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Jackie
Veteran Poster
Username: Jackie
Post Number: 594
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 11:11 pm: | 
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Ga. schools to pay students to study
By ERRIN HAINES, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 24, 7:19 PM ET
FAIRBURN, Ga. - Learning is supposed to be its own reward, but when that doesn't work, should students get paid to do it?
That's the question two Georgia schools are asking in a 15-week pilot program that is paying high-schoolers struggling in math and science $8 an hour to attend study hall for four hours a week.
The privately funded "Learn & Earn" initiative, an idea from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is touted as the first of its kind in the state and one of a few similar programs nationwide.
"We want to try something new," said Jackie Cushman, Gingrich's daughter and co-founder of the group funding the initiative. "We're trying to figure out what works. Is it the answer? No. Is it a possible idea that might work? Yes."
Forty students at Bear Creek Middle School and Creekside High School, both in the Atlanta suburb of Fairburn, began participating in the program Tuesday. The eighth- and 11th-graders chosen had to be underperforming in math and science, and many are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches.
The hope is that the bribes will boost students' motivation to learn, attend class and get better grades.
Aside from the hourly wage, eighth-graders will get a $75 bonus, and 11th-graders $125, if they improve their math and science grades to a B and achieve certain test scores. For the older kids, that adds up to $605 for a semester of studying.
Cushman said the initiative is aimed at math and science because many student struggle in those subjects even if they excel in others.
The offer could help poor students who need the money and otherwise might choose a minimum-wage job over studying, said Jerome Morris, an associate professor at the University of Georgia's College of Education. He also noted that parents who have the means to reward their children for performing well in school have done so for decades.
"Poor families just can't do that," Morris said. "They have to tell their children, 'You have to go to school just to learn.'"
The director of a private center aimed at improving motivation, however, said plying kids with cash is a desperate move by school officials.
"They have not figured out a way to self-motivate these kids," said Peter A. Spevak, director of the Center for Applied Motivation in Washington, D.C. "What really drives a person is the desire to do well and the good feeling you have after doing your best every day."
Paying children to learn may work in the short term, but before long, the luster could wear off and they may look to up the ante, Spevak said. Ultimately, it could become a losing game.
"When you take the money away, assuming it has been effective, people sometimes get angry or disillusioned," he said. "They may start to wonder where the next prize is coming from."
The $60,000 initiative is being funded by Atlanta businessman Charles Loudermilk, founder of Aaron Rents, through the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit that funds innovative education programs and was founded by Gingrich's daughters.
Alexis Yarger, one of the Fairburn program's participants, is eager to try anything to improve her grades.
The 16-year-old Creekside junior plans to attend Spelman College, and says that although she's doing OK in science, "Math is not my best."
Yarger, who has a part-time job at Burger King, said she was interested in the program even before she heard about the financial incentives. She would have taken part even without the money, she said, but her father said the cash doesn't hurt.
"It's a good motivational tactic," Anthony Yarger said. "Whether it's a dollar or a candy bar, if it's helpful, I support it."
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 11297
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 12:14 am: |
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Can you buy aptitude???  |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9836
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 12:42 am: |
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Jackie,
I am suspicious of whether this will work. But considering how MUCH we're spending as a consequence of foks NOT learning (e.g., law enforcement, prison, social services, etc), this is worth a try. |
Jackie
Veteran Poster
Username: Jackie
Post Number: 595
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 01:04 am: |
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Lol @ Cynique. ABM you make an interesting point, but what happens when the funding is over/cut/depleted? Will students no longer want to make an effort to improve without a monetary reward ? But I guess it is worth a try. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 9840
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 01:11 am: |
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Jackie,
Well. We adjust. Take up some of the slack when/where we can. Survive what we don't have.
I think, at best, these educational stipends can only be catalyst to inspire others to try a little harder. And if there are some positive results there might be more incentive for governments, businesses, foundations, etc. to continue to support and fund them.
And, really, we're spending +$40,000 per year per convict. It's much more expensive to arrest, try and lock up someone than it is to pay a few extra bucks to educate him-her. |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2590
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 09:50 am: |
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Really, many parents who can afford it do similar things with their kids. But in that case, the $/other rewards are tied to results (i.e., grades, SAT scores, college graduation, etc). It is great that this program also is tied to outcomes as opposed to merely effort.
I understand the feelings about the need for self-motivation and fears about what will happen if the $ is no longer given. And there is psychological research to suggest that extrinsic rewards can result in poorer outcomes than intrinsic ones.
However, I find it strange that the same energy is not applied to middle class and wealthy parents who do similar things with their own kids.
IMO folks need to let this man/his family do what they want with their money in an effort to solve a difficult problem. This is no skin off taxpayers' teeth, afterall.
I do wonder what will be going on in these "study halls." Hopefully tutoring and other supports will be involved, not just kids sitting in a room expected to hit the books on their own. (That was what study hall was in my day!) Even better: include in the program vouchers that kids can use at test prep and private tutoring companies. A lot of school success depends on things that are not content-specific like making eye contact with the teacher, sitting in the front of the class, being able to organize your school assignments, ability to concentrate on a task for extended times despite lack of (immediate) success, etc. Tutors and prep programs are increasingly focussing on these types of skills. |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2591
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 09:54 am: |
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BTW, the "learning is its own reward" has not been a viable notion for some time now. Even in the most elite college environments, students do serious cost-benefit analyses to decide which courses to take, majors to enroll in, etc. So again, why should low-income middle and high school students be expected to conform to some ideal that everyone else seems to have abandonned?
P.S. I am by no means a fan of Gingrich, but if it works I don;t care who came up with the idea... |
Robynmarie
Veteran Poster
Username: Robynmarie
Post Number: 648
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 12:03 pm: |
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Hey Jackie-what's crackin' gurl? Haven't seen you around these parts lately. I am still trying to hook up with DP, but I fear I have been lagging. I am on leave from work, so I will try and catch up.
Holla. |
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