Did you know that there is a
school, that pays students for doing well ? Didn't you ever dream about getting
money as a reward for doing well in school? Well, there is a school that pays
for students who got an excellent on the state exams. However, students should
not be paid for doing well in school. Since there is a real example of a school
that pays students, I will mostly use South Lawn Elementary as an
evidence. Briefly, my 3 reasons are that the money is the local
taxes, students are only good at subjects that are paid, and the only
motivation is money.
The first reason is that the
money is the local taxes of people. If the school gives the students money,
where does the money come from? The taxes! If schools pay students, the amount
of taxes will rise. To take a look at the South Lawn Elementary school,
Coshocton is not that wealthy, but people have to pay more local taxes, for
South Lawn Elementary , than other places.
The second reason is that students are only good
at subjects that are paid. If you can be paid if you get an excellent on Math,
and you get nothing when you get an excellent in social studies, what will you
study for? Of course, math! This is what is happening in South Lawn Elementary
School. The students only study for the subjects that are paid, so their test
scores are lower than average at social studies, science, reading.
The third reason is that the only motivation
is money. There was an interview with the students who got cash because of the
state exam.
Interviewer: Was the money the thing that motivated you
the most?
Students:
Yes. Of course. Mostly because of the amount of money we got was huge. (They
got $100 for total.)
Now I would like to explain about some oppositing
ideas who support paying students.
The first reason is that children
will do well on their exams. Of course they will do well on the subjects that
are paid, but what about the subjects that aren’t? Schools can’t afford money
for every subject So as I said before, the students of South Lawn Elementary
are under average on social studies, and other subjects.
The second reason that the
opposition side might say, is that students will study harder by a strong
motivation. Money is a strong motivation to students, and it affects students
of South Lawn Elementary School because of the amount. However, it does not
mean that the students will study hard forever. Students will not study hard if
the teachers or parents does not give a reward. Actually, this is what Eric
Bettinger, a Stanford University professor who is managing the program, is
worried about. Also, the students say that they missed the money that was
given.
In
conclusion, these were the reasons that I think students should not be paid for
doing well in school. The reasons were that the money is the local taxes,
students are only good at subjects that are paid, and the only motivation is
money. Even though it might be interesting to get paid for doing well, it will
bring many disadvantages and damage to students.