Do you remember those students in high school that used to sit in the back of the class, pass notes, talk, disrupt, and simply not listen to the Chemistry teacher's details about the Periodic Table? The ones that thought Barium was the new chant aimed at opponents during football games? I know...corny, but you get the picture.
It's no mystery that a great number of our students aren't receiving the education they are sent to school for everyday and accordingly, only close to 70% are graduating nationwide. In the state of Georgia the number falls to an astounding 56%. Obviously, these children aren't purely dim-witted or don't have the capacity to learn, they simply don't have the motivation to find interest in school, specifically in math and science as they grow up.
In case you still don't care, the 2001 Hart-Rudman Commission identified the nation's failure in math and science education as the second-biggest threat to our national security. If we don't keep up with the world in education, we won't be participating in the decisions made.
The Learning Makes a Difference Foundation has created the "Learn and Earn" program that provides the kind of motivation that every human can relate to: cash. With its sights set on the
In its infant 'pilot program' state, the results to this possibly controversial approach to learning are promising, gaining praise from parents that say their child has turned a new leaf. Where some students were once failing a class they are now passing and are interested in the subject matter.
Sounds good for them, but if Joe Slacker gets $8/hour to come do some after school studying after spending the morning daydreaming in class, what motivation is there for the students that had the drive from the beginning? These rewards for bad behavior could create an environment that tells everyone studying is only worth it when it immediately stuffs your pockets. The urge that everyone has for instant gratification could soon be satisfied, taking some students' sights off of the more rewarding route they originally bought into.
The answer has to be discovered somewhere in the middle. In an effort to boost underachievers, the school cannot ignore self-motivated individuals. Obviously, the measly $8/hour for a couple of hours of work isn't going to get any adult concerns taken care of like paying off mortgages, but the goal that is actually achieved is igniting the pilot light in young people's brains that gets them interested in subject matter they were never really told they should or could understand with a little bit of work.
Motivation is the key, and sadly, money is the only factor left in high school students' minds that gets them going. As long as they are not written off and presumed to be lost cases incapable of learning, maybe we can discover the tactics that get them interested. It may take a few dollars to get them in, but once they realize they can succeed, the rest is on the house.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 3)
16. german guy- cool. I like finding common ground with people who normally disagree with me. Especially when they disagree respectfully and therefore deserve respect themselves
Strados at 6:35PM on May 21st 2008
17. Iron- not all public schools are funded by taxpayers...Nevada I believe funds their schools through mining projects. Could be wrong, but that's what they told me when I interviewed for them.
Strados at 6:36PM on May 21st 2008
18. "This probably is a bad idea, but IT IS AN IDEA! Don't slam people for trying."
This is exactly the problem. This need to just "do something" regardless of the fact that it might be completely counterproductive. At least half the problems we have in this country are the result of some "idea" someone or some group had that got implemented because "WE HAVE DO TO SOMETHING ABOUT XYZ!!!"
I'm sorry, this doesn't count as trying to solve the problem.
Throwing money at a problem out of frustration almost never works. At best, it makes the throwers feel good about having "done something".
This is just plain stupid.
bob at 6:58PM on May 21st 2008
19. Strados, funny you should mention that. I was in Las Vegas last year and while I was there they were having a telethon for their public schools.I wondered how the casinos escaped paying.
IRONBLUEEYES at 7:06PM on May 21st 2008
20. J - Very Nice work. I should hire you to write my blogs for me.
JX3 - You seem to be overreacting to German guy's version of liberation theology. It sounds more like the Black Panthers. But, is it not racist for Rev. Wright and his church to be constantly harping about African nationalism? What if my church was all about white, European identity? You'd call me a racist and be correct for once.
Incidentally, it's folks on your side of the isle , politically speaking, that seem to think that the $15,000 - 25,000 cost to educate inner city students, many of whom can't read their own diplomas when they graduate, is just ducky.
How about school choice and a real chance for these folks to get out of poverty? What a concept. GW Bush said that reading is a civil right. I think that is profound. And to paraphrase another famous (ex) President: "No phony accusation of racism against a conservative ever educated a poor black child."
K - What in the world are you talking about, my friend? There is no such thing as Christian Chemistry. If somebody chooses to believe that the universe was created and is held together by a supreme being, why does that necessarily preclude that believer (like myself) from also understanding the facts of science, including the principles of biology and chemistry? It doesn't.
In fact, there are hundreds of scientists, many with PHD's, who don't subscribe to the theory of evolution. The Institute for Creation Research lists many of them on their web site.
Dave at 1:49AM on May 22nd 2008
21. Once upon a time
A close relative was telling me a story of when he went to school. He was from a normal family at the time,which ment not very much money. His father worked 2 jobs just to make ends meet. There was no tv or car in the family. He walked for 30 minutes to school each day, which was a Catholic School. He said he had 2 pairs of shoes, one for school, one for play. He had 2 uniforms for school, and two pair of dungerees for play. 2 times a month he went to the movies, walked to the movies and back home, again 30 min each way. Bus was available, but no money. One candy for the movie. No safety nets, no after school programs, no dance, no gym, no band, no after school sports. There was no help for those who did poorly in school, except to get left back. Yet, he maintained a B average, still had report cards, and went to public school for high school where he had an A average, in part because of the better schooling he got at Catholic School. He lived in a middle class area, with no poor areas, all white community. He went to a Military Academy, served 25 years, worked awhile after service, and is now happily retired, making more money now than many working people presently make working.
There was no frills, and he as millions of others did fine. As we went through the 60's and 70's, the educational system went downhill. More money went into the system and it still kept going downhill.
Kids will learn if taught. It is not unusual for kids to learn 2 or 3 useful languages while in school, along with getting math and science. That is why USA is a dismal 2nd to the rest of the world, we do not teach in the schools.
robert okane at 2:12AM on May 22nd 2008
22. German Guy
nice to see you back, and yep, he is still a moron
robert okane at 2:15AM on May 22nd 2008
23. Read all the problems in education at http://detentionslip.org. It's your leader for crazy headlines from our public schools!
sweetchuckd at 2:21AM on May 22nd 2008
24. Just because you choose to ignore the giddiness in German guy's message when he happily talked about the killing of Black children doesn't mean that it wasn't there. Calling me a Black Panther and other things that you're afraid of doesn't make me one of them either. That's just as empty as what you believe my accusation of racism is.
You should know that there are churches that are and have been about White, European identity in this country. You just don't pay attention to those sound bytes of those pastors preaching hate, or you're just not threatened by them. There are bad people of every race. Please stop ignorantly portraying Black people as the problems in this country and giving a pass to everyone else.
Do you also assume that every Black church has a pastor like Rev. Wright? I can't imagine that you do, but when you're out of things to talk about, he is a pretty good card to pull, maybe scare up a little more support for your beliefs. There was no mention of putting Black children above White children in the blog, it was some of the comments that brought up Black students with the assumption that they, by nature are always the problem.
What you all fail to understand is that Black people can learn. Based on the underlying derogatory comments here all that exists are sweeping judgments about them killing each other, dealing drugs, not knowing how to read, only knowing how to play sports. Do you really believe that Black people have no worth in society? To ignore the obvious fact that Black people are just as capable of doing anything other races of people can is racist, I'm sorry to break it to you.
When you think it's a waste to put money into schools to provide lights, textbooks from this decade, and teachers that are qualified to teach, then you're saying only other kids are worth that funding, not Black kids. Just b/c Bush says reading is a civil right doesn't mean he's done anything to help make that happen. He says a lot of things but has failed on so many of those promises it's too much to list.
I know I'm getting no where with this topic, so I will stop trying to have a conversation with people that choose to ignore anything beyond what they've ever believed. The world is bigger than the one you grew up in. In order to begin to understand it, and make it better, you have to listen with no preconceived ideas. Maybe I just have to realize that some people don't want to make it better.
JX3 at 3:03AM on May 22nd 2008
25. JX3
1)No one called you a black panther. I was saying that German Guy sounded like he was describing Black Panthers. Good grief. Why would I apply that to you? I have no idea if you're black.
2)Regarding blacks, no one is saying they shouldn't be educated and can't learn. Quite the opposite.
3)You have a gift for distorting people's words that is remarkable. You hear what you want to hear and interpret based on your preconceived biases. And you've refuted things I never said.
Dave at 6:38AM on May 22nd 2008
26. Iron- yeah....if casinos had to contribute to schools in vegas...they'd probably be among the wealthiest schools in the world.
As another example, there have been multiple lawsuits in Ohio filed stating that property tax funding for the school system is unconstitutional because it does not provide an equal education for all. There are schools with electron microscopes in Ohio not far from schools with coal furnaces and bathrooms unattached to the main building. It's pathetic and completely ignored.
Strados at 7:34AM on May 22nd 2008
27. I forgot to mention that the lawsuits won. But nobody can figure out any other way to fund schools, so it just keeps on going.
Strados at 7:35AM on May 22nd 2008
28. Jay, absolutely positively right on the money. These liberals ruin everything they get their hands on and then come up with a nonsense quick fix solution that just makes things worse. You name it, they have ruined it. Welfare, entitlement programs, education, universities, military, discipline, sex education, abortion, etc, etc.
Hey, Okane, now I see why they call you insane. You have the audacity (nice overused word, see I can use it too) to actually support your position with facts.
The last three days while driving through Michigan I had the pleasure of listening to mind numbing Air America programming. It was pure comic relief. These are the best the liberals have to offer. Amazing. Actually, to be honest, quite embarrassing. I really did not know the depths to which the liberals would go to sell their souls to get to the white house. Just plain crazy. Each of these so called experts just mercillessly bad mouthed Hillary. All of a sudden they have come to the conclusion that she is a lying, cheating, coniving bitch. Not only are these all good liberal qualities but really no revalation as we conservatives have known this for some time now.
Let me count the ways these morons, one after another, brought hypocrisy to a new level.
They started out by saying that Bush and all of his friends are elitist, blah blah blah, and then the next second they went into a tirade about the racist W Viginia white voters all being dumb and uneducated because they voted for Hillary. Their proof of racism was that they in fact let Hillary win the state. Of course they could not comment on what it meant that black voters vote for Obama at a greater than 90% clip. That of course is not racism. Never mind that there is no more uneducated group in the country than blacks. That fact or argument was never broached. The premise was that all these legions of black voters were well informed and the whites were ignorant and not informed or else they too would have seen the misgivings of their ways.
Of course anytime they were confronted with any facts, they could not answer them. They sounded like the average poster here. And now I get where all the liberals on here keep referring to my arguments as repub talking points. Now I know what that means. If they do not have an answer they just accuse you of spewing talking points. And of course all the lemming follow suit. I guess that is why they call you insane, Okane. No answer, spew some nonsense.
Then, amazingly, they keep referring to Obama as a black man. Hello, he is half white. Never mind that if it wasnt for the white people in his life, who are as he puts it, typical white people, (what would have happened to McCain if he had uttered typical black people, but I digress) he would be dead or in a gutter somewhere. Or the fact that I was lead to believe it was politically incorrect to refer to someone as black. If ever the term African american fit, it would be in his case. He is african and american after all. I guess it just doesnt sound as attractive somehow. Then they kept droaning on and on about how Hussein Obama is a Christian and they know this to be fact. Actually, his spiritual advisor is a liberation theologian or more precisely a black liberation theologian. If you do not know what that is then you have no business supporting Osama as Ted Kennedy referred to him. (Cenk, I am surprised you missed that little bit of commentary. First he calls him Osama bin Laden and recovers quickly and calls him Osama Obama. Must have been caused by his tumor. Where has the liberal media been on that one). Black Liberation theology is a Marxist, repulsive kill whitey and his god type of belief system wherein they believe the state must be taken over. Think Che Guevara. Socialist revolution. Reverend Wright states that this is what he preaches and has done so since the 60's. Nonetheless, Obama is a Christian because that is what they want him to be. Nevermind the 20 years of indoctrination. nevermind that Barrack used to go by Barry until wrights lessons began. nevermind that he threw his grandmother under the bus all the while failing to do so with Wright.
I could go on but I must admit it is truly eye opening. And the best part of all that is to think Cenk was not even smart enough to get or keep a show on that station. Crazy indeed but not surprising. Now, how about those talking points. Ps. I havent been back to this hack blog in a few months but I see Captain Negative is still a moron. General women behavior. What is that? Great argument. Maybe thats why you are not married and still live in your mothers basement.
german guy at 9:34AM on May 22nd 2008
29. JX3-If you would have put forth your latest argument orignally then maybe we would not have had the majority of the disagreements we have now but instead you jumped to conclusions and assumptions. On the other hand, the assumptions you jumped to which led to defense of black kids were right on the mark. You knew it yourself without anyone having to make the argument first.
Everyone knows that the majority of all black schools are funded at a rate that is much higher than the average. I live near Gary, IN and they are funded near the top of the state but consistantly finish near the bottom in performance on the ISTEP, a mandatory standardized test. Hell, they even study directly off of the test so I dont want to hear any crying about the test being biased against blacks. The solution, keep throwing more money at the problem and that always fails. Year after year the same result.
The school issues for blacks are just a microcosm of what is wrong with the black community. The reason that things never get better for blacks is because they wont recognize or admit to the problem. It isnt whitey, it isnt the government, it isnt racism. The answer is right in the mirror. Psychology 101. Dont admit the problem, cant solve the problem. That applies to politics as well. Blacks complain that they never have it as good as they should and the government is always against them. Hello, then stop voting democrat all the time. For fifty years they vote straight democrat and for fifty years they complain about their representation. Maybe it is time for a change.
By the way, I was not describing black panthers. i was describing Black Liberation Theology as written by Dr Cone. That is the basis of racist reverend Wrights teachings. He told Hannity that if he did not know the teachings then he was not fit to have a conversation with him. If Wright teaches black liberation theology and the black panthers are modeled after those teachings, then, there you go. Says it all doesnt it.
And yes, white people are stupid too. Look how many have cum all over themselves just at the sight of Hussein Obama. Hell, there is a lawyer in my office who blindly believes everything Osama says and conveniently brushes aside the obvious. He is sure Obama really does like the country and was just being stubborn not wearing the pin. Michelle Osama was just having a bad day and didnt really mean that she was not proud of the country that educated her and let her be a multi millionaire. Did I mention he is the worst lawyer at our firm?
german guy at 10:15AM on May 22nd 2008
30. Robert Okane:
'Once Upon A Time' is a great story but fails to take into account the other ways in which the world we live has changed. Back then, a honest days work equalled an honest days pay. For instance, when I was a kid, my father was a Jersey City police officer at a time when police officers made 18K a year. He came from a poor family, had just gotten out of the Army, had a wife at home who didn't work (most wives didn't back then), one son (me) one on the way (my brother)...and what did he do? He bought a two-family house. Today, police officers make three times what he did and that same scenario COULDN'T play out!! 30 years ago, the average CEO made 10 times what the average employee of a given corporation made. Today, he makes 400 times!! When we were kids, we were taught that the difference bewteen our freedom loving Nation and other was that others just threw everyone in prison. Today, we are that country. America has the highest percentage of its population in prison than any other country on Earth.
If you want kids to make better decisions, you have to give them better choices. It is our responsibility to keep the road to success clear and well lit instead of a 'members-only' toll road wherein non-members are summarily picked off by snipers or taken out by IEDs.
Keith J. Mohrhoff at 10:32AM on May 22nd 2008