Bribing to Learn Math

In an attempt to encourage those who are prone to drop out of school, bad math is being used to promote good math. In a recent article from the Associated Press found here, a private firm is attempting to pay at-risk students to get good grades in math and science.

Forty students at Bear Creek Middle School and Creekside High School, both in the Atlanta suburb of Fairburn, began participating in the program Tuesday. The eighth- and 11th-graders chosen had to be underperforming in math and science, and many are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches.

The hope is that the bribes will boost students' motivation to learn, attend class and get better grades.

Aside from the hourly wage, eighth-graders will get a $75 bonus, and 11th-graders $125, if they improve their math and science grades to a B and achieve certain test scores. For the older kids, that adds up to $605 for a semester of studying.

Cushman said the initiative is aimed at math and science because many student struggle in those subjects even if they excel in others.

That would be an income of $1210 for the school year. The fear is these children may select a minimum wage job over studying. Hmmm, try selling this to kids who live on a farm. They have their farm duties and are expected to perform well in school. It is this silly thing called hard work.

Now let us do a tidbit of math. Working a part-time minimum wage job can net you around $140 a week when you factor in 20 hours of work at $7 an hour. The standard school year lasts 38 weeks with Winter and Spring breaks factored in. So 38 weeks times $140 equals $5320 just for during the school time. Feel free to adjust the hours and wage but it will still equal more than $1210. We are also not factoring in work done in the summer vacation months and the bonus of staying with a business for a few years in a row. Sounds like bad math to me.

How about we do something silly in the math and science areas? How about we remove the paradoxes, fuzzy math, and poor logic skills taught from the curriculum and see if that makes a difference? It did in my daughter and in a number of students I’ve tutored. Same positive effects are found in other nations that focus on the facts. What a concept that is.

Minor detail in these other countries too. When you get home from school, you work hard to carry your load of the duties around the house which you do not get monetary rewards for doing. It is your duty as a child to do them so your parents can focus on doing strange things such as earning money to put food on the table as there is no government assistance. As the phrase goes, hard work is its own reward. In many other countries, education is viewed as the pathway to greater financial gain but not like this.