Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category

Paying students for good grades

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Capital gains, incentives, etc.

For the past few months, my “policy discussion group” in grad school has been eating, drinking, and sleeping on the issue of the “unsatisfactory reading levels of homeless children”.  Believe me when I say we have been fully immersed in this topic – our current reference list as of 7:55pm on 4/25/10 is four pages long.  We have been pouring over journals, magazines, websites, and government publications, trying to learn more about 1) this issue and 2) crafting informed policy proposals.  After starting with a rather broad focus, we decided to narrow our focus to homeless children in Washington State.

Our final project is to craft a policy proposal that could reasonably be submitted for implementation.  We were to propose two different policy responses:  one from a “constrained” view and the other from an “unconstrained” view (see Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles for more on constrained/unconstrained visions of society”).  I ended up working on our “constrained” proposal – paying homeless students for positive behavior and academic achievements.

clip_image002Paying students for behaving or getting good grades is not a new phenomenon (albeit, it may be novel…and very appealing to students.  I would love to still be paid for good grades.  Oh, wait.  Is that what scholarships are all about?).  I remember my mother giving me $5 for every “A” I got on my report card in 4th grade.  When she realized I was most likely going to be a straight-A student for the rest of my academic career (this epiphany happened at the end of 5th grade), she stopped paying me.  It was a sad day, but I wasn’t the only one in my class who had parents who tried to motivate them through cash payments or plain old special activities and items.  I knew this kind of motivation was going on, on a small scale, but I had no idea until now it was being considered and implemented on a district-wide scale, and had, in fact, been implemented for some time.

TIME magazine recently published an article entitled Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School?, examining the different programs and experiments being conducted in different cities.  One of the largest studies is being conducted in Washington DC – 14 schools in collaboration with Harvard economist and researcher Roland Fryer and Harvard’s Education Innovation Laboratory.  Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade earn up to $100 every two weeks ($1500 per year) for various criteria: attendance, homework completion, and other achievements.  Similar programs exist in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta (similar, but not the same).

It seems to be working so far.

image6121450[1] In January 2010, CBS News conducted a survey as part of the “Where America Stands” series that found that most Americans oppose paying students for good grades, behavior, etc.  The poll also found that older Americans (65+) strongly oppose the practice, but parents who had children in K-12 tended to support it more.  The article doesn’t really state why such opposition exists, but the biggest critique of incentive programs always seems to end up on one thing:  paying students will kill their intrinsic motivation to learn for the sake of learning.

I’m not sure I agree, and I think there is a bit of hypocrisy present in telling students they should learn for learning’s sake without the possibility of tangible rewards.

Should you be working for working’s sake, and your employer not give you a paycheck?

“Well, that’s different!”  I’m not so sure.  We are told to aim for “A’s” in school…why?  So we can get into a good college/university.  We want to graduate from those universities with degrees…why?  So we can get a job…a well-paying job (at least we hope.  I ended up a teacher.  I must have missed the memo about well-paying jobs).  Every little motivator counts, and when it comes to money, the motivation increases dramatically.

And what’s so wrong about money?  Why do we feel differently when the motivator isn’t money?  No one questions a teacher who promises the class a special field trip if they behave all semester.  Or if a professor says they will cancel a quiz if everyone performs well on a project.  Or if a parent says they will start saving up as a family for a special vacation if their kids do well during the school year.  But why the (almost) hostile reaction when money is involved?

Back on track…

Of course, when the money starts dwindling (you aren’t being paid enough or at least what you think you’re worth), you look for other options…or quit altogether.  Sure, some students may stop working hard if the monetary incentives decrease, but here’s something I’ve noticed about students in my years (albeit few) as a teacher:  students who want to learn and want to do well tend to do so regardless of the motivators placed before them. I don’t know why.  Maybe their parents instilled a great work-ethic in them, maybe they already have intrinsic motivators (self satisfaction) to keep them going, but overall, I think it’s a choice.  Students make a choice to do well, we make a choice to be good employees, and those choices can distinguish us from the rest regardless of the situation.

So, should students be paid for good grades?  I don’t know yet.  My current opinion is that it depends on the situation.  I see the pros and cons, and my opinion may change in the coming months and years.

What do you think?

Related Articles and Sites:

Posted in Education, In the News, Observations on Life | 1 Comment »

Is It Really Yours?

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

ny_times_picture_of_obama If you haven’t heard, the Health Care bill passed in the House yesterday.  The world didn’t end, but tempers definitely flared.  That’s to be expected with something so revolutionary occurring in a nation that hasn’t really had any big changes since segregation, 9/11, and…and…oh, wait.  A black president being elected.  Nevermind.  I guess change has been happening progressively for quite some time.

All the change isn’t what surprises me.  Life is never static.  What surprises me are some of the responses to the changes, specifically those related to the Health Care bill.

Especially the responses of those who call themselves Christians.*

*Disclaimer:  by saying “call themselves Christians, I am not questioning their salvation.  I literally mean – those who call themselves Christians.  Myself being one.

Most of the dissent from my Christian friends and contacts has centered around three major themes:

  1. Abortion in the bill
  2. No one is entitled to health care
  3. They can’t take my hard-earned money from me to support someone else

I’ll take #3 for a few minutes here, and please remember, I’m talking about Christians (not the general public).

Is your money really yours?

That’s the question I have for my fellow believers.  Before your blood boils at the thought of having to pay taxes to fund someone else’s medical condition, consider:

  1. Do you make more than $250,000 a year? (Is 3.8% on your investment income a nightmare?)
  2. The fine on not having insurance (starting 2014) is $95 or 1% of income the first year, up to $695 or 2% of income subsequently.
    • If you can’t find a policy for less than 8% of your income, you don’t pay the fine.  Did you see that?
    • Do you have a policy now?

Are you still in the category of those who will pay taxes?  Even if you are…

Is your money really yours?

As a believer, is your money really yours?

What bothers me is the dichotomy believers force on certain aspects of politics and their faith (I am guilty of this, too, at times).  We say that we don’t own anything in this world – anything we have is a undeserved gift from God:

…and then when we are called upon to give of those things (missions? charity?) or, in the case of government, required to give up some of those things, we panic. We rant.  We call down God’s wrath on those who would dare tred upon our rights as American citizens (government mainly – we wouldn’t dare call down God’s wrath on missionaries or charities asking us for our “hard-earned” money because that sounds bad, and besides – it’s not required.  Or is it?  Not by your government, but by God Himself…).

Why do we try to hold on so firmly to earthly possessions that we really have no right to as believers?  If you truly view everything as a gift from God, it will sadden you to part with said possessions, but it should not infuriate you and cause you to run around screaming about your freedom being taken away.

No one can ever take away your salvation and freedom in Christ.  Isn’t that what truly matters?

“He said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’.” – Luke 20:25

“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.  When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly, it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.” – Proverbs 23:4-5

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

Posted in Christianity, In the News, Observations on Life | 1 Comment »

Help for Haiti

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Many have seen images and read news reports of the devastation caused in Haiti by last week’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake.  You may have also read the warnings of earthquake fraud, of people trying to make a buck off of the catastrophe.  More recently, you may have read the sad news of looting and aid being slow in coming to those who need it most.

If you’re like me (wanting to help more than my wallet will ever allow), there are ways – some are even local – to reach out to Haiti during this time:

OutWest Marketing
Wild about the West?  So Are We!

Owned by a sweet couple, this “new charm” of Old Town Newhall is  a “Western Boutique and Cultural Center”.  I have met one of the owners, and she is a sweet lady.

This Thursday, January 21st, they are hosting Fine Art Photographer Frank Lozano and his work.  Frank has connections to Haiti and has announced that he will be donating 100% of the proceeds of any of his work sold that evening to Haiti.  OutWest will donate 10% of all their online and retail sales to Three Angels Children’s Relief.

For more info, check out OutWest’s website at: www.scvoutwest.com

 

Sport Chalet

Sport Chalet & Soles 4 Souls
Lend a hand by donating shoes today.

I heard about this opportunity at church today.  Sport Chalet has teamed up with Soles 4 Soles and is currently accepting gently used shoes for Haiti.  The drive is only until January 31st, so if you’d like to participate, now is the time!

For more info, check out this page: http://www.sportchalet.com/category/soles+4+souls+and+sport+chalet.do

We can definitely be praying for the Haitian people, and we should be.  Reaching out in tangible ways is good, too.  Both are needed.

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Corinne’s Book Bag

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Inspired by the article Barack’s Book Bag published on Slate.

The president of the United States is on vacation.  Apparently, like most people on vacation, most of the U.S. presidents bring a stack (or mini-stack) of books with them for personal edification and enjoyment.  According to the article above, ever since John F. Kennedy confessed to reading the 007 series, the media has speculated on what exactly a president’s reading list says about him.  I wasn’t quite sure what was meant by that – says about him as a what?  A person?  A leader?  A curious mind who happens to like reading?

The article got me thinking about what I have been reading (or attempting to read) or have read this past summer.  It also reminded me of the stack of textbooks waiting for my attention next week when I return to grad school.

Should we judge a person by what they read?  Or, for that matter, should we judge a person by what they haven’t read?  I know if I were to plop myself down on a lawn at my place of employment with certain books in hand, I would definitely receive some curious stares, miniscule applause, or maybe even some chastisement.  Were I to do the same at my local Starbucks, I may get a few stares and nothing more (maybe a few free samples?).  I sometimes feel embarrassed checking out books from my local library (especially the day I checked out She’s Not the Man I Married, which I found quite by accident and discovered to be truly fascinating.  Unfortunately, I did not finish…I shall return to it next summer), where some of the teenage clerks give me odd looks as I smile at them in an effort to hurry my checkout process.

Either way, here are the books I am currently reading/will be reading in the months to come.  Judge me as you will.

For Grad School:

For Teaching:

And a few other books I can’t remember or don’t have nearby at the moment.

For Personal Interests:

I guess my lists are slightly ambitious (*laugh to self*), but I’m hoping to get through all the books.  I really am.

What do my lists say about me?  I’m not sure, actually.  The only thing it shows for sure is that I will be mind-blowingly busy next semester.

Good luck on your reading list, President Obama.  Wish me luck on mine.  Let me know how the judging goes!

 

Related Articles on Obama’s Vacation Reading:

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Farewell, Encarta | Hello, Critical Thinking

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

The Interwebz have been buzzing with the news for a month now – Microsoft is going to discontinue their Encarta Encyclopedia.  I, personally, do not use the software/web interface, but I did way back in the olden days of 2000.  While living in Eastern Europe, some kind person from the United States donated a laptop to my mother for my education, and along with that laptop came 6 beautiful, colorful discs with Encarta scrolled across them. I spent many hours hunched over the small screen, scrolling through articles, reading about different countries I had lived in (just so I could see the pictures and not feel homesick), and absorbing information in general.  My favorite feature was their 360 degree “virtual tours” of various places.  Alcatraz became my favorite; I would spent hours freaking myself out by making up different stories to go with my “wanderings” around Alcatraz.  Ah, to be a kid again.

Microsoft had this to say about Encarta’s demise:

Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft’s goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business.

Indeed, we do “seek and consume information in considerably different ways”.  Take Wikipedia, for example.  Even The Wall Street Journal announced Encarta’s demise with the headline, “Microsoft to Shut Encarta as Free Sites Alter Market”.  That’s one of the draws of Wikipedia – it is free, and it has tons of articles on topics ranging from extremely academic to mind-blowingly unimportant (but are important to some, of course).  Encarta, as far as I could tell, was like the traditional encyclopedia.  I would not be able to find higher math help in it, nor…on a completely different plane, the latest news on Flight of the Conchords.

But, is access to so much information really that great?  I think so, but I also think that critical thinking and discernment are needed when filtering through the oodles of information presented.  Christopher Dawson of ZDNet apparently agrees, as seen from this quote from The Wired Campus:

The demise of the encyclopedia, he argues, should simply galvanize educators into teaching the research skills students need to wade through “brutally powerful knowledge sources” like Wikipedia and Google. “The encyclopedia is dead,” Mr. Dawson writes. “Long live critical thinking.”

Long live critical thinking, indeed.  If any of my students read this, now you know why I assign you those research projects and try to get you to articulate your thoughts in class.

Articles of Interest on this topic and/or critical thinking:

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Good Morning, Mrs. President

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

I used to have aspirations of becoming a president of the United States.  I was crushed in 8th grade when I found out that foreign-born American citizens need not apply.  Then my hopes were raised when I was told that foreign-born American citizens could become president…as long as both parents were citizens of the US at time of birth.  Awww, drat!

Congrats to Barack Obama and all, but I think I have finally reached the end of my presidential aspirations (or delusions, at least).  After reading this article in the New York Times, I will never again want to become president…ever.  I cringe when I think of what Obama is going to have to go through once he’s sworn in.

I know you’re all about change, Mr. President-to-Be.  But I think this is definitely one rule you should get changed ASAP, for your sake and for those of us techies who dream (or used to dream) of holding the highest office in the nation.

Maybe I should txt him…

her new toy by you.


Posted in In the News, Observations on Life, Technology | No Comments »

Child Violence

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness. ~Sam Peckinpah

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

Have you read the headlines lately? Did you see the story about the nine-year-olds in Georgia who plotted to “tie up their teacher, put tape over her mouth, hit her over the head with a paperweight, and then possibly cut her”? According to the news report, they were caught on the day they were to implement their plans. The surprising thing (or maybe not that surprising?) is that a lot of the students were in on the plans, as evidenced by the fact that some tried to explain that the broken steak knife was for cutting the tape, not to hurt the teacher.

I can remember a lot from my days as a nine-year-old (it was an awkward time for me), but taking a steak knife to school to hurt my teacher never crossed my mind. I’m sure I had some grievances with a few of my teachers (most likely with my math teacher – I still dislike math to this day), but to purposely plan to tie her up and harm her? Wow. What in the world?

A lot of people may read the article and think, “What’s happening to society?” Others may think, “Where were the parents in all of this? Why were they not teaching morals to these kids?” Still others may ask, “How could the school’s security be so lax to allow the knife on to the grounds?” I secretly ask, “What in the world did that teacher do to incite several nine-year-olds to plot her harm?” But, whatever questions are asked, as Home Economists/Family & Consumer Scientists, where do we fall in all of this? Were these children to cross our paths, what would we do? What would we teach them? What would we say?

Did you read the other article in the news about the twelve-year-old boy who killed a man who was attacking his mother? According to the news article, he was playing a video game in the adjacent room when he heard his mother scream. Running into the kitchen, he found his mother on the floor, “straddled by a fellow resident who was choking her.” After yelling at the man to stop, the boy then took a knife and swung at the man.

Stamp [the mother] said she didn’t fully realize at first what her son had done. “He didn’t say anything,” she said. “But I knew when I looked in his eyes. I said, ‘Oh, Lord.’ ” – L.A. Times

Authorities are still trying to figure out whether the boy will be charged with anything.

Both stories involve children and violence. One story may seem stupid, while the other may seem justified. What if…you claimed the nine-year-olds were justified and the twelve-year-old was stupid? Feels wrong, doesn’t it? But no one is applauding the twelve-year-old as a hero to save his mother. I even get the feeling that the mother isn’t too sure her son is a hero who saved her life.

Personally, between the two stories, I appreciate the twelve-year-old, not because of what may be labeled a heroic act but because of his attitude:

The boy said he was not happy with what happened but felt he had no choice.

“I told God that I had stabbed him because he was killing my mother. I know he understands, and I think he will keep us safe now.” – L.A. Times

As teachers (and other professionals), what will we teach our students? Can we impact them in such a way that they will save our lives and the lives of others  instead of plot our destruction? I guess that’s a choice we make everyday…

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