Paid to Learn

AP Article
Learning is supposed to be its own reward, but when that doesn't work, should students get paid to do it?

That's the question two Georgia schools are asking in a 15-week pilot program that is paying high-schoolers struggling in math and science $8 an hour to attend study hall for four hours a week.

The privately funded "Learn & Earn" initiative, an idea from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is touted as the first of its kind in the state and one of a few similar programs nationwide.

"We want to try something new," said Jackie Cushman, Gingrich's daughter and co-founder of the group funding the initiative. "We're trying to figure out what works. Is it the answer? No. Is it a possible idea that might work? Yes."

I was blown away when I heard about this! The grading system as economy... think about what that would do to a scholarship system. As it is now, you have to keep a certain grade point average to maintain your scholarship. What if scholarships were awarded post-results? What if students were actually paid for their grades... paid in scholarships.