Should Kids Get Paid to go to School?
Ross Reynolds
09/08/2008 at 1:00 p.m.
This year about 3,000 middle school students at low–achieving schools in the District of Columbia will get paid to show up at school and do well. New York City and five other states are experimenting with cash–for–grades. Should kids get paid to go to school, behave well and get good grades? One educator says they're just preparing students for life where people get paid to work. What do you think?
Also today, Washington Mutual (WAMU) ousts its chief executive. What needs to change at Seattle–based WAMU, the nation's largest savings and loan? We hear more about the new CEO.
Seattle's neighborhood plans have been a model for the nation. They're designed to give local residents the power to control growth in their neighborhoods. Tonight (Monday), the city council holds a public hearing on revising those plans.
Plus, one of Washington State's top political reporters, David Postman, is leaving the Seattle Times for a job in media relations at Paul Allen's company Vulcan. He'll tell us why.
Guest(s)
Alfie Kohn writes and lectures about education and human behavior. He opposes the use of punishments and rewards as educational tools. He's the author of eleven books, including "Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes." TIME calls him "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores."
Jackie Cushman created the Learn and Earn pilot program in Fulton County Georgia outside Atlanta. The program is privately funded. It pays low income students $8.00 and hour to go to after school study sessions. She is the daughter of Newt Gingrich, who also supports pay–for–performance programs.
David Postman is chief political reporter for the Seattle Times. His blog is Postman On Politics.
Sally J. Clark is on the Seattle City Council.
Jon Talton is economy columnist for the Seattle Times.
KUOW does not endorse nor control the content viewed on these links as they appear now or in the future.
- 'Promises of Money Meant to Heighten Student Motivation,' Education Week
- Jon Talton on the Economy, Seattle Times
- 'Another one bites the dust,' Postman on Politics, Seattle Times
- 'The best-laid plans: How neighborhoods have fared,' Crosscut
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