Paying your Kid to get A’s.

by Tran, Harry ~ December 2nd, 2008. Filed under: My Writings.

I have believed that our education system for K-12 is a disaster. I am a product of this very system, and it is a system which does not reward success, but rather it rewards laziness. So while I am watching The Colbert Report, he invited Roland Fryer, an economist who proposes we reward children in school with good grades, onto the show and Roland Fryer proposed a system where kids with good grades are paid real money.

This is a concept that any kid regardless of age can understand. Here is his proposal which according to him is being experimented on in New York and DC already. When a kid earns a grade of A in a class, he will receive $50 for every 5 week period that this happens. Now math lesson aside, a kid can earn a pretty good allowance if they receive straight A’s for their entire school year.

My concern is how will this regulate actual studying compared to cheating. And will teachers invoke stricter study plans or will they maintain the same difficulty level that is already out there, which much of it isn’t exactly that hard.

I can see the positives of this program, children who are successful and intelligent get rewarded and knowing they only get A’s for good grades may reduce the amount of tardiness and truancy in order to maintain high grading levels, but the negatives also need to be weighed in, such as will this take away from the responsibility of parents to teach kids that they don’t necessarily do things only for the payout but some things to be done need to be done as part of life.

So do you think that Roland Fryer’s plan will succeed in making education more rewarding and valuable to students in the K-12 system?

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3 Responses to Paying your Kid to get A’s.

  1. Anthony M. Freed
    December 2nd, 2008 at 11:30 pm

    Harry –

    I have two boys ages 15 and 11, and I can attest that this is an effective system. We do $50 for an A in a “solid” class – math, science, history, etc. – and if they get A’s in all of their “solid” classes, it doubles to $100 per A. If they get straight A’s, I will pay $100 for every one regardless of the class.

    This is not a bribe, it is a reward that is consistent with real life – if you work hard for yourself, you will be rewarded. If you slack off, the rewards are less. The power of personal agency is the child’s to seize, and it has been a great experience for all of us.

    Thanks Harry.

  2. Tran, Harry
    December 3rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    Hey Anthony,

    Thanks for the valuable insight, I just thought it was interesting for this type of program because it is certainly innovative in aspect. It was never a program that I had an opportunity to test out myself, neither my parents nor any foundation did this but I do wonder if the results are viable so hearing from you and your situation is great.

    It is always nice to see theory put to work.

    Harry

  3. John NeneFlabealus
    December 18th, 2008 at 4:58 am

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