Paying Kids to Study (An Early Business Lesson)

Some people might find this appalling, but I don't, especially because the kids who are getting paid come from some of the lowest socio-economic backgrounds in the nation. And, many times, those are the kids who have to start working when they're kids, anyway, which takes away from their concentration of their education. So, what's the big deal?
When I was a kid, growing up, most of my friends were from very affluent families. We had great schools, and so many rich kids, that they mostly attended public schools. From the first grade, many kids would compare the amount of money that they were paid for A's, B's and C's. As a rule, nobody got paid for D's. And, nobody got a F - ever! If somebody received an F on their report card, they were ridiculed mercilessly. There were no dumb kids at my school - it wasn't allowed. I thought that getting paid for grades was the greatest thing in the world, but, my parents...the ultra conservatives, didn't buy into the plan. However, I never told anyone that I wasn't getting paid. In fact, I made certain that I made straight A's on every single report card...and pretended that I was getting paid. When my friends would tell me that they got $5 an A, I would exclaim that I got $7. Naturally, they would tell their parents that I was getting $7, and, many of the parents would actually match it. Worked out well for my friends who were actually getting paid. I fibbed and said that my parents were cruel and put my money in a savings account. The difficult part was making certain that my parents never had a conversation with the other parents about my expensive report card. I just had to keep my parents away from any of my school functions. People probably thought that my parents didn't care - it wasn't that...they never got the memos. Then, when they would ask about an event, I would say, "Oh, that was no big deal. I'm not a baby. You don't have to watch everything I do." After a while, they just stopped asking because they thought that I didn't want them there. It was fine, though...they had plenty of other children who weren't making A's to keep them busy. This would be one of those examples of something children should never attempt. I always made A's... but, I missed out on just being a kid because I had to keep up the front.
As an adult, I've paid my nieces and nephews for their A's & B's. They like it. You don't have to make it like it's the MAIN focus in life, but, something fun!
I movitated my, then, 9 yr old nephew (who has a beautiful singing voice) to sing the National Anthem at a boxing match by telling him that I would pay him $100. He wanted to do it anyway, but, he wasn't the least bit nervous about doing it in front of hundreds of people. I had to pay him in installments.
When done in the right spirit, on occassion, it's good, clean fun. It gets out of control when the kids start supporting the whole family with their talents & have to work every day & miss out on school life & kid stuff.

Not sure on what lesson are we teaching our next generation? To earn their grades, just like everybody else has to do their lives. Some pass and some fail.

To inspire thenm to learn. We are not helping their future by giving money for grades. That is a pat-time paper route with chores at home are for: Not in school. That is a difference and a difference in rewards for doing great work.

We should get paid to study this post?

Couple of thoughts:
Con: Seems unfair to the kids who are getting good grades. Maybe it would be better to pay all students at poor performing schools the $125 for either a 4.0 average or an improved GPA.
Caution: Need to be sure that you are targeting kids who are getting poor grades due to need for remedial learning rather than due to conduct- otherwise students might find it advantageous to mis-behave so that they can get the remediation.
Pro: $8/hour is more than the kids could make per hour at an after-school job.
Con: $8/day is not enough to compete with after-school jobs.
Pro: Think that it is something that will help the kids with self-esteem.
Pro: Think that $125 per semester is very cost-effective in that the money spent today reduces the need for further remediation down the line.
Would love to see how this works.

Well, it's a good lesson for the kids, but not for the sponsors. cause, our resources are limited and the numbers of kids are unlimited

they must find a way to make those kids make some money for them too.

To me paying kids to study is a disaster waiting to happen. Kids do not have a cognitive true value of money. For example the true value of a dishwasher, maybe eight dollars per hour.

Pay your child eight dollars to do the dishes and they will think you are insane, they want sixty. And believe you me, when those dishes begin to pile up ... sixty dollars begins to sound very realistic. Perhaps a reflection on that which those with money have not yet figured out, straight from the mouths of babes.

Secondly I use to sit on a daycare board that consisted of several locations. Each location illustrated an income class. One day care sported cash registers and cleaning toys for minimum wage waif babies, another typewritters for blue collar babies, and lastly a research and development daycare for the rich and famous. The division was complete where single mothers, teen mothers, and cast aways were assigned the daycare with cash registers and cleaning toys, while PHd graduates brought their children to the research and development daycare.

I tried to effect change and switch up the poor to research and development, however that was not in the cards for my position on the board. I was simply a token figure for the poor to establish a seemingly equality based organization, that which it clearly was not.

In short paying kids to study might better be served if in fact education was not bent on culling the masses. Incidently this daycare organization was incepted by a University, and I would imagine was the subject of some irronious thesis where by all those with cleaning toys will pay the tab for that one thesis here ever after.

Finally the best early business lesson I ever learned was this,

Pavlov states if there is nothing you can do to save yourself, if there is no chance that there be a button to stop misfortune...

Television was the offset and purpose to appease those masses and create within it false hope. No wonder we grow old so fast. Perhaps the secret to eternal life is to quit compromising life itself.

I once told a boss with ever ounce of conviction, his gain was not worth my suffering, and it truly wasn't.

I folded my apron and left.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DDAx473AFpA

This sounds like a great idea for the kids who aren't doing well in school, but what about those who are? Yes, success (as honesty) is its own reward, but this does not seem fair to those who have been diligently applying themselves right along, for the sake of doing well without financial incentive.

money is the motivation,some people say that isn´t real,is a poor excuse for imcompetent people .Can you do or have something without money?I don´t think so.to get a health life you have got to be money ,everything is money.that kids are smart they know how the world works.
and they are not the only childrens who knows that.
david is a child ,he are 7,and the doctor said he can´t eat candy,an swueet ,he´s overweight,he make a deal with his parents,is the parents give $2,00 for day he will stop,he get it.
the problem of people is looking for a reason to get motivation ,to get his dreams,this dreams need money to come true.
I always say ,I don´t need a motivation,I need a way to get money...

Wow... the price of inflation...when I was in grammar school my mother paid me 25 cents for each "A" that I brought home on my report card....and I couldn't wait to go to Grand Central Market where the candies were only a penny!

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have my wish
come true tonight. I wish someone would pay me to get A's on my report card."

I fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, looked out the window, and it was pouring
rain. Didn't see a star. I went back to bed.

The next morning at the breakfast table my report card was signed and a twenty dollar bill
was next to it. I smiled. My mother walked into the kitchen. I said, "See Mom, I told you I
would say my prayers before I went to sleep."
Cheryle

In grade school in order to have privileges and extended curfews I had to maintain an 80% average. If I got over 85% I got a monetary reward, if I got over 90% I got a reward and if I got 95+ even more of a reward. The scale was definitely not linear. Getting 80's for me was rather second nature and I had to exert myself quite a bit more to get 85-90%, but when I did I was rewarded. I remember one semester when I worked my ass off and didnt get the 95%, I got a 92% and this is when I realized the magical "Risk Vs. Reward", where the risk was how much of my 'fun' time I was willing to sacrifice to get the higher reward. The amount of work I had to exert in order to try and get the 95% was too much and I sacrificed some sports and 'fun time' to try and chase that 95%.
This set the groundwork for when I went into high school where I automatically was getting 85% without even trying and allowed an easy entrance into University for Systems Engineering.

I have always hated the school system, I hate the 'structured learning' but a little extra motivation $$ helped me when I was younger to show me that hard work does pay, if not now in the near future.

cheers

Anthony Carbone
http://www.madwhips.com

We live in a materialistic world, where money and a good standard of living has become more important than taking care of people or maintaining relationships. You see children sending their parents to old-homes, and spouses signing pre-nups before marriage.

Children growing in this world will undoubtedly inherit some of these traditions where money is more valued than people, but the education system should not encourage this kind of thinking. The same child who is taught that the only worth of education is the $8 she can earn, will grow up to find education that does not pay (teaching, research, reading for pleasure) unworthy, and even people who cannot give money (retired parents, the poor) not worthy of their time. Is this the values that children should learn at a young age?

I recently heard about something like this on the news. While I know many people think that it's a crazy idea to pay students to learn, I can understand why it's not. It takes alot to keep students motivated to do well in school especially when they are living in low income neighborhoods where crime prevails. What alot of people need to realize is that students who live in suburban areas where schools are filled with the newest and greatest technology, and crime along with poverty is not an everyday issue, they have a lesser reason to not succeed and do well in school. Perhaps, we need to start investing in our lower income communities, and provide their schools with more textbooks, computers, and programs like we do in our suburban neighborhoods. Alot of these inner city schools don't even have air conditioning. How can we expect these kids to want to learn under these conditions? On top of everything we then equip these inner city schools with teachers who have already given up on the kids before the first day of class. Another problem is that there isn't enough jobs in these communities. People are to afraid to build businesses in these places. So how exactly can you motivate students to get good grades and pursue an education when all they see in their neighborhoods are liquor stores on every corner. When America invest in inner city neighborhoods the way it does in suburban communities, maybe then we won't have to resort to paying students to learn and get good grades.
www.tippertantrum.blogspot.com

I started working when I was 13 and a girl at that. Counting money fast from the top of my head impressed my boss to put me in a position of great responsibility…the only person that was allowed to come close to his daily earnings…..:-))

That experience served me well…because it turned me into a very independent individual that can stand her ground in the midst of trial and tribulations. With the entitlement mentality irresponsible behavior wrecking havoc on society this may very well learn the kids that nothing in the world comes for free….things you want come with hard work and using your brain intelligently. America will be much better for it!

I am a tutor of english in my spare time. I learn that kids are bored of school and often go to malls for part time jobs, for their family demands it they help out or just for the joy of being independent with money. I am really amazed in the early fifties kids worked at farms girls were filled with housework and still were able to study well.Nowadays the tv and entertainment era has made it more enjoyable for people to live a sedentary nintendo life than experiencing the joys of learning and achieving good grades or sporting medals. I do agree that in places where the income is low, and parents are not too keen on their kid's future such a scheme should be implemented immediately. On the other hand richer or well off kids should be trained to handle their own bookshops in school or canteen day is done for them to make most profits by selling their delicacies. Application of economic knowledge then is utilised to the maximum, and trains them to compete healthily to get ready for the harsh realities of the world.

I never thought of it this way, but you are right. The world does reward with money, but also with perks and benefits.