School Bribes....uh...I meant *incentives*
So, yesterday at school there was a school wide assembly where we learned that we are one of 12 schools in the city participating in the 'shoes for grades' program. If a kid can raise his/her grade 1 grade point, they get a pair of sneakers. That's like going from a 60 average to a 70 or a 70 to an 80...bla, bla, bla. Not only this, but (if you aren't here in Bmore, you may not have heard this) kids are going to get paid cash money for improving their state-wide assessment scores by 5 points.
In my personal opinion, if the kids don't have an intrinsic desire to learn and improve themselves and their life situation - getting a couple dollars and a new pair of shoes isn't going to make a stitch of difference. Yeah, maybe a couple students do a tiny bit better for a quarter. Maybe they pay more attention to test-prep in their classes, but is it *really* making a difference? Is it teaching them that school is beneficial for their future? Is it making them want to really learn? No, it's teaching them what they already know from the streets - it's all about the $
We need a societal/cultural change here to make any sort of difference. Shit like this is throwing money away. Money that could be spent on hiring truancy officers to find the kids and get them to school in the first place, which is the real issue.
In my personal opinion, if the kids don't have an intrinsic desire to learn and improve themselves and their life situation - getting a couple dollars and a new pair of shoes isn't going to make a stitch of difference. Yeah, maybe a couple students do a tiny bit better for a quarter. Maybe they pay more attention to test-prep in their classes, but is it *really* making a difference? Is it teaching them that school is beneficial for their future? Is it making them want to really learn? No, it's teaching them what they already know from the streets - it's all about the $
We need a societal/cultural change here to make any sort of difference. Shit like this is throwing money away. Money that could be spent on hiring truancy officers to find the kids and get them to school in the first place, which is the real issue.