Re: NY Times editorial in FAVOR of paying kids for tests?

[MONICALUCIDO@comcast.net]

And so I say to you all, and I believe this is a legit argument, does this not start to skirt on the edges of child labor laws? It seems to me like they are paying children to work hard in school, and as a result of that then it would behoove those poorer kids to stay in school to earn money for their families. Then private firms could say, "WE did it! Hooray! WE solved the great motivation mystery. That's all the kids wanted---cold, hard cash." Contractors would get control of tax payer money, and then do what they will with it----without oversight. Does this not lead one down the path, then, to think about the possibility that the "awards" would start at an enticing level and then over the years be reduced in smaller amounts, such that the "controlling" leadership got to keep more for itself? Kids, who then relied on the money over the years for their families, could then be threatened in the negative: "Get your scores up, or you will not get your 'pay check'." This is a highly l
ikely circumstance and the pressure on children would become enormous not only for learning, but for family survival in some cases. Students and their families would become dependent over time on these funds (which to THEM would mean economic freedom).  Ultimately, the grip of corporations who are tied into these private run charters and schools, would be unbreakable as tax dollars were fully under their grasp. No one would be able to challenge their standardized test-teaching methods, which creates NON-THINKING consumers and VOTERS. True school choice or vision for parents would be obliterated, as the ultimate goal would have been reached: to own our public school system and create a new low-level, cheap, working class-----with poor children making up the bulk of the victims.

Joe Lucido
Eduators and Parents Against Test Abuse
Fresno
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Kenneth Bernstein <kber@earthlink.net>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020402430.
> html
> 
> here's the text:
> 
> Performance Pay
> Baltimore students will get cash to learn.
> 
> Tuesday, February 5, 2008; A18
> 
> THERE ARE a lot of good reasons children should want to do well in school. Joy 
> in learning, going to college, getting a better job, living a richer life are 
> tops. Those arguments, though, haven't worked with many -- in particular poorer 
> -- children. Too often they see education as irrelevant, even a waste of time. 
> Would cash change their minds and their habits? That notion is behind a proposal 
> making headlines in Maryland, and, despite all the raised eyebrows, it's worth 
> trying.
> 
> Baltimore city schools have gotten permission from the state to spend nearly $1 
> million to pay students (up to $110 per student per subject) who attend tutoring 
> sessions and show progress. The program targets students who have failed the 
> high school assessments that, starting with the class of 2009, will be needed 
> for a diploma. The financial incentives are but one component of a $6.3 million 
> initiative that is, as the Baltimore Sun reported, a mixed bag of traditional 
> and nontraditional ideas being advanced by new schools chief Andres Alonso. The 
> plan, a first for Maryland and among a handful nationwide, has caused an uproar 
> with critics who see the money as little more than bribes that are unlikely to 
> have any lasting effect on student behavior. They could be right, but it's clear 
> that the traditional methods simply have not worked with some students from 
> low-income families. Besides, it strikes us as a bit hypocritical for people who 
> see nothing wrong with rewarding their children's school performance with 
> dinners out, trips abroad and even new cars to pick apart a program that 
> attempts to deal with the real word of urban education.
> 
> The reality of Baltimore city schools is that more than 5,000 students have 
> already failed at least one of the graduation exams. Reality is the nation's 
> third-worst graduation rate, an appalling 34 percent. Reality is many students 
> not being able to get extra help in school because they have to hold down a job 
> or take care of younger siblings. Mr. Alonso is bringing new ideas and energy to 
> this long-troubled system. He comes from New York City, which is piloting a 
> program that gives financial incentives to fourth- and seventh-graders. Both New 
> York and Baltimore will evaluate their programs, and those outcomes -- not any 
> philosophical discomfort -- should determine whether there is merit in the pay 
> plans.
> 
> Kenneth J. Bernstein