When I was in school, we often had many “motivators” for behaving well and doing our homework. In elementary school we got gold stars on our assignments, pizza parties for meeting our reading goals and field trips if we met attendance goals. In one middle school class, we actually got play money for class participation and good grades which we could use to buy things at an end of term auction. These days, play money has given way to real money.
This article on The New York Times website outlines a new program set to begin this fall in schools throughout New York City. Essentially, the program, which is part of a larger anti-poverty initiative, will use privately raised funds to give cash incentives to students and their families who meet established guidelines such as high attendance records, and performance on national standardized tests. One incentive under the plan offers $25 -$50 for a perfect score on each of 10 standardized tests in the school year, translating to up to $500 a school year. Students can also earn $5-$10 for simply taking the tests. The article also notes similar programs in Massachusetts and Texas.
No doubt that money is a motivator, but is it an appropriate way to increase student performance? What do you think, should gold stars and pizza parties be replaced by cold, hard cash?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Posted By:
Som Carman
Advanced Academics Inc.
2 comments:
I think that money has always been a motivator for students. My parents always told me to perform well in school for scholarships and good jobs upon graduation. The emphasis has always been that education in the end will pay off. Now, students are simply being paid while in school. Seems like a capitalist system at its best.
Kids growing up in poverty need to feel good about themselves and what they are accomplishing. Money can be an enormous motivator and teach them that they can "earn" in an environment where parents are often on social services of some kind.
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