The audacity of New York City has once again grabbed the spotlight in national headlines. New York officials announced Monday a new anti-poverty program and, while the idea of any anti-poverty program is commendable, it’s some of the incentives that are causing a stir.
With Opportunity NYC, as the program is called, the city would pay cash incentives to low-income students for good grades and classroom attendance, CNN reported.
Families with students in elementary, middle or high school would receive up to $50 per month for a 95 percent school attendance rate, $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences and $50 for obtaining a library card,which is free.
Students testing well in exit exams can receive up to $600 for each passing grade as well as a $400 bonus for making it to graduation.
But adding money to a problem like this is about a useful as using a Band-Aid to stop a leak in a dam. It’s not going to be a considerable solution.
This simply serves as evidence for the level of desperation the educational leaders have reached up in New York.
Certainly, there is a better use for that money. Perhaps in an after school program, or even a group of doctors tending to the low-income children would be more beneficial than just throwing money blindly to a problem.
There is also the underlying concern about using money as an incentive for improvement. While it is true that high education yields a higher income in most cases, financial gain shouldn’t necessarily be the driving force for self-improvement.
