Blog Entry #10

Blog #10

There are several schools that are promoting the idea of "cash for grades." In this system, children who get good grades will be given money from the school.

Discuss what you believe to be some of the negative and positive aspects of this policy.

You must respond to at least two of your classmates for this blog.

 

The negative aspect of cash for grades would have to be that the children may just be getting good grades for the money and not actually learning or could even just have someone else do it for them so they can get money. While bribing children to do good in school also can be a positive thing. They will have a reason to make good grades and won’t just say “forget it” and wind up failing all their classes. It used to be that earning an "A" was enough of a reward for doing well in school. Today, in an effort to boost achievement, some schools give students (especially those at risk for low achievement) gift cards or high-tech gadgets. And in a surprising trend, some are rewarding students with cash. Public schools across the country are experimenting with incentive programs. In urban districts and rural outposts, some schools reward students who earn higher test scores and grades. Rewarding students' efforts and achievement with gold stars and token prizes is, of course, nothing new. Paying them in cash is another matter. What's the short-term impact of these cash-incentive programs on student motivation, grades and test scores? Will this approach engage students in learning for the long haul? In my junior high school years we were given Wii’s, game cubes, etc.  for our good grades. And it wasn’t until know that I have actually thought about this happening in my life but knowing it did puts new thoughts in my mind. I believe that it just depends on how you go about doing the cash or electronics for good grades that will determine if it is positive or negative.