Why Not Pay Our Children for a Job Well Done?

What is wrong with paying students to do a good job in school? Since when has any full grown individual ever worked for free or just the reward of a job well done in this country? That would have been in the 1800’s and they called it slavery. Ok also maybe they call that type of job being a teacher in this country.

Students in a Eubank Elementary School asked Superintendent Brooks why not pay them for good grades. So why not pay students for good grades in this state? Base their pay not on classroom grades but on progress toward meeting standard set by the national averages. Give them a real reason to demand that their teachers provide them the skills they need to improve their scores on those exams.

We want our kids to do well in school so they will be prepared for the real business world which bases pay rates on your level of skills. Since when have you ever heard your boss say, “aw just do it for the personal reward?” Let’s ask Brooks to be superintendent for just the personal reward of doing a good job.

Brooks thinks this is a bad idea because it would be a bribe but is that not what a paycheck and bonuses are in the first place. We live in a country that operates on the idea of capitalism which says you get paid for the quality of your work. How is this a bad lesson to teach our children in the first place? Smart people ask for and ever sometimes demand to be paid a higher wage or a bonus for achieving above the norm when it comes to work.

Brooks is right that our state cannot afford to pay the $2.25 million to encourage students to do well so this is where the school system should reach out to local businesses and well off individuals in our communities to raise funds to be able to provide such a bonus program in the first place. Get local business leaders interested in encouraging our young people to work for a real world reward for a job well done. Limit the funds so that not every kid gets the bonus but those that have the most improvement on their scores are the ones that get the reward.

Brooks should be the cheerleader for such programs that teach our children that they are valued and that a job well done is worth a good paycheck or a bonus at the end of the day. Why is this man still superintendent of our children’s school system?