There is a lesson that children are taught that their hard work is rewarded in the end. But when children don’t see these rewards, whether material or not, their incentive to work hard is diminished. Why work hard when there are no rewards?, they ask. Could paying our nation’s students for their academic scores and achievements be the solution to the laziness that seems to spread like the bubonic plague? Could it benefit all people involved? Or could it create a financial crisis for our schools? When students work hard, they expect instant results and when they don’t get the results they expect, it causes a great upset. But there is hope says Mary Flannery, from the National Education Association, paying their kids for his or her high score in academics has been a tactic used by parents for a long time, now schools are catching on. Psychological studies prove that incentives, such as money for grades, have inspired the less engaged students since the 1970’s (Geewax). So the method has obviously been working for over forty years. Even the past mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, agrees. Bloomburg had a plan to pay seventh all the way through forth for outstanding grades on standardized tests (Bander). Stacey Priestly, a teacher in North Indiana, says that “My son gets money for his grades. We tell him going to school and getting good grades is his job; if he does his job well, he gets paid just like his job in the real world” (Flannery). This trend has spread from high school to college. A number of scholars are earning money by scoring high on their SAT and Advanced Placement tests in educational institutions from Massachusetts to Texas (Flannery). Marilyn Geewax, author of the article “Does Paying for Good Grades Cheapen E... ... middle of paper ... ...s, then they wouldn't have to. Instead the potential dropout could graduate with honors and get a great job so the student can actually support and provide for their families. If every school across America paid their students for going to school it would be more beneficial than counterproductive. There are just so many ways it could help the kid’s future, their current families, and their education all together. A student will grow up with the knowledge and understanding that if an employee works hard and persevere, they will be rewarded and the amount of work you do will be worth the effort. And with that attitude, the young scholar will enter society and the work force with a positive attitude. Hopefully the cycle will continue, and in theory will cause a great and prosperous society where hard work and determination are the most valued traits of its citizens.
In “Grades and Money,” Steven Vogel makes it clear that he is disappointed and frustrated with what grades have become. He believes that grades have become commoditized and that students’ grades suffer because of their relation with money. Vogel also believes that students no longer take any risk with their education. I agree with Vogel that grades are being equated to money by students, that students’ work suffers because of grades, and that students no longer take risks in their educational process.
Students in high school and below worry about their grades and moving up another level because of their grades. In college, students worry about their study skills and common sense because in college the grading system and learning are completely different. Mandrell and Farber worked with the idea of high school student and that education system, but Vogel gives insight to the college education system. As a college student, there’s not a way to be able to do the same things as in high school and still expect to pass. As Vogel experiences different situations with his students, he learns that students are focused on their GPA (Vogle, 390). He questions one of his students about why they wanted a higher grade and creates this idea that everything we build on leads to money. Vogel states, “If Grades are money, then learning is a cost...” (Vogel, 391) which is true. From the time a person is born all they have to do is to get ahead in life, to be able to beat everyone around because life can become a competition. People go to school and “learn” to go further in life. However, Vogel makes a good point about learning: “...it’s the learning that 's the goal, we say, not the grade; we want our students to learn about history and philosophy...because doing so will make them better people, better citizens of a democracy.” (Vogel, 390). Somewhere along the line of our education system we have let grades overshadow the real meaning of
Free higher education has several economic benefits for students and for the government. According to Thomas Mortenson from the American Council on Education, tuition has risen 230% at state universities and 164% at community colleges since 1980. Student loan debt has reached 1 trillion dollars. As stated by Scott Hines, the founder of the World Education University, “the return on investment just isn’t there.” Many students choose to drop out or skip college altogether because of the high costs. These issues will be resolved if the government funds colleges and more people will be able to graduate. Currently, the government spends billions of dollars on academic programs with very low graduation rates, around 30% (Samuels). This is because colleges spent too much money on luxuries and amenities, and as a result, they raise tuitions while the quality of instruction remains the same. If higher education were government funded and caps placed on tuitio...
Arthur C. Brooks presents his opinion on an idea gaining prevalence across the United States in his published article, “My Valuable, Cheap College Degree.” This new idea is a college degree which costs the student a total of $10,000, also known as the 10K-B.A. Inspired by a challenge to educators from Bill Gates, governors in the states of Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, and a state assemblyman in California have recently made efforts to make this idea a reality.
Colleges have become extremely expensive to the point where students drop-out or are unable to attend because of financial issues. With no more money issues, students can focus solely on the schoolwork without the idea of paying back excessive fees back in the future. They would become more focused in their studies with the idea that they will not be broke graduating from college. Although others argue that money fees create an incentive for students to work for their money, it leaves many unfortunate ones with the inability to attend any schools. By having no more tuition and material fees, students
Some people believe merit pay creates competition and favoritism. They seem to think school systems will pay some teachers more than others and create a “battle” for money. In Merit Pay: Good for Teachers? By Gary Drevitch, one interviewee states, “I know it’s worked in some places, but I shudder at the idea of teachers being in competition with each other.” None of these problems will occur if school districts implement a successful, unbiased system. Another issue society presents when it comes to merit pay comprises of differentiating a “good” teacher from a “bad” teacher. School districts can easily evaluate a teacher’s ability to educate students by the work teachers put into helping students. Student’s reactions to a teacher’s class can also help evaluate teachers. More often than not, students will love a class where the teacher clearly demonstrates lessons, explain procedures, and adds elements of fun. On the other hand, students typically dislike classes where the teacher only comes in for a paycheck. This attitude is displayed by their lackadaisical teaching style. Other people argue that money should not be the reason why people go into teaching. Richard Barbieri, author of Merit Pay? argues that money is not an external motivator, but the substance of a teacher’s motivation. Financial incentives will cause employees to work harder
When students arrive at university, professors expect them to understand the material to an exceptional standard. The problem is that grade inflation is occurring more regularly in secondary schools and universities across the country and when these students’ marks are sent to universities or colleges, the student may be given multiple scholarships for something that he/she should not have earned. Grade inflation is conceived between both students and teachers, meaning that the students are given higher grades when they have inadequate learning, reading, and verbal skills, while the teachers do not have to grade as many papers as they should in the real curriculum. There have been multiple examinations that have confirmed that grade inflation is very real and still occurs today. Students seem to think that they do not need to put forth much effort in school to do well and grade inflation encourages this thought.
Dropping out of school may seem reasonable to pupils now, but can have a negative impact in the long run. According to a data collection on average income, “High School Diploma- $27,380. High School Dropout- $19,540”( Source 3). One can clearly see that children who did not dropout of high school made more money than children who did. Money is an essential part of human life and raising the dropout age can increase the pay of many adolescents. Based on Paul Moran’s talk with Missy Remiss, “Those without a high school diploma have lower earnings, higher
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
Effective teachers are inadequately rewarded in the United States. School districts, such as those in California, are just starting to implement merit pay. According to a study conducted by the National Center of Performance Incentives (NCPI), only about 500 school districts out of the 14,000 districts in the US implement merit pay for teachers. These numbers do not include private schools. Unfortunately, teachers, parents, and students hurt because many schools, private and public, base teacher pay on seniority and degrees rather than achievement and performance. Under such a system, novice teachers, are laid off during budget shortages. Moreover, with the current “single salary schedule” system, teachers are inadequately paid, especially when compared to other professions. Because the single salary schedule creates many issues, a solution needs to be proposed. Merit pay, a system based on performance, solves such issues. With this system, teacher performance outweighs teacher seniority. As a result, quality teachers will be rewarded adequately in terms of money and recognition. Outstanding teachers will no longer face unreasonable layoffs and will finally be paid more than their ineffective peers.
Students should be paid for having good grades. According to Psychology Today, the United States has fallen behind other nations in education. In addition to this, approximately one in four students in the U.S. drops out of school before graduation. The main reason for this is that students have little to no motivation. Students are either bored with school, or they are distracted by the other things that go on in their lives such as sports, jobs, friends and their own family life.
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.
In conclusion, students should be paid to do well in school because it has many benefits to the student. Those benefits include motivation to get good grades, the money would help the student financially, and the student would learn how to manage their money more effectively. School is a big part of every person’s life, so it should be more rewarding to the
In many states, teachers are underpaid. Though money is not the motive for most teachers, without enticing salaries, many are lured away from the teaching profession and graduates looking for a first year teaching position are not given much to look forward to. So, since teachers are not paid adequately, raising the pay scale would ensure that our children are left in the hands of quality educators. One way teachers can be sufficiently compensated is by merit pay. The formula is simple; as test scores and evaluations rise, so would the teachers’ salaries. Although controversial, it is just one of many
This is why education should be free, there stood many valid arguments against free education in the United States. But when we look at the benefits that this country could experience the benefits far out way the damages. We must let the knowledge run free. It may increase the national debt a bit, but because of the all loans the American people are already losing hope of their dreams. That is why we should at least let the students with a high grade averages go to college. We should also make college accessible to everyone because of how it can make our economy improved and all the benefits that can occur from free college.