Students Paying Students

Paying students to learn has been a questionable choice for years. Some believe that students should be paid to learn because it motivates them to succeed in school, but in reality it simply does not help them, just as they had hoped for. Although some support the idea for students to be paid because it is beneficial for them, others believe they should not be paid due to the pressure incorporated into a teacher’s life, the fact that this method does not work for all students, and because of the capability of using the money to invest in intrinsic programs. There is no need to pay students when the facts provided by teachers, students, and school officials are properly analyzed. To begin with, students should not be paid to learn because it renders presssure on teachers. According to the article “Cash for Grades” by Mary Ellen Flannery, “Many teachers also say paying students for grades leads to practical problems in their classrooms, including pressure to inflate grades and conflict with students and parents”(Flannery).

According to Anne Stuhldreher, “Moya said she wasn’t a “studying kind of” person before the awards. Now she and her friends like to look in the dictionary and memorize words and their definitions, and they ask their teachers for more practice tests”(Stuhldreher). Although it might help some students, others prefer to live without it. Rewards are not convenient for all students, in Mary Ellen Flannery’s article, a Mashpee student claims, “I think I’d just try my best anyway...(The class) is kind of a challenge, but it’s a fun clas because (our teacher) makes it fun”(Flannery). Not all students require rewards to appreciate or understand the value of their education. This student chose to not recieve rewards in order to learn the significance of an education, unlike Moya, who needed money in order to be greatful for the free education she