One of the 6 magazines we subscribe to is Time magazine. Recently they had an article about a a recent research study implementing a radical idea to improve scholastic performance in children.
The idea...money!
Monetarily reward kids for their scholastic performance to improve standardized test scores. It was done in four different areas, under four different models.
The first model was just to straight up give the kids $2 for every book they read.
The second model was to pay them for their grades-- a certain amount for A's for B's and so on.
The third model was to pay them for a variety of factors-- class attendance, behavior, grades, participation, etc.
The fourth model was to pay them if they achieved 87% or higher on tests administered throughout the year.
Under the second and fourth model, although grades improved as did class attendance, standardized test scores did not budge.
Under the third model, test scores did improve moderately at the end of the year.
But the first model was a huge success and the improvement in the students reading comprehension was the equivalent of 5 extra months of school.
The opponents say that children should want to learn for the love of learning and using the wrong motivation will decrease the intrinsic value of education for them.
I thought the author of the study had a very good insight when he pointed out that if we want kids to love learning for the sake of learning (which, according to him, obviously wasn't working) than we are holding them to a higher standard than we are holding ourselves....because adults work for money and are motivated by money.
For the first time, I began to consider the unthinkable....what if our kids didn't like school??!!
What if learning didn't come naturally to them or if they struggled with academics
Richard dismissed the thought as completely preposterous-- they were OUR kids-- born to be nerds just like us!
But it could happen...and if it does, how will I deal with it and help them through it. Will I be willing to pay them for their academic performance?
Food for thought.
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4 comments:
And here I was happily assuming that my kids would be like me, darn it.
I'd say the most valuable education tool in my life was picking up a certain book when I was nine years old, bored, and becoming an involved, voracious reader ever since.
I was bribed with Pizza, and it worked for me!
Although kids can love school or certain subjects, I do remember having favorites. The ones I didn't like so much and had to work at weren't nearly as fun. I was motivated by the 'people pleaser' in me wanting to please my parents and meeting their expectation of me. My brother never liked school and ultimately dropped out. He was paid for grades where I was not. I would get jealous at times because he was smart but made terribly stupid choices. So if he wanted the money for anything, he would bring the grade up. If he didn't, well he just didn't care to try at all. Same parents, totally different outcome of our lives based on choices. He never did finish school as I became the first in my family to even go to college and finish. Anyways, huge novel of a response, but kids come with their own likes and dislikes. Hopefully, they are motivated enough to plow through the dislikes, whatever the motivation might be.
I bet she surprises both of you and becomes a professional wrestler! I wasn't ever paid for good academic performance and I ternd owt smrt. In fact, i am so smrt i can hard lee hold a confersashun with myselph. I wud b so rich now if i had been pade. Probablee a mileeun heir.
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