Paychecks for students?

[campmulli]

What an outstanding idea when you think about it, our children have a job until they graduate high school and that is to gain knowledge through an education. They are to attend classes for up to 8 hours a day and then they have work to take home with them most nights also, so why not pay them for their hard work.

We push our children to be all they can be and then some and take away their childhoods. I love this idea because it is a reward for their commitment to hard work and their focus to their education, well read the article for yourself.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25140873/

 

I reread the article again and it reminds me of a time when kids were rewarded for bringing in soup lables, box tops, and for getting a 100% on the Friday spelling test. I remember how it made me work harder and I still have that mentality today, so for a psychologist to say it will not last makes me wonder why? I still take soup lables to the local food pantry and I still cut box tops for the neighbor kids to take to school and I recycle ink cartridges for organizations knowing that they all will earn a "paycheck" of sorts in the end. Why not participate and know you have helped others in the process? Maybe if the kids were taught to take their paychecks and put 10% to charity, 10% to savings and then spend the other 80% on bills and prizes might be a great way to start with a young group of kids in teaching how to best manage their money. Something to think about don't you think?

[Amanda6]

Jun. 22, 2008 at 10:31 PM Absolutely!

[strongmom40]

Jun. 22, 2008 at 10:35 PM

Limited studies
Studies into the effects of school-based rewards programs are limited. But research by an independent think tank at Stanford University indicated they can raise scores. A separate study examining schools in Ohio that paid kids for passing state tests also showed score gains after the incentive program was enacted.

Today, money is more likely to be the prize offered than in the past, and it also is more likely to be tied to test scores.

Testing has gained immense importance under the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, which imposes increasingly stiff penalties on schools that fail to hit annual testing goals.

It is ALL about test scores & MONEY for the SCHOOL, it has nothing to do with what is best for the kids future as far as being responsable !!! I disagree with the idea. No one should EVER been taught your self-esteem & education has a price tag. Materialism is a dangerous thing. The best part about being a kid is to not have financial worries, there is plenty of time for that later in life. I feel sorry for low income kids, but a low income household can still have morals & values with the proper parents. Life isn't really about money, it can NOT buy happiness, health or emotional stability. This program teaches that it can & gives kids the wrong idea about basic life rewards, which can only come from living with good character & proper stewardship toward the proper principals in life.

I left a big house, a drunk & a very wealthy SICK family, getting my son out of there & into a low income existence is one of the best gifts I ever gave him other than life itself !!!! Money can come & money can go, it is the solid things in life that leave an impression. I think this is a BAD idea, but I am not surprised that public schools have stooped to such a level for a dang test score. I want to see stats on retention of knowledge levels months after the test with another test with NO reward of cash. I feel the psychologist is correct.

[campmulli]

Jun. 22, 2008 at 10:51 PM The article was about rewarding or paying the kids for a hard weeks work, not about paying the schools for test scores. It is about behavior and homework, and plain hard work and I feel that if you give the kids the incentive, not the school administrators, you will see a huge change in todays society. I really can see how this would help them be more prepared for the real world and not giving them real money, rather money they can only spend in the school store (such as the article described) and teaching the students to use a check book, tithe, save, and then be responsible for paying bills and spending wisely. I see a huge advantage to this!

(Original Poster)

[strongmom40]

Jun. 23, 2008 at 12:06 AM Did you read page two? It is ALL about money !!!! Schools loose federal funding when scores are low. Are you familiar with the no child left behind act legislation? That needs a long overdue overhaul !!! There are such things called parents. We can't expect the schools to be in charge of everything. If the community the school is in is in financial trouble, take some of those LARGE funds mentioned on page two & build pro-active financial programs within the community that will benefit EVERYONE in the said community to rise up out of poverty & not just buy a per student yearly test score. The idea isn't even logical, not to mention a waste of taxpayers money to get more taxpayer money !!! It is a vicious money circle. I am all for a pizza party & dressing down day in jeans. The ideas as such have always helped a child's self esteem & self-esteem will carry one through life. Learning is a life long process, one is never too old to learn. Just because some households have crappy parents does not mean it is the good parents responsibility to tote the note for a TEST SCORE for a school district to get federal money !!! No one is gonna pay a child to go through college, it is the other way around, you pay TO go to college. Imagine if they are paid all the way through their secondary education to find out the tables turn after the 12th grade. What a shock !!! They can still shop in a school store with points. You don't get little kids talking & worrying about money in an urban low income neighborhood with parents strapped to the bone. Why do you think there are so many young people moving dope around in those neighborhoods & self medicating? It is ALL about money & a good education should never be about money, it is about knowledge & self worth !!! & all this talk about MONEY is a far too mature a subject for kids elementary through Jr High. Some things are not for a child's ears.They need to be focused on the basics like education, good hygiene, nutrition & exercise. All of which include personal responsibility & one is never paid for these things their whole life. There is plenty of time LATER to try & plan an attack on the always never ending money tree ups & downs. Why rush it? Childhood in comparison to the big picture is a very short time in life, let them enjoy being kids but for a brief moment. The society in a low income area does not need the pressure of the kids at school going home & informing their parents that they must have not done anything in school good because they have no money in their house or lives. There will be more abuse cases on the rise over a stupid TEST SCORE. Don't buy into this. It is on many levels a psychologically unsound theory. You don't teach kids life & all that is in it is about money, a good parent teaches them the opposite. You go to school to learn. " Why mommy? " To exercise your brain to keep it alive & make you smart so that when the time comes you will have the foundation to make good decisions. The things you learn is your reward, knowledge is the big pay off, not MONEY !!!