Nothing wrong with Green for Grades

I was amused by Chuck Goudie's column about Green for Grades. He decries the evil of paying people more to be good at something than to be bad at it, in this case, paying Chicago high school students for good grades. According to Goudie, this will teach students to be 'greedy.' More likely it will teach them to work hard and succeed at something in order to get financially rewarded.

Isn't this a real world lesson that students should learn? Maybe the local pizza restaurant makes good pizza because they love to make good pizza; more likely its because the owners think good pizza will make more them more money.

I used to work for a corporation where employees were 'graded' every year on how well they had done their job, and those who got a higher grade, as decided by the boss, got more money than those who didn't.

In the marketplace, people are financially rewarded for being good at something that someone else values. The sooner students figure that out, the better. Perhaps Mr. Goudie isn't aware that it's not new or unusual to financially reward students for good grades. Many high school graduates get merit-based scholarships to attend college. Isn't this paying her for her grades? Should merit based scholarships be banned because they promote greed?

Many college graduates get higher starting salaries in their first jobs because of their academic record and achievements. If money, e.g. merit based scholarships, high starting salaries, Green for Grades, motivates students to work harder in their classes, how is this bad?

I think it's great that Green for Grades is rewarding students for doing well in school. It will help prepare them for the working world as well as encourage them to do well in high school.

Kathleen Perkins

Warrenville