A recent article in Time Magazine, "Is Cash the Answer?" (April 19, 2010), explained how hundreds of schools have experimented with paying kids with cold, hard cash for showing up or getting good grades or reading books. This makes adults very uncomfortable. Teachers complain that we are rewarding kids for doing what they should be doing anyway. Psychologists warn that money can actually make kids perform worse by cheapening the act of learning. Parents predict widespread slacking off after the incentives go away. But many are asking: Does it work?
In four cities, 18,000 kids earned a total of $6.3 million to do the right thing. Some incentives worked better than others. Below you will find the results from three different school systems. Read through the results and then answer the questions that follow. Remember, to get at least a 7/10 you must have at least 4 sentences; address the blog topic thoughtfully; your comment makes sense and can be followed; and is written with correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage, with only one or two errors.
- In Dallas, 1,780 second-graders from 22 schools were paid for reading books. They were paid $2 per book. The average student earned $13.81. The results showed that paying kids to read dramatically boosted reading comprehension scores.
- In Chicago, 4,389 ninth-graders from 20 schools were paid $50 for A's, $35 for B's, and $20 for C's. The average student earned $695.61. The results were mixed. Kids cut fewer classes and got slightly better grades but scores on standardized tests did not change.
- In Washington D.C., 3,495 sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders from 17 schools were paid $100 every two weeks for attendance and behavior. The average student earned $532.85. The results were positive. Rewarding attendance and good behavior seemed to improve reading skills.
Answer these questions:
- What motivates kids to learn?
- Should kids be paid money as a reward for getting better grades or reading books or simply for showing up at school?
- Would you get better grades if you were paid money for A's, B's, or C's?
- Would you continue to do better once the reward money was taken away?
58 comments:
Yes! First one comment!
I think that, since each child is different, what motivates them is different as well. In some cases, just having some sort of goal motivates them. In others, the possibility of getting money from relatives increases with their grades. I agree with what the teachers were saying. Why should kids be rewarded for what is already expected of them? I doubt that I'd get better grades if I were paid for them. I'm already motivated enough without them. And, yes, I would continue to do better if any bribes were taken away.
Determination, is what motivates kids to learn. Kids who already know what they want to do with their life will want to learn more about the specific subject, be it math, science, or computers. I do not think kids should be paid money for going to school, because bribing kids to get smart isnt right and it isnt fair to the kids who are already getting good grades. The kids aren't really getting smarter, they are just trying to get money and get paid. I think I might get better grades if i was getting paid for A's, B's, or C's because it would make somthing for the kids to work for, but it still isnt right. I dont think my grades would continue to be good once the reward money was taken away, because it would take away what i was working for.
In the article money motivates students to do well in school.
I think it would be a great idea to pay students with money for doing well in school, and it might even inspire students to do well in a career as they get older.
I think I would better grades if I was given money for A's, B's, and C's because I would focus harder on achieving goals for more money.
I think if the money award was taken away I would still be fine just not looking forward to anything besides seeing friends and going to gym.
what i think that motivates kids to learn is, for the kids to set their minds to somethimng and go and try to achive that goal in school. also when some schools pay kids to come to school every day then that makes alot of them love to come to school i bet, i know that if i was paid then i would come to school as well. and also yes i think that the more that kkids come to school and the better grades that they get they should be paid for it. i would also get alot better grades if i was paid to do alot better on tests as well as getting money to just come to school. and yes i would do better even if the reward of the money got taken away any way. wouldn't you?
I beleve that every student is different and should be treated differently. Right now thousnads of students are being paid to show up to school and get good grades. I beleve the experement is not accurate. Paying kids to do whats expected of them is not right. For exsample... over 3,000 kids in washington DC are being paid 100$ a day go to school! I do not beleve that kids should be paid to learn. learning takes effort and some student might get better grades and might stop skiping school. what will happen when the experement ends? i beleve the students will think that because they don't get payed they should not do their work. if i was under the experement i would be happy. but when the experement ends i would most likely not do my work. this experement will cause some students to fail due to no award.
What makes me want to learn is the fact that the kids will be making money off of reading a book and kids are forsed to read books anyway so if you are getting paid i would want to reaf even more. No they shouldnt get money for going to school but they should get money for getting good grades because that means that they were trying in to do good in school. Yes I think that i would get better grades and try harder because i would want the money and i would only be able to have the money if i did good so that would make me set a goal and try hard. I would keep on trying hard but i really dont no if i would continue to do good because that means that my goal would just be throuwn away.
Money sure does motivate kids and they should continue. People should pay for everything good that we do. I would definitely get better grades if I was paid. I would probably put in the same work effort even if I was not paid. But I don't think I would ever work for free in the real world.
...It is motivating to pay childeren (I WOULD LOVE IT)but it has its down sides like if i buy the thing i want i would lose intrest in the money and then you will wast (sead in resolts)$6.3 million dollors.they should not be paid some kids get money fore some things they may like some kid may get beater grades they (sead in blog)will fail tests. if they are already paid they might not work
Honestly I think that money motivates maney kids in maney ways. Also if was to be payed money to be gatting good grades i would deffiently be more likley to get better grades. I think they should do a trial for 2 weeks pay students and after see if there grades have improved. And if they havent improved they could stop paying students to get good grades. Over all i think that students would deffenetly get better grades if they were payed!
I think that an example of something motivates kids to do good in school. If they see someone else doing good then they will want to do good themselves. I personally do not agree with paying kids if they get good grades, read a book or show up at school everyday, simple because its their job; They should show up to school get good grades and read books no matter what the reward, the biggest and best reward that a student can get for doing all 3 of those above tasks is a good education and a great job in the future. i would deffinitly get better grades if i was getting paid for it but i wouldnt be getting a good education because im intersted but because i would want the money. If i was getting money gor getting good grades in school and the money was taken away my grades would probably drop and i would fail beacause im not getting the money which i would get to do good.
I think that different things motivate kids to learn. Some kids like school and like coming to school, therefore, those kids come to school with the right attitude and earn good grades. Other kids are motivated by teachers, friends, family, etc. But in this case, it seems that some kids are motivated by money! I know that I would too study hard and do my homework if I could get $50 for every A I earn like some ninth graders in Chicago. I think that kids should get paid for getting better grades, but not as much money and some of them do. Like I said, some kids get $50 for every A, which can be a little much. If a student got 5 A’s, that’s $250. That student could spend it wisely, or not so wisely. It is just a tricky situation. I think the same goes for reading book but NOT for showing up at school. If you’re a student you could maybe say that it is our duty to come to school, we shouldn’t get paid for. Some kids with a bad intention of how to spend money could get that money by just coming to school. Yes, I would get or try to get better grades if I could get money for them. I think it’s good that kids get rewarded for trying and succeeding. I know that I would continue to keep my grades up; I want to get good grades to succeed in high school and succeed in a good college. But, some kids won’t, and I think we all know what kind of kids those are. They just do the work, get the money, spend it on some stupid, and that’s the end of it.
I think we should be bribe kids in school. The reason why is it will make student whant to come to school more, and it will make kids more commited to work and work harder. Also it will teach the kids what its like to earn money, And it will teach kids what to do with money when they earn it, and some students donte even find the point of goin to school and this will give them a reason.
The only bad thing that I think will come out of this if it happend would be if they sudenly take the privledge of getting money away, students mite stop coming to school and they wonte be modivaded to work hard. Then student will start thinking whats the point of coming to school if your not going to get money from it or earn somthing. I also think if student got paid in school.
This is my opinion and you WILL hear this loud and clear. Now for the most part pretty much every kid would enjoy a few extra bucks here and there; as I would. Although I can see both sides of things. There are people sleeping in tents because they are currently jobless. It doesn't make much sense to me that kids could be being paid for simply showing up to school. To me thats like the government saying "We'll pay you ten bucks every time you use toilet paper when going to the restroom". I used this example to put it in perspective. You might say this phrase was over the top, but if you really think about it this is essentialy the same thing. In the long run as kids grow up and are someday on their own wheither they decide to go to college or not and they start working they can appreciate their paychecks then.
Their are many ways to motivate kids to learn such as rewards as getting money, electronics, tv's ect.
Kids should NOT get paid just for coming to school because it makes them think wow life is alot easier than my parents said it was! WRONG! Life is very hard out their especially during theyes economic times its a cheap way to get money. As all kids would say yes because kids always want money but im not like that type of person I want to earn the RIGHT to earn money not the easy way thats not how its supposed to be because you will never get anywhere in life before you know it you will live in a cardboard house begging for pennies,nickles,dimes and quarters. For me I really wouldnt care if they took the money away from me because like i said you have to EARN the right to make anything in the world. Once they see its easy to get monet in school they will be lazy at their job and get fired and will never make it in life.
If I was getting paid money to get good grades and getting paid money to go to school then yes i would definately go to school more, and i would try my hardest to get better grades. I feel that school is extremly challenging to kids in our grade and lower and I feel that it is very hard to find someone in a inner city school motivation to learn when they could make money skippin g school and dealing drugs on the street so Giving students money for going to school is a great way to motivate kids to learn. The only problem with this experiment is that students ma y stop learning or coming to school after the money is taken away, but at least they learned stuff when they were in school and getting paid, so I think that the perfect way to get kids to keep going to school would to lower the amount of money the student gets for coming to school but keep paying them for coming to school.
What motivates kids to learn is that you'll get something out of it. If you were to take a test and not get anything out of it, then whats the point in taking the test? When there's something in it that you'll get out of it then there's a reason for taking the test. For example, getting to sit next to someone that you really want to is something that could motivate kids. I don't think kids should get paid for coming to school or reading books, thats saying that you should get money for crossing the street or going to bed. Something else in return would be better, something that would last longer than money. I'm not sure if I'd get better grades if I was paid money, it depends what happens; I'm not saying getting paid for silly things like that wouldn't be great, but just for showing up to school? I probably would go back to my own ways once the money object was taken away, because whats the point in taking the test if you don't get anything in return.
Giving kids money to do good at school good possibly be a bad thing or a good thing. I'm not really sure what motivates people to learn. Maybe its to get good grades and learn or maybe its to impress other people around. Some kids just don't care. I'm not really sure if kids should be payed to do good in school because in some cases its morally wrong to bribe people to do something or do good at stuff but i think that it's pretty awesome to get payed. I would totally get better grades because money is a good motivator. I would probably not continue to do good because after having been payed for a certain amount of time it would be a pain to not have that money anymore. That's pretty awesome that an average student made $532.85 a year. You could buy or save for a lot of good stuff with that money. Also I agree with what Connor said about how it would influene kids
The first question can’t be answered without creating a stereotype. For example, I am the sort of person who says that getting the A itself is the motivation. On the other hand, many students may applaud the cash method. This is a reason why teachers should not attempt to motivate their students. They would all have different reactions to the seemingly positive enforcement. Furthermore, what if the reaction was negative? A student may believe that money is a bad idea, go on strike, and therefore get lower grades. Possibly even lower than they did already. Thus, I agree with Katie S. Everyone has different minds. When people tell you that stereotyping is wrong, then why do people enforce it?
Kids should NOT be paid money for doing better in school! Paying students money is like copying an entire book report off of a notes website! It’s cheating, and it shouldn’t be done, even for experimental reasons. The money could enforce worse behavior when it is taken away, and kids’ grades will go back to normal. Additionally, with this economy, teachers can’t afford to give students with all of that money. A friend that I know works as a teacher, and her school cut $1 million worth of jobs, including hers. The four cities gave away over $6.3 million, which is an average of $1.575 million per city. That’s barely more than my friend’s school. Also, again with the economy, why should teachers waste money on their students (sorry, everyone), when they can be spending it on improvements that the schools actually need! Next, why should we be motivated for something that is already (attempted to be) enforced? Children who learn to motivate themselves, I’m sure, will do better in life! Finally, if the teachers DID pay money to students, then who knows what the students would spend it on? I know that it isn’t the school’s business what students do outside of school, but they could be enforcing negative behavior.
I would definitely not get better grades if I was paid money. I already try my best, so if I was paid money, it would make absolutely no difference to me. If I was paid money, I would try to decline it. Again, why should students be paid for something that is expected of them? Actually, if students are paid money, then it might be slightly unfair. For example, a certain student’s “best” could be a B+, whereas another student could get an A+ in every subject. The A+ student would earn more money for less the effort! For this reason, the different students should be paid differently based on what their abilities are.
Just for argument’s sake, let’s say that I DID accept the money in order to do better, and I had… different… grades than I do now. I would probably continue to do better, but since this circumstance has not occurred, and I motivate myself already, it is hard to make sure. Some kids might take advantage of the school and purposely drop their grades, but I would most likely keep trying harder.
In my opinion, what motivates kids to learn is knowing that they might get something out of it. For example, if I were being paid $50 for each A i got on my report card, I can guarantee you I would have straight A's. But since I don't get get anything out of it, it doesn't motivate me. That's just my opinion though... other kids might get motivated to learn just because they want the good grades for college or maybe just to impress their parents. Students should be paid as a reward because it would motivate them but the problem with that would be the government would be losing a lot of money. Also, parents might disagree with having their children getting paid for good grades because they know that their children can do well in school without the money. I would probably not continue to do better once the reward money was taken away because i wouldn't be motivated anymore.
I think that it is a good thing. Because if I was getting paid to get good grades then i would get all A's. But also the would relie on the money to much. They would mabey never get good grades if the stop one day. So it maybe good. But also they got to learn to not relie on the money. This may cause better grades. Also it may cause kids to et greedy.
In my opinion, one of the things that motivates kids to learn is good teaching.If you have a subject that your not so great at and the teacher doesn't seem to be helping you or making anything interesting then your not going to learn much at all. Another thing that I think motivates kids to learn is having a good teaching environment. Lets say your in a class room that has cement bricks that have no color and all there is to look at is the board. An environment like this is going to make the day seem even longer and is going to drag the kids on and on and there just going to be waiting for their time to be up. On the other hand, a room filled with posters and encouraging quotes will give the students a more comfortable feeling, like they are at a place where they are encouraged to use their brains and succeed. I do not think that paying kids as a reward for anything that has to do with school is a good thing. I agree with the parents when they say that they shouldn't be getting paid for what they should already be doing. I think its not right and that if they don't want to give effort into becoming successful in school, let them learn the hard way and let them realize that an education is everything, that its the ticket to happiness throughout their life. I certainly do not think they should be getting paid for just attending either. This shows that they simply show up for the day not putting any hard work into anything and get to go home at the end of the year with $532.85 in their pocket. I think that I would end up getting better grades for money. Not that I don't already put alot of effort into my work but I do think that money is a big encouragement since its so scarce for kids around the age of thirteen. If the money was given to me and then taken away another year I think it would let down my grades a little bit but I would still try to keep them up. I think this because to get money for grades would be a great pleasure to have but the feeling of getting a satisfying A is better.
The thing that motivates kids to learn is a goal or purpose in the end. Even if school is not your favorite thing to do or you absolutely love school you do it anyways because you want to achieve those goals and that purpose. The goals and purpose might include impressing your parents, impressing yourself, preparing to go to college, to get a job some day, to do well enough in school so that you have the chance to do what you love no matter what it is. I believe that kids should not be paid as a reward for getting better in school or even showing up. You can’t put a price on education. I think of learning and an education as a gift we are all lucky to be able to have. Without learning people wouldn’t be able to do what they do best. Can you really put a price on that? If kids get paid for going to school then that’s like saying parents should get paid for be parents, that kids should get paid for all activities as simple as doing homework and eating dinner. It’s not teacher’s jobs and other’s jobs to motivate kids like paying them. Kids should try to find their own ways to motivate themselves. Someone is not always going to be there motivating you and telling you that you should do something. If I were to get paid for better grades I know that I wouldn’t do any better than I am doing know. I know that I try my hardest and I try to always try my hardest no matter what. It wouldn’t be about the money for me it would be about the accomplishment. It would be about the true goal in the end. Go to college and then get a job. If we were given reward money then it was taken away, my grades would stay constant because no matter what, I do my best.
The thing that motivates kids to learn is satisfactory from peers, teachers and parents. I know that if a kid got a good grade on a paper and his teachers, friends and parents were publicly proud of him, he would strive to do better every time. I think that paying students money for just showing up or reading a book is stupid and useless. If a child drastically improves their GPA, then a cash reward could be an option. I would probably try to get better grades if I was getting paid to do work; depending on how much I was getting.. If the cash stopped being rewarded, I might slack off a little more, but maybe I would try a little harder.
Well i think that kids should go to school. they should not get paid. kids know do want to go and by paying them they will just get less motivated. also some kids might try to work harder to get the money. so it really depends on the kids and what the are deciding to do witht there education.
If i was paid to do school work i wouldnt want to be sick for school. it definetley motivates kids to go but im sure the us will pull something stupid and raise the cost of everything on this planet so the money we have we will have to save for a wile. Now the saying you get from your parents that your school is your work will actually make sense
What motivates kids to learn would all depend on who the child is and what motivates them. Like what Katie S said that every kid is different and what motivates them might not motivate someone else. Me personaly money does motivate me; its's also the satisfaction of earning something that I have worked hard for. Like Dana W said you can't know what motivates every kid because that would create a sterotype. One child isn't going to have the same motivation as another.
Kids should not be paid for a rewared for getting good grades or just showing up to school because then when you stop paying them, they stop coming. For most kids money is a pretty good motivation, but once you take that money away no more motivation. If you pay a child for reading a book, I personally would have a lot of money and other students I know that read more than me. But as I said once you take away the motivation the kids learn that there is no reason for them to continue if there is no reward.
I would probably work harder than I do now if I got paid, but I already have A's and B's so I don't think it would be that much motivation, I would be getting paid for things I already do with no motivation. Yeah it sure would be nice to get paid $50 for an A, but what's the use, really? If I get an average of $695.61 for good grades and then you take it away forget about me getting anymore A's. .
Well honestly if I pulled my grades up because I was being payed and then you took that away from me; I would simply say, why bother? There is no reason for me to do my work because there is no reward. No kid is that stupid, once they are getting payed and then you stop paying them forget about them pulling up their grades and respecting you more.
I think alot of different things motivate kids. Some people might like this idea and others might not. So if they were to do this, they should have a choice. If i was getting paid $50 for each A i got in classes, i would deffinetly have straight A's, but a problem with this would be that the government would loose alot of money. Or, maybe some parents want to see if their kid can do good in school without getting made. I dont think i would continue to get good grades if they took away the $50 for each A because there would be no more motivation.
What I think motivates kids too learn is too not be so hard on them for the littlest things. Also why should we go to school and then go home to do more work? Things like this dont make sense too me. Too me kids should do there homework but to me homework is pointless. If i were a kids getting paid to do my work i would definatly do it. I would have straight A's if i would get paid for my homework and wouldn't be grounded now for not doing it. If i got paid i would be at the top of my class in grades. Too me you shouldn't have to pay kids to do there work but it's so stupid.
I really cannot say what motivates kids to learn. Every child is different. For some, they don't need any motivation because they enjoy learning and some are not motivated at all. As Tia and Dana said, you can't know what motivates every kid because that would create a sterotype. I think that kids should be paid money as a reward for getting better grades and for showing uup for school. I definately think that more kids would get good grades if they knew they owuld get money from it. It would also feel nice to know that you earned the money for getting an A on a test or something like that. I don't know if my grades would improve if i was paid money because they are all ready ok. I may try a bit harder because i wouldn't mind getting some money. I know that i would continue to do well in school once the money was taken away. Again this is partially because i all ready try to do well in school without being paid. I don't think that some other kids would though.
I think getting paid for showing up at school could be good and bad. I would love to get paid and would probably work harder for money. However, I agree with what Dana said because the economy is so low, so how would people pay for this money while there are people who are unemployed? I think what motivates kids to learn is when you know you need to get good grades so you can get into college and be able to get a job after. Also seeing friends at school and extra classes that are not academics motivates you. If you don't like a certain subject or teacher you might not try hard in that subject. I would probably try my best to do well in school but maybe not as motivated to study and do homework.
Wow, this blog made me laugh. I have never heard of kids being paid to go to school, but I definitely think it would help motivate kids, especially those who do not have jobs. Right now, in eighth grade, MOST of us do not have jobs or money of our own. If we were paid to go to school I think kid’s attendance would be better, grades would improve, and attitude towards school would get better. If anything can motivate kids to go to school and try their best, it would be money. I think mostly kids should be paid for their grades because as long as you try hard to do well in a class, you will. Sadly, I think students would try much harder if money was reward for good grades. I know that even though I already try my best, I might try a little harder if I were being paid for my grades.=)Also, I am sure schools are afraid that if the money reward is eventually taken away, kids will stop trying, but I wouldn't. I think you should try your hardest always; no matter if there is a reward. I think SHEPAUG should definitely starting paying students.
I think bribing kids in school is wrong but yet somewhat ok because what will kids do when their older, ready to graduate middle school or high school? and what will they do for a job? they won't need one if the school pays them to do things they should be doing anyway. Of course we need to think of a way, but maybe a different one. Kids might start to get lazy and not do any work. I mean Ya of course you want to be paid it's nice it's just not so right for school because for the people who have real jobs like a designer for fashion or interior, or an accountent get paid for what they did in school. When most kids grow up and graduate from high school or college they might depend on that money to much or think that's their job and it's done and finnished after they graduate, I'm not trying to say all people do that, but some people might do that if the school bribes them. Another thing is why would you want to feel that you're being bribed just to do work that may not get you anywhere, for example some may not succesed in the way they wanted. For people who have jobs it's not fair too because most have worked without being paid and have had a succesful career. I 'm not trying to be mean to those who think not or who disagree, but can we just stay the way we are. If we do start getting paid then fine, but I am going to still want to have a hopefully succesful career, don't you? Im not saying you won't I bet all of you will have succesful career even if we get paid. There is also another side I do kind of agree in being if we are then fine, it's just sometimes when people hear the word bribe they don't go with it. I don't want to seem to not right or people say what?, but that's what I think.
I agree with Katie S. Students are different and need different motivation. One thing that I think motivates students is of doing well in the first place. I do not think that students should be paid money for something that is expected of them. Firstly, the school is going to lose a lot of money that could be used to make the academics better and help the students learn anyway. I also think that it is unfair to the students. If one student is doing his of her best work and still only gets a B, why should someone who does the same amount of work get more money than them? What if a student did not have good attendance because they had a serious illness? Why shouldn’t they get money even if they weren’t in school? Lastly, students can be paid for having good attendance, but how would the teacher know that they weren’t coming just for the money. I don’t think I would get better grades if I was bribed. I try hard to get good grades anyway and I don’t think bribing would help. If the money was taken away, if I was bribed, I would still continue to do well. I don’t think bribing is a good form of motivation so I wouldn’t really care if the money was taken away. I think some students would continue to do well and others would stop trying in school. In general, bribing people is a bad idea.
I agree with Katie S. Students are different and need different motivation. One thing that I think motivates students is of doing well in the first place. I do not think that students should be paid money for something that is expected of them. Firstly, the school is going to lose a lot of money that could be used to make the academics better and help the students learn anyway. I also think that it is unfair to the students. If one student is doing his of her best work and still only gets a B, why should someone who does the same amount of work get more money than them? What if a student did not have good attendance because they had a serious illness? Why shouldn’t they get money even if they weren’t in school? Lastly, students can be paid for having good attendance, but how would the teacher know that they weren’t coming just for the money. I don’t think I would get better grades if I was bribed. I try hard to get good grades anyway and I don’t think bribing would help. If the money was taken away, if I was bribed, I would still continue to do well. I don’t think bribing is a good form of motivation so I wouldn’t really care if the money was taken away. I think some students would continue to do well and others would stop trying in school. In general, bribing people is a bad idea.
if you use "bribe it does see that this is bad. but if you use pay well that seems like it is a good thing. but what i think is yes they should get payed and no they should not be bribed.
The money obviously motivates kids to learn. Who doesn't want money? I really don't think they should get paid, personally because it seems ridiculous. But that's just me. But if the school wants to waste their money on paying EVERY kid in that school, I say go for it. But to me it just seems like a waste of money. Why not use the money to buy new, better books. Don't use the money to pay the kids reading them. It just doesn't make any sense to me what so ever. I might get better grades if I was paid, but maybe not that much better. I try hard without the money because I want good grades and if i didn't get them, my mom would beat me (figurtively speaking =)) So maybe the thought of getting in trouble motivates me to get good grades.Of course I would still do my best if the money was taken away. I want good grades if i was paid or not.
What motivates one kid might not motivate another. Some are motivated to get good grades because they want to see themselves do well in school. Some kids are motivated to get good ghrades because they enjoy school and learning. And finally there are some kids who just want ot get the money. For me, I want to see myself do well in school but I definatly would not say no to getting money for doing well in school. I do not think that kids should get paid just for simply showing up at school. With that many kids would be getting paid for doing nothing. I think that to reward children for getting good grades and reading books would definatly be a good idea. This will cause kids to work harder and feel appreciated for all of the hard work that they do. This would also prepare kids for when they get jobs, you get paid for working. Also, with the $50 for A's,$35 for B's and $20 for C's thing, that is preparing kids for jobs too because if you do ok work you get paid a certain amount, if you do better, you get a raise. I think that if I got paid for getting A's,B's, or C's io would probably work the same as I am today. This is because I am getting pretty good grades now so I really dont need to do better. But, for kids who aren't doing as well or are happy with what they are doing, they definatly would get better grades if they got paid. I think I wouls try very hard to get an A on every single assignment that I handed in if I was getting paid though. I would continue to do better once the reward money was taken away because if I know that I can do it, why stop? I should do it for myself even if I wasn't getting a money reward.
Everyone is different...especially teenagers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mostly boys would like money as a reward for something, but girls could like it too. I think kids should be paid money just because I think it's fair. Teachers get paid to come to school, right? I would most likely get better grades if I know I was paid for doing well. If I had gotten paid a low amount, I would probably continue to do as well. If I got paid a high amount, I wouldn't do as well as I had with money being rewarded to me. I think kids should be paid for going to school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well… I will answer the first question the only way I know how and that would be to tell you what motivates me to do the best I can in school. I can’t tell you why other kids do well it could be that their parents make them or some just don’t get motivated at all. I know that whenever I think of school I think of doing my absolute best and nothing less. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t think this way…. I guess it was drilled into my mind from the time I started kindergarten. I’ve always wanted to be smart enough to do things for myself. This is part of why I love school so much the challenges and rewards that come with make me stronger. My parents always encouraged me to do my best (and my good grades don’t go un-rewarded EVER). Another thing that keeps me motivated would be the fact that I am without a doubt SUPER hard on myself. I hate getting a bad grade or doing something wrong it makes me feel stupid like I’m a failure. Now this may not be the best thing in the world… actually more often than not it makes me stressed and compulsive. Really my parents do want me to do well they really wouldn’t tolerate it if I got a bad grade but I am really the worst critic… because of the way I feel about doing well I force myself to stay up till maybe 2 in the morning to finish a report. I feel like if it’s not perfect than I’m not putting my name on it which leads to be redoing the whole thing. My motivation to learn really comes from my deepest fear of failure.
Really I am on the fence about this but something is telling me this is WRONG. Part of me says that learning, reading, and getting good grades is fun and rewarding… but the other part of me says I wouldn’t mind getting some extra cash for doing things that I already should be doing. In my mind really I think that more kids would get in to school if they were getting paid… however that doesn’t mean that the classes should stay the same. Part of the issue I have with this is that if kids just don’t do well in school it’s not fair to them that if they can’t raise their grades they won’t get paid. I feel that if schools were to pay their students they need to adjust and make classes more fun so that kids will want to go to class even if they aren’t getting paid. I think that while it is a nice idea it’s lacking some things…. Like what if you just can’t understand something and you’re getting paid to get a B- then some genius kid understands the subject completely and gets $100 for their A…. Does this seem fair? Not really. The money incentive is great and all but there are some major kinks that need to be worked out! So for right now I feel like we should try our hardest because it’s the right thing to do and that the incentive system needs to be revised before it gets used in schools permanently. Also if we did this imagine how greedy our world would become. Like if you pay kids you are enforcing a very terrible habit. Do we really want to tell our kids that money is the solution to everything? No we don’t want them to think that. Our world is currency reliant enough the last thing we need is to teach this idea to every kid that goes to school. I am now off the fence and joining those who are opposed to this idea of paying kids.
Now if I really right now I am A and B student… so yeah I probably would keep working hard to get paid like really I could use the extra cash… college is only a few years away! To answer this question for a different point of view let’s say I am a proud straight D student and was told that I would be paid for getting A’s, B’s, and C’s but ONLY on a temporary program. I would probably tell myself maybe I’ll work a little harder… but really like its only temporary WHO CARES!! I would maybe get a few C’s and say my jobs is done then go back to my old ways of slacking off on Tuesday night watching American Idol instead of doing my homework. This might motivate some kids to the point where they figure maybe I’ll hand in some homework but I highly doubt that you would see these kids cramming before a test. It’s hard to quite cold turkey and most kids who don’t care about school really wouldn’t want to put in the effort no matter the reward. So if you were asking me as I am today I would yeah I would work hard to get good grades but not just for the money.
Honestly… if I were a slacker and was told that I wouldn’t be getting an incentive for doing well anymore I would go straight back to my social networking sites, video games, television, and music. No kid that HATES school would want to keep doing it after they lost the only thing that keep them intent enough to hand in a few homework assignments and attending school everyday instead of 4 out of 5 days a week. Since I’m not too thrilled with the idea of paying students and I work hard without the incentive I truthfully think that it shouldn’t matter whether you are being paid or not. Really I can’t see any reason why people wouldn’t go back to the way they were before they got paid. Also another reason why it’s a bad idea to pay kids is that I’m sure many colleges would be thrilled to see that a child had to be paid to work… I mean really what college would put up with this?!?! I know for a fact that everyone would go back to their past ways once the cash was taken away because it’s simple human nature. We kiss the hand that pays us and bite the hand that doesn’t. So really the only kids that would consistently keep those shiny black A’s on their report cards would be the kids that don’t need the incentive to keep their head in the game.
To conclude the incentive system is a bad idea. While the perks are appealing the idea of it lasting long is about as strong as a glass after dropping a 50 pound weight on top of it…. Not too good. So really I think the only way to really get kids interested in school is to find a way to make classes interesting. So I say ‘nay’ to the idea of encouraging kids to get greedy and ‘yay’ to the idea of promoting lifelong learning! After all what idiot confused the idea of wanting a good education with wanting more money? Not me!
I think that kids are all motivated differently. Some people just like the A+ grade while others need bribes. I know that if most people was offered 50 dollars for every A they got, their report cards would show positive results. The feeling of accomplishment can be a reward, but I know many people who don't think so.
I defiantly think that no one should be given money for obeying the law. No one deserves 100$ for going to school for a week. I agree with Cameron when he gave that example. Would you want to know that the only reason that you passed 8th grade was because you got 100$ every two weeks for showing up? Bribes would defiantly help grades, attendance and attitude, but it doesn't make it right.
I think that my grades would probably stay the same, with a slight increase. I know that I don't get motivated very easily, and money isn't a big thing for me. I have to admit that I wouldn't be so opposed to being paid to going to school, but it wouldn't effect my behavior or attitude.
Many things can motivate a child to learn. Over all though it depend on the child. One student may have the goal to get a good education, but another may not care about that at all. One person may want to get further in life, and another may just want to get by. It depends on what a person wants, it can be up to them. PersonallyI think it would be awesome to get paid to go to school, read books, or get good grades, but I don't think it is right. Children work hard to get good jobs, and then they get paid. I would get better grades by far if I was paid for my grades and then eventually I would get a good job with a great pay. Everything would be fine, except for one thing, I probably would not have done it for anything but the money. It's not good to depend on money so much in a persons life, although we may have to at times, at a young age things could get bad. If one person tries really hard to get good grades, but they don't then they might get jealous of people who get really good grade and get more money. If money was taken away, I would probably not go as great as I even did in the first place, without that motivation, things wouldn't go as good in school.
I think every kid has a different motivation to learn because every kid is different. Some kids might have different ways of getting themselves motivated so i don't think there is a right or wrong answer. I think kids should be paid money if they get good grades in school because maybe the kids that don't want to try will think if they try hard and do well they will get something for it. I would try to get better grades if they paid me. I would especially try to get A's and B's because in my eyes a C is not that good. Im not sure if i would continue to do as well because i would lose the motivation to earn money for doing well. So I don't think i would keep up the good work.
I think money does moivate kids to read but at the same time i think the kids should want to learn . Then again if it is raiseing test scores and they arnt rushing then i guess it isnt a bad idea.
1. Today, it is hard to motivate kids to learn because school is not always as important as it should be to them because of either learning problems or their home situation.
2. Kids should not be paid money as a reward to read books, get good grades or show up at school because these things are all part of a kid’s responsibilities. Also, this will not prepare them for the responsibilities they will face as an adult.
3. No because the work at school would not change nor would the amount of work change.
4. The money would not change my grades one way or another.
I think that money will highly motivate students but students and kids need to learn how to do work without being paid, befroe they should get paid. Kids need to learn how to prove themselves in the real work business before they actually get paid. i personally would love to get paid in school fro good grades, i mean give me a thousand dollars a year and i will promise you that i will get staright A's. but i think that it just deosn't sound right for schools to be paying kids. In bigger cities they might have a better reason to test this out becuase in big cities a lot of kids do not go to school and they are on the streets selling crack and what not . So for big cities i think it would be a better idea. But i still kind of think that it is preety lame that kids in the small towns and kids that come from rich families should be getting paid money just to come for school. bottom line is that i think that kids in big cities where there are many kids selling drugs during school hours and where there is poverty maybe should be paid, but where there are small towns and even big towns where the city is very rich and where the kids come from very rich familes i do not think that they should get paid.
Every child is different, as are their motivations to learn. For some children, the A itself is a prize for their hard work. Other children, though, feel that they need something in return. I don’t think that children should be paid for doing things that they should already be trying to do anyway. I reward for getting a good grade on a test or in a class is no problem at all, but being paid for simply showing up at school or having good behavior seems odd to me. But, the honest truth is that many students WOULD get much better grades if they got paid for getting them, considering some students don’t feel accomplished with just the good grade itself. I think that if the reward money were taken away after the students got accustomed to earning it for the simplest of things, they would have no motivation to get good grades or behave in school anymore.
I think that it is hard to motivate kids. If kid were given money to succeed I believe they would be motivated. If I was given money I would do the same. I say this because I already get pretty good grades. I wouldn't say that that schools were "Bribing" student there just giving rewards in the end. I don't believe kids should be paid for simply for showing up at school because that something you just simply have to do. Being paid to show up is a little too much. I don't think it’s necessary. I can say that I would continue to get good grades when money was taken away. Also, that is just me but, I believe other kids won’t be the same as me. There is also not enough money to do this in most schools in this tough economic time so this wouldn’t be a reality for most schools. That is what I think of the subject.
First of all, I'm extremely jealous at the kids that got paid for their grades and the ones for going to school. I think that money is pretty much the only incentive to make kids learn. Who wouldn't want a couple extra bucks for doing what they normally do. I think kids should definitely be paid for going to school and getting good grades. I know I would get better grades if I got paid. If the money stopped coming, I wouldn't do worse because it's like losing something you weren't supposed to have and in the long run, bad grades only hurt you.
I think that what motivates kids to learn is different for every single person. Someone who’s into sports for example, would probably be motivated by new baseball shoes or something like that where as a kid into music would be motivated by new CD’s or instruments. It all depends on the type of kid and what they are into. Yes I think that paying students money to get better grades, attending school, and reading is a very good idea. I know that a lot of people have contradicted this saying that kids shouldn’t be paid to learn and even some kids have said that. In my opinion it doesn’t matter what type of kid they are or what they initially believe in, if they are offered money to get an A on a test, they will strive to get that A because kids are kids and will go for the money. Yes honestly I think I would do better because money is shown to motivated people no matter what. For example if you had been getting C’s in a class say science and a big test was coming up and the teachers tells the class that anyone who gets an A will get $100. You would be up every single night studying for that test because lets face it, who wouldn’t like to get $100? I personally would still do better if the money were taken away because that’s just how I am. I know that I need to do well in school to be able to attend the college I want and have the career that I want. But other kids might not keep up the work because they wouldn’t be motivated anymore and they would just slack off. But all in all, I think this whole idea of playing kids for high achievements is a very good idea and would improve schools greatly.
Different things motivate different kids, like what Clara W said, but I know cash really does motivate people to do stuff. Let me put it this way, let’s say you need to clean your room. Usually the person would yah, yah their parents and procrastinate. If a little dough is added, the kid would run up and clean his room, guaranteed. I think kids should be paid for good grades and attending school because the studies prove paying kids equal better scores. Like in Dallas, 1,780 second-graders from 22 schools were paid for reading books, and the results showed that paying kids to read dramatically boosted reading comprehension scores. So this evidence proves paying kids is the right way to go. If I was paid $50 for an A on a test, I honestly would try harder, and come on, you have to admit it! I would study 10 more minutes, but I don’t think I would go crazy. If the money privilege was taken away, I would still try my hardest because my parents want me to have good grades and keep them. They would not like an A+ in science, and then it would drop to a B. They would kill me. So overall, the money idea is a good idea to do.
P.S. Mr. Wagner, you should consider paying us!
I agree with Katie S when she said that because each person is different, their motivations are different. But I do think that money is a motivation that most people wouldn't object to. I think that kids should be payed money for doing better in school. The results show that kids did better in school when they were payed. But I also think that the motivation may go away. For example, when I was younger, my mom would pay me 5 dollars to paint her nails. For a while, her nails where painted 24/7 for around 2 months. But I started to slack off and the motivation disappeared. I think that if we were payed for A's, B's, and C's, I would get better grades and probably study for a longer amount of time. I might continue to do better after the money reward was taken away, but I might not too. It's hard to tell what I would do until this happened at our school.
I think that students can be motivated to learn in many ways. If they know they are getting paid, then most likely they will be motivated. Other times it can just be a goal they set. Maybe they want to earn a good grade just for the sake of having that 'A' on the paper.
I don't think kids should be rewarded with money for reading books or improving grades. If there is a student who reads twice as many books as another student, or just naturally gets good grades, it is clearly unfair. Although, just showing up to school is not that hard of a task. It doesn't ask much of any student (if riding a bus is an option). Plus it is fair to every student who can accomplish getting to school. It is a simple and easy thing that doesn't ask much of students. So yes, it shouldn't be out of the question that students could be paid for attendance.
Typically, my grades are all either A's or B's so I wouldn't mind, and it would be a plus that I would be getting money. For each subject, I have the same work ethic which gets me an A or B, it's simple to me. The only thing is I just feel that it would be unfair to the kids who try super hard for at least a C.
I would remain doing good in school even if the money wasn't coming for good grades each time. But I do think some kids might start slacking after the money wasn't coming anymore.
In this article, money motivates kids to learn. Obviously if there bribed with money their going to do better. No, kids should not get paid to go to school. If they want good grades to get into a good school they need to earn the grades, not be paid to get the grades. No, it wouldn't change my grades bacause I try my hardest already. And money wouldn't chnage that because I am already motivated to get good grades. Yes, defiantly, I would still do my best because I care about my grades. And money wouldn't change that.
I honestly think that that’s the worst idea schools would possibly come up with. Bribing kids to have good grades morally wrong and the teachers know it. I think it would help just little for me, but it won’t do any thing for long. Kids get motivated from all the wrong reasons. My parents are already doing this and nothing is really happening because I have I’m still failing some classes.
I think bribing kids with money to make them do better is a bad idea. Also it is not fair to the kids who don’t get money for good grades. That makes them want to try even less. I think this because, they think that someone is getting more than them. It is a kid’s job to go to school and get good grades. They should not have to be bribed. When the kids stop getting paid to get good grades they will stop trying and then they will get worse grades then when they started. This should only happen if all the students across the country are getting the same thing. This will also look bad for the country. People in other parts of the world will look at us and think wow they have to pay their kids to go to school. A long time ago people would have done anything to go to school and get an education. Now we have to pay kids to go to school. That’s not good at all. I’m not getting paid to do this blog but everyone did it because they know they have to.
Personally, what I believe motivates kids to do well in school is the satisfaction of an A on a report card, or getting a “high honors” status. For others, knowing that they’re getting some sort of reward or money could motivate them. Some students set positive goals, and when they reach them, they feel much better about themselves; possibly, that’s what motivates them. For me, it’s having those good grades printed on the ink of the report card or test. Honestly, it really depends on the type of kid and what their situation is.
I have mixed feelings on whether children should be paid for getting good grades. Some students have to work very hard to get As and Bs, while for other students, it may come easily. It wouldn’t be fair to the students that have to work harder, but it would also motivate both of the groups of students to do better. I don’t think that kids should be paid for reading books. There are different types of people; various are bookworms who always have their noses tucked into a book, while others just don’t like reading. Therefore, I don’t think it would be fair to those who don’t enjoy reading if students were paid to read books. It may encourage them to read more, but there is no guarantee that they’re going to read further. I don’t believe that someone should eliminate reading as a whole; I believe that they should read a book at least once a month, or even less, but you can’t force people who don’t like it to read to read. Books should be read for pleasure, not money. If bus transportation is available, it’s not that difficult for a student to get to school. Knowing that they’re getting paid would probably make students get out of bed with a little bit more ease. Overall, I think students getting paid would go over well, but in some lights, I see it as unfair.
Typically, I don’t get any grades below a C. My parents say that the only person putting pressure on me is myself, but I know they want/expect me to get As and Bs. I have a type of attitude and work ethic that gets me good grades already. I set high standards for myself, and it isn’t money dangling over my nose that’s making me want to get high grades. When I do poorly on a test or assignment, and when I miss a homework assignment, (like this one, and I apologize for that… I’m really sorry.) I become upset with myself, and try to work harder. Although, if money was being given, I would probably strive a little bit higher, and there would be a bit of an increase in my grades.
If money wasn’t paid, or taken away, my grades wouldn’t change that much, if they change at all. I’d continue to strive and work hard, because if I get anything below a B, it upsets me. Money doesn’t keep me motivated, having the classification as a good student does.
Overall, I think that money would improve school’s scores and attendance, but in some cases, once the money is taken away, the students would go back to where they started, leaving no improvement.
1. I think what motivates kids to do well in school is the pride and satisfaction of getting an A on your report card. When you look at your grades and realize that you did really well you feel better about yourself.
2. Overall I do not think that kids should be paid for getting better grades in school or reading books or showing up at school. What's going to happen when the kids no longer are paid? It would be so easy for them to go on strike and not go to school or care about their grades because they are no longer being paid. I think that it will make children more greedy for money if they are paid.
3. Of course i would get better grades!! If i was paid to do well than i would work harder and put more effort into what i do.
4. Personally, i probibly would continue to work hard becuase grades are pretty important to me. Overall i dont really think everyone would though. I think they would slack off once they stopped recieving the money
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