Money for Good Grades

My reaction to reading the article, "Earn an A? Here's $50." in the Chicago Tribune was "Are you kidding me?!" I didn't think that anyone could actually be serious about this. Bribing students to get good grades didn't seem like the best choice to improve Chicago public schools. There are too many problems for this idea to be properly implemented. I achieved mostly grades throughout my elementary and secondary education, and I never received any money. At first I think I was simply jealous that some students were getting this kind of treatment, I worked hard in school to get good grades and I didn't get $50 for an A! However as I thought deeper into this issue, I really realized that I disagreed with this on more than just a personal level.

The first opinion article I read that addressed this idea was y MARGO UNQRICHT Seventh-grade English teacher, Lehi, Utah (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_200405/ai_n9360319). And she stated that although she thought bribing the students with money crossed the line, she did lend the idea that students should be rewarded for a job well-done with something like a pizza party. With her I agree, students should be rewarded with a pizza party or a celebration after working hard on a project or an exam. However, giving them money is definitely crossing line. Instead we should reward them (high-poverty students) with things they actually like clothes or food.

The next article I read was entitled "CPS To Pay Students For Good Grades" and published on the WBBM website (http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/2948980.php?). It described that the funding for this project wouldn't be coming from tax dollars. While I am very relieved that my money won't be going towards this program, I believe its necessary to be concerned with where the money we give them is going. This money that we plan to give the students for good grades, could instead be put into the schools and different learning facilities so that they have better lessons and a better grasp on the material they're learning. Or if we must give them money, the state instead should have the money put into a college fund so they can use it to attend a university or vocational school, or given to them as a reward after graduation. This will increase graduation rates and cause students to work hard throughout all of high school.

The third and most influential article I read on this topic was "Is it smart to pay for good grades?" by Liz Pulliam Weston (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/IsItSmartToPayForGoodGrades.aspx?page=2). In her article she describes the argument between her and her husband; he was for getting paid for good grades, while she was against it. I think she brought up some very valid points. Many students in today's classroom have learning disabilities. By bribing them to get good grades we're rewarding the naturally gifted, and harming the ones who work really hard to get the Bs or Cs. This creates an ego goal orientation in the school setting. This will cause those who are reflect more of the mastery goal orientation to struggle, get frustrated and eventually give up. Overall I think that this program can do more harm in the school setting than good.

Finally, I read the article "Good grades pay off literally" in USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-27-grades_N.htm). This article again provided a lot of background information on the debate, but one thing it mentions is how this "undermines kids' motivation to do high-quality work when they're not being paid". It does all go on to mention that student grades did progress because they wanted the rewards. However I think that this method is only helping the already smart students. They put forth the little extra effort that isn't actually given to them to earn these great prizes, while those that really try get frustrated and want to quit.

Overall I think that this can be beneficial to the honor roll students; however, those that aren't on honor roll are forced to compete with students that they already believe are smarter than them. I think can be seen as another example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students that work hard deserve a reward regardless of the grade they receive. Rewarding hard work will encourage the continuance of it, whereas rewarding good grades isn't a fair playing field.