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1. Comment by chris m on 16 September 2008 at 1:35 pm:

   Ridiculous. What about the teachers who are going to be pressured into inflating grades to help out poor families in need of some extra cash? This is beyond stupid.

2. Comment by Anonymous on 16 September 2008 at 2:36 pm:

   So even if this greatly improved education quality, you wouldn’t support it out of principle?

3. Comment by Segen on 16 September 2008 at 3:12 pm:

   Katie,

   You mention a savings-plan for the cash earned for good grades, but you stated in the beginning that the students receive half of their cash each semester and the other half after graduation. That sounds to me like a savings plan.

   Secondly, cash-for-grades is not a new thing. Didn’t your parents ever offer you money or a trip to the ice-cream shop for every A you earned? That sounds like a financial incentive if I ever heard of one. School-based cash-for-grades might give kids whose parents don’t/can’t provide them with incentives other than “learning is good for you” the opportunities other students have.

   I’m not totally convinced cash-for-grades is a bad thing.

4. Comment by Katie on 16 September 2008 at 3:14 pm:

   I don’t think this could possibly improve educational quality. The only way the program could work is if CPS could decrease the student to teacher ratio and provide more individualized lesson plans. Providing a cash incentive without dealing with the issues that cause kids to fail in the first place will not help anyone in the long run. Kids will be receiving the same education as before and will continue to fail for the same reasons. The only difference is that now they will feel even more inadequate because their friends will be getting paid.

5. Comment by Katie on 16 September 2008 at 3:19 pm:

   Segen-

   Part of the reason that I am hostile to this plan, and possibly part of the reason I’ve been academically successful, is that my parents refused to reward good grades. It was always their philosophy that earning good grades should bring personal satisfaction. That approach may not have worked for every kid, but it did for me.

   I probably should have qualified my savings plan proposal with, “If CPS is intent on initiating an incentive-based program…” I don’t think it’s a good idea, and I think that there are much better uses for the millions it will cost, but if the money is already ear-marked and if private donors want their money spent in this way, I think it should all go into savings, hopefully college savings.

6. Comment by Anonymous on 16 September 2008 at 3:44 pm:

   This program would work much, much better, or at least make me feel better, if this money went into accounts that could be used solely toward college tuition.

7. Comment by Segen on 16 September 2008 at 3:53 pm:

   We need to better educate students in Chicago.

   What difference does it matter (to some extent) *how* this is achieved?

   For you, you are intrinsically motivated to excel in school. For another kid, he’s only going to class because the law forces him to. Another yet might be motivated by $50 bucks, the allure of a car when he turns 16, an ipod, an ice-cream cone, you name it. Who knows what the reasons kids turn up to school and learn are. If a bit of cash is all it takes to boost a student’s interest and perhaps success in a subject, why not go for it?

   Let’s give this idea a chance (since you mentioned it was privately financed anyway, correct?) and see what sort of results come out of it.

   There’s been a lot of focus on teachers when we talk about improving education…but why not focus on the students, too?

8. Comment by Katie on 16 September 2008 at 4:45 pm:

   Segen- There’s a big difference between giving kids an incentive to learn and giving them better opportunities to learn. CPS needs to focus on the latter.

   Anonymous- it would be great to see this money finance further education, but college is not for everyone.

9. Comment by tet on 16 September 2008 at 5:08 pm:

   If it’s privately financed, I think it has some possibility of working. I love the idea.

   See, high school is so ridiculously useless to the majority of students that anyone with any freaking brains at all knows it’s a game. This money would at least give the kids something to do with their time that will give them actual results.

   Considering the horrific conditions of some families with students that excel and the pitiful amount of learning that is actually available to students, I figure failure is mainly due to disinterest. It’s not like the schools are rigorous like they were even forty years ago.

   Katie, I’m sorry your parents didn’t give you any money. If you like, I’ll send you a great big cookie. You should not punish others because you were denied something.

   Tom

10. Comment by Brandon Ruiz on 16 September 2008 at 5:15 pm:

    Tom,

    My parents didn’t give me money either. Can I get a cookie too?

11. Comment by Katie on 16 September 2008 at 7:24 pm:

    Tom-

    I’m not punishing anyone, and I don’t feel like I was denied anything, so keep your cookie.

    I don’t think monetary incentives will make school or learning more interesting to high school kids. I think it will give them an incentive to do what it takes to get a C, and in many cases, “what it takes” translates to cheating. Plenty of cheating went on in my high school and that was without any monetary incentive at all.

    While a lot of kids fail because they’re disinterested, I think just as many fail because of other factors- undiagnosed learning disabilities, ineptitude in English, distractions at home, etc. There just aren’t enough teachers or resources to address these problems, and any extra C-flow should be directed toward improving these areas first.

12. Comment by kofi the i would also like a cookie on 16 September 2008 at 8:30 pm:

    Arent we already giving every student money? How many thousands of dollars are we setting on fire every year we attempt to give these students an education? If the opportunity to receive an education and be successful in life isnt enough of an incentive, maybe we do need an additional catalyst. But rather than a reward system, maybe we should implement a punishment system. Get an A or a B? Great job. You didnt waste tax payer money or drag your classmates down with your bullshit. Get a poor grade? Have a poor attendance rate? Never do your homework? That’s a fining. Maybe if we started making these students fiscally responsible for the opportunity they are squandering they would start appreciating the investment we are making.

13. Comment by kofi the anonymous. You dont know who I am? Im rich, bitch! on 16 September 2008 at 8:41 pm:

    I second thought I completely and whole heartedly support this idea. Students should be rewarded for doing what they are supposed to do anyway. It should be applied to all aspects of life. Not speeding ever? (A) $50 every six months. Speeding only occasionally? (B) $35 every six months. Speeding but never getting caught? (C) $20 every six months. Didnt kill anybody this year? A+! I didnt rob any liquor stores last year. What is that worth? There are probably hundreds of ways that I conformed with normal societal expectations. I am going to be rich as a motherfucker! Move over Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfield and your Get Connected commercial. Make way for kofi and his I Wiped My Ass Today And The Nannystate Gave Me A Dollar campaign.

14. Comment by tet on 16 September 2008 at 10:16 pm:

    Not the Nannystate, Kofi. The money comes from private individuals.

    This makes it much better. If it was another government program, I’d be against it.

    Tom

15. Comment by Katie on 16 September 2008 at 10:51 pm:

    Only $2 million is from private donations. $15 million is grant money.

    The pilot program is being tested at 20 schools. If CPS decides to expand the program, it will undoubtedly be on the backs of tax-payers.

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