Thursday, January 24, 2008

Another really, really bad idea

Once upon a time, getting an education was considered a privilege. Then is was a right. Now it is a paying job. I wonder who is paying for this wonderful little experiment?


Georgia After-School Program Will Pay Students to Study

The program, called "Learn & Earn," is being offered to 40 students from Creekside High and Bear Creek Middle schools in Fairburn. The program will give students $8 an hour to study after school.

The privately funded program also will offer cash bonuses to students who improve their in-school performance.



This reminds me of the book Punished by Rewards which argues that rewards undermine motivation and kill the love of learning.

I'm outraged that entitlement thinking has brought us to this. Why don't they teach children that learning is its own reward and that they should pay their own way?

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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education

2 comments:

Ahermitt said...

Hey this is in my neck of the woods!

If this were available when I was in highschool, I wouldn't have gotten an after school job. I wouldn't have had work experience that helped me show I was experienced for other jobs and to give me the edge I needed to get into college.

As they say... give a man a fish...

Janine Cate said...

>I wouldn't have had work experience that helped me show I was experienced for other jobs and to give me the edge I needed to get into college.

Good point.

>As they say... give a man a fish...

It is worse than that. It is pick up the fork and put food in his mouth.