Questions: Society & Politics

I found out about this the other day, and I think it is absolutely crazy that kids are actually getting paid to go to school nowadays. At first, I was joking around like, "man, why wasn’t this a thing when I was in school?”

The program says that students get paid for perfect attendance during designated cycles. If they miss a single hour or come in late and tardy, they don’t get a dime. Apparently, this is a major initiative being pushed by the Detroit Public Schools Community District to fight massive chronic absenteeism numbers.

But man, back when I was going to school, we went to class regardless of how we felt. No matter how much we complained or didn’t want to go, our parents made us wake up and walk through those doors anyway. We didn't need a cash prize just to show up and do what we were supposed to do. I get that absenteeism rates are high and Detroit is trying to fix a deeply struggling system, but paying kids just to attend feels wild.

I honestly don’t think this does any real good for them in the long run. It teaches a bad lesson because they will probably grow up thinking and expecting to get a reward for every single thing they are supposed to do in life. Real life doesn't hand out cash prizes just for showing up to your basic responsibilities.

What do y'all think about this? Is bribing kids a smart, modern solution to get them into classrooms, or is it a bad look that completely ruins basic discipline and personal responsibility?

Corporal punishment is legal in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.

Why is it legal in red states and illegal everywhere else?