Newt Gingrich's Learn and Earn Program... Not Too Smart

Newt Gingrich's plan to pay students to take tutoring classes is being tested in a couple of Georgia Schools. Creek side High School and Bear Middle School will be paying a few 8^th and 11^th grade students $8.00 an hour for a Learn & Earn Program.

I have several issues with paying these kids to learn.


First, they are paying students at an hourly rate that many adults do not receive. For every person without a job who declares they are too good to work at McDonalds, this is where this type of thinking comes from.

Second, this program rewards students who are not motivated to perform by and using money to attempt to motivate them.

Third, this program, and programs like it creates a welfare mentality that shows students that slackers can and do be rewarded for doing as little work as possible.

Finally, this program is removing the need for students to get part time jobs. This is robbing them of the change to gain work experience they can use to get quality jobs when they are finished with school.

I no longer pay my children an allowance for doing their chores because I realized I was rewarding them financially for doing what was expected of them as members of our family. After all, no adult is paid for the time it takes to maintain their home and take care of their kids. They are paid for jobs they do over and above their home responsibilities. I felt I could give my children a better appreciation of money by having them earn it in the same way adults earn it. They would be paid for doing age appropriate jobs only after their household chores were satisfactorily complete.