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233 Comments
- Hodor, on 01/14/2009, -9/+165Funny, I got "paid" for getting good grades by going to a good university and getting a good job.
- latexsolarbeef, on 01/14/2009, -17/+95Short answer: No.
Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. - Blinker1315, on 01/14/2009, -10/+79It's a bad idea. Certainly, incentives are a good thing, whether at school or at home, but hard cash sends the wrong message. It might also lead to more cheating.
- AnotherDiggGuy, on 01/15/2009, -8/+664 reasons kids shouldn't get paid:
1) Who's going to pay? The schools? Most schools are facing horrible budget deficits as it is. The schools get their money from the government anyways, and the government is broker than ever. Tax payers will ultimately foot the bill.
2) Doesn't it seem a bit unethical for government funds to pay kids who perform well in a government determined criteria?
3) School is school, not a job. Your pay comes when you have learned how to function as an adult by getting a job.
4) This will only encourage kids to maintain a mindset that involves doing absolutely nothing unless theres immediately something in it for them. - Burento, on 01/14/2009, -3/+49Curious.. At your good job, do they pay you a bonus for good performance? A sort of motivator. Like saying "we pay you and expect you to do your job, but if you go above and beyond and really perform, then we will pay you a little more"?
- Nick217, on 01/14/2009, -3/+49my parents always promised the money but never paid up when i got the A's.
- Trekhawk, on 01/14/2009, -1/+46Not unless it's retroactive and goes back 17 years.
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -1/+29Really? Cause I got paid for getting good grades with a ton of university debt and ***** employment prospects (well, not the former, but most people have them)
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -2/+29I gave your mom $100 for her 'A'
- doiveo, on 01/14/2009, -0/+27good lesson in life. 50% up front 50% on delivery.
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -2/+24My parents promised me no ass whopping when I got As and Bs, good enough payment for me.
"Why the hell should I give you money for your grades? They only affect you and your future, not mine." - Dad - Haoie, on 01/14/2009, -2/+23If there's any incentive involved, it shouldn't be cash in hand.
Book vouchers or something, now that's a far better idea. - doiveo, on 01/14/2009, -2/+22mixed feelings. Children usually don't have an evolved sense of accomplished as primary motivator so money would produce results. But, it may delay the development of intrinsic motivators and stunt maturity.
- curtisag, on 01/15/2009, -0/+17@PNooch:
Do they make you wait 15 years for your bonus? Not everybody wants to go through all the ***** involved in school without some sort of short term benefit. My parents paid me $10 for every A I got on my report card. It can be a great motivator, especially since most kids are not thinking about what's going to happen 20 years from now as a result of all this learning. - shufan, on 01/15/2009, -5/+21"You got a B++?! You disgrace our familiy!" - Asian Parent.
- PNooch, on 01/14/2009, -0/+16Yes but in many ways the "payout" in high school is getting into a good college and the "payout" in college is getting a good job, which will eventually actually get you paid. So there are still HUGE incentives to do well in school, they may not directly be monetary, but money is still tied to it.
- thefox84, on 01/15/2009, -1/+16Yes, college students only
kthanks I need some money right now! - jadedoto, on 01/15/2009, -0/+15I now get around $1000 a year to help fund tuition at college because of my GPA and test scores from high school. I don't see it as a way to keep me from loving to learn, only a way to help facilitate my love of learning and hopes of getting a degree D:
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -0/+14I'd rather see students be paid for good grades than athletic scholarships being handed out to "special" exercise science majors who can barely do arithmetic but receive full-ride scholarships for being able to throw a ball around further than most people.
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -0/+14My boss gives me free bacon if I perform well at the end of the day. I work at a diner.
- LucasVB, on 01/15/2009, -0/+10I say bring back the paddle.
- Elliuotatar, on 01/15/2009, -0/+10Or how about a poster of a kitten holding onto a tree branch with the words "Hang in there!" beneath it? I bet that would motivate them to get good grades!
- robotMutant, on 01/15/2009, -0/+10The point here is that it is hard to motivate most of the youth these days to perform if they don't have a clear vision of what they want to do in the long term.
- Richandler, on 01/15/2009, -0/+10Or being a minority or poor.
- roxgod666, on 01/15/2009, -3/+12I think it sends a pretty good message. Work hard and go the extra mile, you will earn a reward. There are tons of parents who don't acknowledge their kid when they do good, but flip out when they do bad. I think this could be that reward and take some of the stress away. Cheating should have even worse consequences than before.
- freshpow, on 01/15/2009, -0/+8Good for you. Get a job.
- Burento, on 01/14/2009, -1/+9@PNooch - Completely agree and the motivator for doing really good work and performing really well in your job is normally for bonus potential.
Just a point to note that there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with motivating someone to perform above the expected norm. - aurrea, on 01/15/2009, -2/+10I got paid for good grades and also sold drugs out of the attendance office window.
The drugs paid a lot better than my A's....... - inactive, on 01/15/2009, -1/+9That's weird. I got paid for bad grades and still got a good job of a CEO. Oh, by the way, thanks for bailing me out.
- sugarazor, on 01/15/2009, -0/+8They're learning in order to get a job in their future and then provide a product or service. Should we not pay trainees? The idea of the cream rising to the top is iffy as there are plenty of people who do well in school who fall flat on their face once they step into the real world and plenty of below average students who go on to make millions.
Kids are forced to go through the outdated, mundane, ***** pageantry that is the educational system, they might as well get something for their troubles. - Zarokima, on 01/15/2009, -0/+8You could thank them for being the future road-pavers, ditch-diggers, and janitors of the world. Unskilled labor is just as necessary as everything smart people do.
- Maniaca, on 01/15/2009, -1/+9No, they'll just whine at excruciating levels to their teacher about how they REALLY NEED the money/car/vacation/new iPod.
- bbear, on 01/15/2009, -0/+8My mom promised me an ass kicking for every 'C'. Same result but cheaper.
- Richandler, on 01/15/2009, -1/+8Money is merely a liquid medium of exchange not some demon that turns kids in to lunatics.
- boblmartens, on 01/15/2009, -4/+11No.
Next easy question please. - Nerys, on 01/15/2009, -1/+8I say YES pay for good grades. but that does not solve the underlying problem and even creates new ones.
Most of the children are actually not stupid and they REALIZE that is quite literally a joke.
HAVE YOU SEEN what they are teaching in most public schools today? I am sorry but I refuse to call that "education" its monkey training.
My Little sister was failing and flunking. Now that she lives with us (mom and kids moved in with us) she is #1 in a much better school environment though the education is no better
So I told her. I would pay 3 month of your phone bill if you got 100% A's and B's NO C's D's or F's at all.
She did it. all A's and B's I am trying to get other family members to make similar offers so if she does this all year she gets her phone paid for all year (metro pcs nice deal)
I asked her. Now seriously? was it hard? NO she said. She is bright but no genius by any stretch.
Thats the problem. they get BORED and they KNOW this is not an education. Its just monkey training.
So why care?
Now the problem it creates is with cheating. Have to be careful of that if it becomes "state supported" to pay for grades.
I think the first thing we should do is EVICT the state and feds from involvement in education. ELIMINATE most of the "school boards"
Put the TEACHERS and PARENTS in charge of things. MAKE the community do its job and RUN THINGS.
Make local business support the costs of the schooling.
Local paper and similar companies can take care of paper and supplies etc.. Local Contractors can take care of building and crap. ALL FREE the get a "tax credit" for the value of there work (A REAL tax credit not a simply largely useless "write off"
Do $3000 in work for the local school WE SUBTRACT $3000 from your taxes. Period. Not $3000 in taxable income but ACTUALLY subtract $3000 so if you owe $7600 in property taxes this year now you only owe $4600.
Make the COMMUNITIES support the schools and you will get the BUREAUCRATIC ***** out of the system and people will start to CARE and you WILL see things improve.
The government is NOT going to do this. THE PEOPLE have to do this. you see they benefit from crappy education. A uneducated population is an easy to manipulate population. And you wonder why our education system sucks?
Duh! - inactive, on 01/15/2009, -0/+7My thoughts exactly. One's thirst for knowledge should stem from one's desire to better oneself, not because of financial incentive.
- ShadowFoxxx, on 01/15/2009, -0/+7Same here. My mum promised 100$ for every 'A' that I got.
- soccerman90, on 01/15/2009, -1/+8"4) This will only encourage kids to maintain a mindset that involves doing absolutely nothing unless theres immediately something in it for them."
if we can keep it up their whole lives, then we will have some crazy productive kids - elephantstomp, on 01/15/2009, -0/+7Aren't any of you concerned, the intimidation teachers might receive, from the students and the parents. Or there are two teachers at a school, teaching the same subject, where one is considered an easier grader. How about kids purposely dumbing themselves down by taking algebra their freshman year instead of geometry, so they can get paid.
If they are really going through with this, have the money directly paid to their college tuition. And more difficult classes on a higher scale. - avataros, on 01/14/2009, -0/+6You do badly, you essentially waste tuition. It's like a hefty fine for bad marks. Works either way, don't it?
- lanervoza, on 01/15/2009, -0/+6doing well.
- piratefish, on 01/15/2009, -0/+6no joke... i graduated with 18 year old men who could only read pass patterns and box scores. and somehow they all passed and graduated with B's and C's. i really didn't work hard for my good grades but it was totally unfair to my classmates who really busted their tails.
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -0/+6Whose money do you think they'd use for this?
- cubicledrone, on 01/15/2009, -0/+6"I got "paid" for getting good grades by going to a good university and getting a good job."
Then there's the millions who did exactly the same thing and got fired and financially destroyed, and then were told they and their educations were both inadequate for a "good job." Then there's the rest, who are trying to pay 2009 bills with 1972 paychecks. - inactive, on 01/15/2009, -0/+6Certainly, unskilled labor is important, but that doesn't mean that the people who take those jobs should be uneducated. They still vote, they still sit on juries, etc. There's more to education than simply a cushy career.
- inactive, on 01/15/2009, -1/+6Do both and quit bitching. Life is tough, and if you can't deal with it, there's always someone else who can.
- imdeanlabouty, on 01/15/2009, -0/+5no you didn't.
- sugarazor, on 01/15/2009, -0/+5Why else would someone work unless it's for money? Unless you're Loverboy, then I suppose you're working for the weekend.
- BESTenemy, on 01/15/2009, -1/+6 Believe it or not, I went to a school where they ran an experimental program for a few years that paid students for good attendance (not grades). The town was rich, so I guess they were running out of ideas as to where invest their money. Did it affect the actual attendance? It did not. Students were still skipping school.
I find that there is no need for institutional projects of such kind. Parents can do the job just as well, rewarding their kids and having just as much impact on perfomance, without becoming a drain of the taxpayer dollars.
Also, a thing to remember is that grades aren't always indicative of perfomance. I've had bad grades in theoretical subjects, yet ended up doing much better than my peers when the time came to put the skills to practice. All the grades measure is how well a person fits within a template setup for him. When we lack individuality and critical thinking, we shouldn't be rewarding conformity.
The issues are financial (where the money is going to come from) and ethical (whether the grades are of any importance). There's also the question of whether the system would produce a result at all.
I had participated in the experiment and I am against it. -
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