Paying kids to study won’t pay off

Getting good grades takes hard work, self-motivation, and discipline. But two Georgia schools are about to apply a more hands-on, free market kind of an approach to these ideals.

Bear Creek Middle School and Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga. have recently begun a trial program which actually pays students in the eighth and eleventh grades $8 an hour to study. They are hoping that the extra cash will be an incentive to work towards higher grades. The “Learn & Earn” idea was initiated by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. His program targets students who are struggling in math and science. Not only would they get paid the hourly wage, but if they succeed in raising their grades to a B or higher, they can claim bonuses of up to $125.

The $60,000 program is funded by a private businessman working through the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation, Inc., founded by Gingrich’s daughters. According to Gingrich’s daughter, Jackie Cushman, the initiative is not the final answer. “Is it a possible idea that might work?” she rhetorically asked reporters: “Yes.”

Wrong answer.

The strongest incentive behind studying is a student’s personal desire to learn. Money or not, learning happens if and only if a student is willing to make the effort to study. Besides the fact that this is a completely ridiculous motivator it could also have dangerous effects on our society; call it the Triumph of the Will-Nots. Without even an ounce of intrinsic motivation, those students who participate in this program will not see the joy or rewards that come with having achieved a higher education. They will be more interested in running after the next bonus.

And, once these money-makers get into colleges they will suddenly find themselves in an environment that does not provide immediate fiscal rewards for poring over textbooks. Having obtained the satisfaction of finally learning how to titrate acetic acid perfectly would seem ineffectual to anyone that was used to making money for learning that the human heart has four chambers.

Moreover, universities relying on the efforts of dedicated research students would be missing out on generations of new lab workers and surveyors who are genuinely interested in understanding and bettering the human condition. Obviously, no one leading this program is considering the repercussions.

Instead of figuring out a way to inspire these kids, the powerful role models around them are choosing to look the other way and are just throwing money at the problem. It is capitalism taken to a whole new level.

Cushman and others in pursuit of spreading this program to other schools in the nation also point to the financial promotions this will have for less financially stable families. Although the money may reduce parental fears of not being able to afford college in the future, universities nationwide offer financial aid programs.

UCLA, for instance, offers work-study as part of the financial aid package. This type of aid encourages students to study while maintaining a job in order to pay for their education. It teaches the value of the hard work required to earn an education. The trial program, however, encourages the pursuit of money over learning.

Rather than promote the values of studying for personal fulfillment, Cushman’s program allows students to be misled into thinking that every academic achievement should come with a financial reward. I have a feeling that when the money goes, so will the willingness to learn.

Instead of using this carrot-and-stick approach to education, perhaps the problem that the Georgia schools should be addressing is a deeper issue: the students’ complete apathy towards their education. Instead of bribing students to study, the private businessmen funding this should invest their money into better teachers who can personally motivate student learning.

At least this way, they are not financing a short-term elevation of standards but are helping to fund a long-lasting asset to the schools they are concerned about. They could create funds to increase bonuses for high performing teachers or channel their money into lobbying for better working conditions.

By allowing programs like this to flourish, we are fooling ourselves and future generations into believing that an education is worth only $8 an hour. Maybe I naively thought that the point of a higher education was to earn more than a minimum wage.

If you would like to be paid for studying, e-mail Tehrani at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected].