$100 gift cards for good grades
Moms View Message Board: The Kitchen Table (Debating Board): $100 gift cards for good grades
Hey, maybe we should move to Milwaukee. Both of my kids would get those $100 gift cards! LOL!
(no way. I wouldn't want to LIVE in Milwaukee!)
Gift Cards for Good Grades
I think this is appalling.
My kids get those good grades, without the financial incentive! They get good grades, because it's just important to them, to get them! They don't need nagging from me, to get their homework done and done well!
My opinion is that if they're not a great enough school to have folks wanting to enroll their children *without* incentives, then they have no business staying open anyway.
If they spent there money more wisley maybe they wouldn't have to cut back on buses/passes.How much is the incentives/brochures costing them?
The incentives come from specific, targeted donations, not out of the operating budget. The buses are school district buses, not school buses. Nonetheless, I think this is a terrible example/model to set. I agree with Kay, if you can't attract the kids and their parents already, do you really want people who will come for a $100 or $50 gift card?
And the kicker is, they get the card after September 22nd, which is the date on which the school population is counted in terms of the per-pupil funding for that charter school. Don't they care if the kids transfer out on September 23rd - of course, they would get a year's worth of funding anyhow, I guess.
I am not a big fan of charter schools for many reasons, and this just supports my feelings about them.
Yikes. I have problems with a system that gives grades (but you guys all know I'm off in left field anyway so forgeddaboutit) but gift cards?
We're doing an exceptional job of teaching our youth that's everything is about the money these days. 
Hmmm I sure bet that messes up UIL eligibility for the atheletes.
I am not completely against it. I think paying for grades isn't horrible. We do get paychecks for doing our jobs. But I think as parents to pay you have to pick that wisely, an allowance and paying for grades is too much in my book. I don't pay for grades, except the last 9 weeks. Their vacation money comes from grades. I pay 5 dollars an A, nothing for b's and htey pay me 3 dollars for a C. I based that off of what my expectations of them and their capabilities.
But if I was allowed to pick a school for my child, at no cost to me. What would win me over. Ultimately testing scores, and staff. But I have to say, the building being nice effects me, having a low cost for school supplies, etc, a nice library, all those things play into it. I think they could probably pick a better incentive for parents, but the reality is, they want kids at their school and are trying what they can. Money talks.
And yes we are teaching our kids everything is about money....but there has to be a balance. Because although money doesn't buy happiness, it is necessary to keep the lights on and food on the table. I think there has to be a balance, yes we should do things for the joy of a job well done, but how many of us would really go work outside the home everyday for no pay (moms do it all the time..LOL). We do balance out our job based on our income. My hubby has been considering a new job, one of the things we consider is how much it pays, we also consider his work hours, his commute, etc. It all has to balance. I don't really care how much he loves his job if I don't get to eat  Also I think you have to teach your kids sometimes life is about doing things you don't like to do, because you have to. For example, I don't like cleaning my house...but I have to. If not the roaches come, we don't have dishes, etc. Life is about balance. So I have a hard time believing anyone would attend that school if there isn't more balance to it.
I don't know how I feel about monetary rewards for good grades. Yes, it is an incentive, but should we reward children for doing what is expected of them? Do we have to put monetary value on everything?
It's like paying children to do their chores. Yes, some would argue that it teaches them a work ethic. However, my DH believes that children need to learn to be part of a family and contribute their share for the common good.
My DS's friends think it's appalling that they shovel my next door neighbor's driveway and sidewalk when it snows, and they do it for free. My neighbor is disabled, and her sick, elderly mother lives with her. My boys do it just because it is the RIGHT thing to do. My DH cleans her gutters and weeds her flower beds. Our other neighbor on the other side of her mows her lawn.
Ditto Holly on many things.
I agree that it does seem we are putting a monetary value on EVERYTHING for kids these days. I disagree with this gift card thing. I don't see myself ever paying my child for good grades, but I'm not necessarily against it for other parents. Maybe it works for them. Yes, school is a "job" for kids, so I do see that point, but somehow it just doesn't seem right. When you look at it that way, do you all give $ for every chore done around the house? I don't see us doing that. There are just things that need to be done and no one gets paid to do them...they just have to be done.
I agree Kaye, though, that really A LOT of life is about $$, so we have to teach that fine line of what's important and what's not. DH is also looking for a new job and you can bet that there are some jobs we have seen(no matter how happy they would make him and how much he would love them) that just are NOT feasible income-wise. It takes a lot of $ to live, let's face it, and even more to maintain a lifestyle that you are accustomed to.
I think school is something you have to do to get somewhere in life, besides the fact that it's the law. I don't think you should get paid for that. Sometimes it seems to me like our society is constantly trying to "bribe" our kids to do what we want them to, when in reality, we should be teaching them that some things you just HAVE TO DO. There's no good reason sometimes (especially when your 15 and don't want to study Geometry), but it still has to be done. There just aren't incentives for some things, and that's the way it goes. It's an intrinsic reward of knowing you are completing something now, to the best of your ability, so that you can have what you really want later on.
Sorry...I started rambling a little.
I don't have too much to add. I think that kids do not need to be paid to do everything. Some chores deserves pay, but then again you don't want them expecting to get paid for taking the trash to the curb. As far as grades I think that incentives are good, but not always necessary. To say we can do this or get whatever it is that the child has been wanting for doing exceptional in something is not wrong, but for them to not be willing to do anything without incentives is wrong. So it is about balance. I know a few times my parents gave me money for grades, but just a few times and it wasn't expected at all. It was nice. I do not think though that it is right for the schools to offer the money. Regardless where it comes from the money can be better spent. There are teachers everywhere spending there own money on supplies for the classroom. I am sure even in the nicer districts.
Hol, I think it is super great that you and your neighbors take care of your neighbor in that way. It is teaching your children good character and I am sure it is a load off your disabled neighbor. That is the kind of stuff we all should be doing when given the opportunity.
Just to throw this into the mix ...
Aren't scholarships and awards (monetary) a form of payment for good grades?
Ame
Yeah, but those scholarships and stuff are definitely going to pay for school. These gift cards aren't cash that can by put into the bank. It's just money to spend somewhere, since it wasn't clear where these gift cards were coming from, or what they could be spent on.
Yes, Ame, and interesting point. But scholarships and such are payment that will help get MORE good grades, no? They are specified for *more* education.
I just don't see the big deal. We use "bribes" from the time our children are little... stickers for going potty, ice cream for a good game or report card, etc. Anything that helps improve kids' grades is worth it in my book!!
Scholarships or awards are not always tied to further education. I've gotten cash awards or bonds that were not contingent upon my using them for education. I can think of a least three awards I got that were savings bonds or an actual check to be used in any way I liked.
I like this idea because in the real world achievement is rewarded with money. These kids see the actual monetary value of their education in a very real way.
Ame
I'm with Crystal. If it works then what's the harm?
Ame
My kids feel bad, though, because they want the $100 gift card, since they have high enough grades for them.
We aren't moving to Milwaukee, to do it, though. We like Sheboygan. It has FAR less crime!
BUT...in the real world, acheievement is NOT always rewarded with money. Look at us Ame...teachers, who may produce the smartest kids on the planet and work 24 hrs. a day and we STILL will not get paid anymore. Just a thought from a personal perspective.
In all honesty, are the kids who aren't getting good grades anyway actually going to get their grades up, consistently, for $100? Maybe for a bit, but I don't think it will last for those kids. The kids who will likely get the majority of the gift cards will probably be good students anyway, and I guess they would deserve them.
You've all got me thinking on this one!!
Achievement is rewarded with money - certainly not all the same money, but a salary none the less and the more education you have the better salary you will earn. Where I live a teacher does very well - 180 day work year, full benefits and a starting salary of 53K with a 4% raise every year, additional money for credits beyond the masters degree and in service courses, and payment for moderating clubs, after hours tutoring and basically anything other than a classroom teaching day. Not too shabby.
Sadly, in our profession, there is no merit pay or salary based on merit, but that's because we're stuck in a civil service union mentality and few have the desire to break free from that.
I still see no problem with it. Would like to see it in more places.
Ame
I think the school is taking the wrong approach. And ultimately I think it will prove ineffective.
The school is using the gift cards to attract new students, not reward existing ones. So it's looking to give itself an edge over other area schools by essentially bribing good students to choose them over a different school. If a school has nothing to offer beyond gift cards, I doubt the incentive will end up attracting the students they are targeting.
I don't think that is the right way to go about it. If you want good students to choose your school, offer substance. Distinguish yourself academically above all others, and the good students will come.
We have a local charter high school (actually is 7-12) that has set a high standard of education. Recently Newsweek made up a list of the top high schools in the nation. Then it created a separate small list of high schools that had test scores that were so far above the other schools on the list they didn't think it was fair to include them in the original list. This charter high school made that list. I believe it was the only school on the list that made it that does not have an entrance exam. As a charter school it is free and anyone is able to attend.
This past year there were 500 applicants for 75 slots. (The application consists of little more than name and phone number and then each candidate is assigned a number. There is a random lottery where numbers are chosen-in a public forum-and a lucky few make it in to the school).
I think the school mentioned above needs to focus on what they can provide their students to give them a high quality education and stop focusing on what gimmicks they can offer. If they want quality students to choose them and to stay for the duration of their high school years, they need to provide substance.
Melanie, I think that is what was in the back of my head, when I first read the article, but you said it way better than I could have!
I wonder how many kids even stay, after the "count" date, once they have their cards.
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