Cashing In ECR

Cashing In

1 Should students earn money for doing well in school? It's a question many parents and teachers are asking! Some families give their children allowances based on report card grades. Other parents offer cash rewards for reaching reading goals or improving in subjects where they struggle. Some schools have tried reward programs that give students gift cards, extra recess time, or special privileges for academic achievements. Some people say these incentives are a good way to motivate kids to study and work harder. Others say paying or rewarding children to learn is wrong because kids are the ones who benefit from schoolwork. WR News student reporters Andrew Jing and Katelyn Vlastaris each took a side.

No!

2 "Getting good grades in school is what kids are supposed to be doing."

3**** Paying kids for getting good grades in school? That's outrageous! Getting good grades in school is what kids are supposed to be doing. Students get the benefit from education, so why should we get paid? You don't expect to get paid to eat, do you?

4 Your teachers and staff have already gone to school and have already gotten their education. They don't need your good grades. You do!

5 "It's not like a job. You get good grades for your own good," says student Rolina Luo.

6 Many important things in life are not necessarily motivated by money. Education is one of them.

7 Try to do well in school so that you'll have a better shot at being successful in the real world. You shouldn't have to be paid to do that.

Yes! 8 "If you reward us, it may motivate us to do great in subjects we don't like."

9 Adults go to work and get paid for their jobs. A kid's job is to go to school. By paying us for doing well in school, you are helping prepare us for the real world. If you give us a toy, we can play with it. If you give us money, however, we can save it or buy something nice. We can even give it to charity. Almost anything is possible!

10 Student Brett Upperman agrees that kids should be rewarded with money for schoolwork. "Kids need money so we can save it for college. And I want to buy a house someday," says Brett.

11 If you reward us with money, it may motivate us to do great in subjects we don't like, and then we'll start doing well by ourselves. This could give us a big boost for the rest of our lives.

Read the article “Cashing In.” Based on the details, write a response to the following: 

Explain whether or not kids should be paid for doing well in school.

Write a well-organized argumentative composition that uses specific evidence from the selections to support your answer.