order to give them a strong foundation.
Money for school work? Bring on the bills. My opinion about the matter is that the city would be investing a lot of money in this and they wouldn't have a solid way of getting money back. In a student's perspective though, it is amazing incentive to work harder and do well in class. Bring this new idea to Texas and then we'll really talk.
Hmmm...good and bad idea, it is a reason for kids to try and get better grades; those who have never really cared may see in the end why it is important to focus on their education. They will also get a feel of having a job and getting paid, but they will also be learning for the wrong reasons or not taking it seriously. I think it is only by trying it out that one can say it's truly a bad idea.
Hmmm...Money for grades, i dont "buy" it. Why should students be given more of an intiative to make grades? They should already be motivated so they can succeed. I also think it is wrong ot bate people into success by offering something so vile and vane as money. If somebody does not want to work or is not motivated by a comfortable life style, they can gladly take my order at Subway. I dont meen to denounce anyone is the fastfood market, excuse my bluntness. Greed is not the answer. We go to school to become more educated, not to be entertained or rewarded. A free education in itself is the reward for your efforts.
I like it. I wouldn't have to work. But as a state we could never afford it.
Getting the money from elsewhere would be a problem. Sure somebody would do it a couple of times but who would want to give a school money year after year out of the goodness of their heart? Plus you should only be paid by your parents if you make good grades. The government shouldnt be giving you money for being a good test taker. You need to have the incentive to make good grades so you can succeed in life.
As much as I want to say that this is an amazing idea since money is good,I definitely don't think it will benefit anyone. I mean think about it. IS this to say that if they decide to go back to the old just getting good grades to get them, are students not going to want to because they're not getting a twenty every time they make an a? Furthermore, where is this money going to coming from? New york tax payers? Let's see if they're happy about that. A student should want to get good grades for their own benefit, not for fact that they'll recieve money if they do. Should we get money for showing up? Getting an education is a privelege enough,money is unnecessary.
The first thing that came to mind when I read this was: where would the money come from? Since it's our parents who will be paying taxes, we'd basically be working to keep that money, and at the same time students in the top 10% will be competing to take money from the families of children that aren't as intelligent, which just seems unethical. The good outcome of this would be an increase in both enthusiasm and competition for grades and a way to save money for college, but not everyone needs to aim for valedictorian to get a career they could enjoy. I know this is an AP course, so everyone here will probably think this sounds absurd, but: you don't need "success" to be happy. "Success" is a matter of opinion, and the view of success in school is good grades and a good career since those who run the education system got their positions by their competitive nature. This would probably improve our economy in the end, but overall this is a bad idea; money isn't the only thing in the world, and this will only make students lose sight of other things.
I can see both arguments of the "cash for grades." However i would say that I probably would be for using cash as an incentive to do better in school, or at least for seeing if it works through experimentation. So many things now are even done with the hope for a money reward, take for example scholarships. Students work and learn all throughout their high school career to achieve the grades needed to earn scholarships to help them attend the college of their choosing. Is this not almost the same as the "cash for grades," money is given for good grades. I believe that it could work and actually improve the us students knowledge and learning.
Rachel Wiley
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