First, let me say a big thank you for Karri for letting me pick this up and offer a different opinion. While I agree with her that choosing students might seemingly create a system that is unfair, while being a slap in the face for students who have worked hard all along–I suggest to you that paying students (and even their parents in some cases) might not be that bad of an idea.
For some of you reading who don’t know, I live in the inner city of New York. Before I was a full time homeschooling mom, I was a teacher. I have mentioned in previous blogs about working here, that the inner city is simply different. That is not to minimize the challenges that others face, but let’s face it: if the inner city were easy, teachers would stay and schools would be meeting standards. The reality is that they’re not and the result is that millions of students are failing every year. I have to admit that like Karri, I have some hesitations about this, but I would really like to see the plan implemented for a few years and here is why:
The Incentive
At first glance it seems like the incentive would be the cash. While cold hard cash is never a bad thing. . .it’s more about what the cash represents. This program is targeted towards kids who probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to college. I personally know several young men that chose to drop out at 16 because to them–there was no point in finishing school–they can’t afford to do college so why bother? They saw college as a waste of money they didn’t have. Promising cash, offers at least the opportunity to consider some college, which in turns forces kids to think differently about finishing high school.
Helping the Families
One huge problem in the inner city is getting parents involved. Often times they are at work trying to make ends meet. I realize that no one is offering enough money for them to quit their jobs. . .but that extra $500 or so may allow them to say ‘no’ to a few extra shifts to be at home with their kids helping homework and making sure they are prepared for the next day.
Immediate Rewards
I think all kids need ‘immediate’ rewards. But can you imagine living in an environment that’s so uncertain? I used to bring extra cereal bars with me to school so that all of my students could at least eat something in the morning. I’ve had kids that didn’t know where they would sleep that night, didn’t know if it was their turn to eat dinner, and sometimes didn’t even know who was taking care of them that day. To these kids, immediate is just about all there is.
An Unfair System?
It seems unfair, but in reality, this evens the playing field a little bit. The city is not lacking in opportunities for hard working exceptionally bright kids. In fact, they abound here, with some of the best programs in the United States. What it is lacking in, is opportunities for average kids from extremely poor backgrounds. So is it unfair? Yes–probably. But it already is unfair as is. This may be one radical solution to help change things around!