On the April 19, 2010 cover of TIME magazine the question was asked:
SHOULD SCHOOLS BRIBE KIDS?
As an employee and often times a boss at various positions over the past 30 years, I do not believe money motivates employees. If I or an employee “hates” his/her job, an extra $1 or even $10 per hour increase is in not going to make me (or him/her) suddenly love the job. Will it make the work more tolerable, sure, but probably only in the short term until a better opportunity is found.
At the same time, do I believe money can reinforce certain behaviors? Absolutely, particularly when it is tied to a specific behavior or goal, and that the behavior or goal is perceived by the person to be within his/her control.
This elaborate study was conducted at 143 schools in four major cities. The reward system for the students was different for each city to help the researchers determine which approach made the most difference. One was based on grades earned on exams, another was based final course grades, a third was a combination of various items including attendance and behavior, and the fourth was paying students each time they read a book.
Although the results of the study were controversial and mixed, in the instances where the students were paid directly for behaviors they could control (reading a book, attending school, etc.) student performance on standardized testing did seem to improve. When payment was for items outside of their direct control (earning an A on an exam or in a class) their performance on standardized tests did not improve (even if they earned the higher grades in the class.)
I have a child in 9th grade, and one in 4th grade. I believe they are getting a good public education from our local school district. Do I believe it’s the best education they could get from the district? No more than I think I’m getting the maximum output from my employees or my company. Are there problems in every organization---absolutely. Should new ideas for improvements be tried and potentially embraced, certainly. I would love to see the results of “schools bribing” my kids to learn. I think it’s a great idea. But then again, I am a business guy.
Nicely written. However, I have been in the business world for quite some time now and I don't buy into the 'bribery' method as a way to entice students to perform better in school. Just like giving children candy for behaving in church, we are not really teaching them 'why' they should behave a certain way in order to be a better person or student; what we are doing is teaching them the easiest means to an end. When given the option to take the easy route to get money or to work hard and eventually land a job that pays well, I think the latter is the better move.
ReplyDeletePaying students to behave better and complete their work is a complete joke and ridiculous thought and idea. Attending school is part of life, you went through it, I went through it, and so does everyone else. Paying students for good attendance and appropriate behavior is insane, I'll even say it again, INSANE!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I do believe awarding students for behaving well and so forth- in ways much more realistic such as small prizes, assemblies, and free homework pass, etc. Bribing kids with money definitely is not the route to choose or even consider. Children should get their money through ‘chores’ and part-time jobs, depending on their ages. The concept is quite humorous actually.
A question I have is, where does the money come from to pay the students?
I'm not sure bribing is the right terminology to be using in this case. In some sense, this could be a method to start teaching real world skills to the youth. Because the reality is when you get a job, if you want to get paid, you have to do your work. In school I never took ownership of my education because a letter grade didn't have a relevance in my life at the time; however, money was always relevant to what was going on in my life.
ReplyDeleteOne area where this idea can go wrong is that grading systems can be flawed. Some teachers are easier than others. If everyone in the class gets an A, then what are you really rewarding?
There are ups and downs to this idea. But it'll take a lot of planning that goes far beyond just handing out cash to students who perform well. It'll have to take a closer look at how to evaluate student performance.
I have to agree that rewarding students is not a good idea. Often times I have heard people at work ask, what is the motivation for working? I always answer them with "your motivation is your paycheck". With education, your motivation is what you learn and the grades you earn.
ReplyDeleteI do not see this as that far removed from parents or grandparents giving money or treats like taking the child out or buying them something for doing well at report card time. What I find troublesome is that yet another aspect of what should be parental choice is being allocated to the school or district level. Whether you just expect your child to perform well at school or have a reward system in place is a parenting decision, not a school decision. Not all students would be motivated equally by money and as Casey pointed out not all teachers grade uniformly. This would cause multiple problems on numerous levels. Also, as Angie stated the money would be coming from? – not schools or districts that already have tightly stretched budgets. Establishing this type of a reward system is dependant on the individual motivation of each child and should not be a standard school policy.
ReplyDeleteBribing students is a good idea but it should not be called bribing. Giving students incentives for a job well done on their school work or whatever they have done should be encouraged. By encouraging students to do well academically and socially within the school, then students will want to do it more and more. Have a reward system in place as Cindy pointed out, it's that individual motivation and motivation from others that drive students to success. So go with incentives for students, don't make it sound so bad as to call it bribing.
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