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TownHall.com’s Elisabeth Meinecke and Democratic Strategist Mary Anne Marsh on whether students should be paid as an incentive to attend summer scho...
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Might -- a paycheck DC public schools are now paying or performing students to go to summer school.
The -- -- the selected students are less likely graduate high school within four years so they're being paid five dollars and 25 cents an hour.
To go to school this summer is money the best way to get kids to show up in focus joining me now are -- Strategist -- marsh and Elizabeth my -- from town hall dot com thanks to both of you for joining us.
Start with -- what do you think about that's.
This is a really tough call especially tough economic times.
On the one hand if you can -- -- kids' academic career around with this program get them to finish school get a diploma go on to college get a great job.
Those benefits.
Far exceed what would happen if they drop out no diploma no job no prospects because we pay for all of that the problem here is we already live in a society where a lot of kids get trophies for just showing up.
You wanna reward hard work and performance I'm not sure this is the way to do it now if it pays off it is but you don't know that today yeah I think Elizabeth one of the problem.
Is it -- you know in this same district a bunch of Harvard University students went down and paid kids a hundred bucks in order to get better grades it was a reward for getting the better grades.
And they found to the study that it didn't work they didn't actually do better so I worry that this doesn't even -- Exactly it's question of are you going to RD throw more money at a problem and aren't even trying money and it because let's face that.
Mean people are already making significant investments and these children's education it cost the -- twenty to 30000 dollars.
To be educated as a student and the public school system in the District of Columbia.
So the investment -- RD being made and I would say that point of you know whether or not it costs more an hour later you know depending on us paying for -- they drop out of school of thought etc.
Look at those programs I'm not other side of that you know maybe we shouldn't be paying for some of that stuff that they get -- a safety net that might not be incentivizing them to do as well they couldn't score right now yeah.
I mean -- and the flip side of it of course is that it's positive reinforcement as opposed as opposed to.
Always being negative with kids is opposed to having them in the -- doing things are getting arrested getting in trouble.
It's a positive reinforcement for doing something that I guess I don't now what do you think.
Well -- here's the challenge today you know many of us you know in the past.
Families communities.
Culture instill values that if you work hard play by the rules you get rewarded.
That doesn't exist as much today as it once did so in this case if you can use this incentive to show kids look show up.
And while you're here really were carting your studies if that's sticks and they stick with school -- -- all gonna benefit because they're gonna name they're gonna contribute to society even more.
If it works it was worth every penny -- -- bet we just don't know.
Elizabeth -- you know there's a lot of people -- the audience right now screaming at you know -- Hingis to show up to school they need to just show up anyway.
Obviously that doesn't always happen you know we had a psychologist on a short time ago that said that a lot of kids lacked the long term.
Time horizon to realize that it's gonna pay off in the long run -- if you don't have parents reinforcing that.
They just don't see the benefit down the road is there another way to drive home that message of why this is a long term benefit and get them to show up.
Other than cash.
I'm you know I do agree that parents are are the best method for that so I I think that you you know you start with the family and you know the question really as.
-- in an imminent DC councilman asked this you know when students and show up later on and they're not getting paid to go to school.
Are you know are those habits going to step are they get a gut while not getting paid so why should I work hard again if you party paid them once.
As a reward for just showing up -- -- -- what are they get a decent come September when they're not getting paid now that's absolutely true this is what we're gonna have to keep our eye on but I have a feeling it's a loser but.
We want and we wanted to get both sides equal play guys thanks for joining us.
Think -- you so.
