 Message from the Executive Director
Much Ado…Yes, Earning by Learning is an innovative, research based program that uses incentives to motivate students to read. The concept of “incentivizing” is as old as dirt. Many parents provide allowances for good grades, for making up their bed etc. Many corporations provide bonuses, trips, and luxury accommodations for employees who reach their goals. We pay athletes millions to run up and down a field with a pigskin in hand.
Incentives only help children bridge the gap between academics and success. It is simply a gesture of appreciation for hard work that surely will reap social return for Dallas’ economic, civic, and social viability.
Do you know that many urban students can’t put a shape or form to success. It is hard for many to define success. Unlike children who come from families of opportunity, their mom is not the CEO, they don’t take summer learning excursions to Europe they don’t live in a 5 bedroom-5 bath home.
We simply ask urban children to study hard now for success 10-15 years later.
Thoughtful debate about the issue of incentivizing is always welcomed. However, let’s look at the facts. There are very few opportunities in the school day for children to read books. We have become a test driven educational system. There are very few times when children can read at their readability level and read what they are interested in. There are very few times when children have an opportunity to set goals, model among their peers good reading habits, and use technology on a daily basis.
There are very few outcomes that allow a little over 4, 000 children to read over 45,000 books and go to the computer and pass a comprehension test. There are very few programs that take only $100 per participant to get those kinds of results. There are very few programs that are research based.
Should schools already be doing what EBL does? I will let you answer that question. But for now, it’s good to know that children ARE reading. Children are beginning to understand that academic success allows you to make healthy choices in life, enrich communities and govern with morality and civility.
Maybe one day, we will only have to say to a child, “thank you for reading", "thank you for being a good child”, “thank you for learning”, “thank you for staying focused.”That attention and those kind words might really be all the incentive any child needs to dream and achieve.
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