Cheat to Success

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Cheat to Success In the article, “Can Students be Paid to Excel?” Jennifer Medina reports that paying students for their performance at school can actually help them become better students. Then again, in the introduction of “Drive”, Daniel Pink gives proof to show that “extrinsic motivators”, like money, are not always the best way to inspire learning and growth in a person. This is why Los Angeles middle schools should not offer students cash rewards to improve the student’s academic performance because as time goes by, student’s academic work will go down the drain. Most students get the job done as long as they are being paid to do so. I know from reality and from the introduction of “Drive” by Daniel Pink, that states, “Rewards can deliver a short-term boost---just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more. But the effects wears off---and, worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project.” I can recall when I was told to mop and do chores around the house; I would not do it because to me it was not in my interest. However, once I started to work, my boss instructed me to mop and clean the bathroom. I mopped and cleaned the bathroom with much enthusiasm for the reason that I knew that I was getting paid to do the work. My experience can relate to Los Angeles middle school students in the sense that once the district stops compensating them, they will cease to work. Another thing to consider is that students will get a mentality of doing work for money, not in the interest of their education. As in the article “Can students be Paid to Excel?” by Jennifer Medina, she reports, “When the rewards were handed out, Jazmin Roman was eager to celebrate her $39.72. She whispered to her friend Abigail Ortega, “how much did you get?” (Paragraph 2, page 1) Abigail mouthed a barely audible answer: $36.87. Edgar Berlanga

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