I can tell you as a teacher, there are a lot of responsibilities that were once considered prime domain for parents that now rest on the shoulders of your local educator. Just in: paying students to succeed. A pilot program in DC (and Chicago and 1 other city) are paying kids to meet the school requirements: attendance, wearing their uniform, grades, behavior.
Pros:
- It shows kids that we value their education enough to pay them for it.
- Maybe those who drop out or skip class because their family situation is such that they have to work, will be able to stay at school... maybe...
- It might help some motivated students how to manage money.
- It exposes kids to banks who might otherwise only manage their money through Checks Cashed type establishments. (I certainly hope that the bank they are using is fee-free, other than maybe for overdrafts.)
Cons:
- What happens when they want more money?
- Not all are buying dinner out like the article suggests.
- Can you undo a program like this? What happens if the program fails? THEN we expect the students to take their responsibilities seriously again without the cash incentive?
- Bad grades don't cancel out the money they earn just for showing up. I'm pretty sure that if all I do is show up to teach and then play on my computer all day that the money will run out...

So many other questions about this.
What do you all think?

An interesting article in the most recent Business Week examines the increasingly-circumspect relationship between colleges (and alumni associations) and banks or credit card companies.

Not only do financial institutions use free food and gifts to lure 18-year-old students into signing up for a credit card, the banks and credit card companies are using gifts (high-dollar contracts) to form partnerships with colleges. Here is a chart showing some contracts colleges signed to sell out their students to credit card issuers.

States are now starting to look into this practice, including an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. According to an aide for Mr. Cuomo:

It seems that the schools are simply selecting the university credit card based on who pays the school the most, and that may not be best for students, especially in these hard economic times.

As an undergrad, I singed up for a credit card and received a free t-shirt. However, that card still sits in my wallet and is my usual means of payment (paid off monthly, of course). At the time, it offered 5 percent back on all gas and grocery purchases, and 1 percent on everything else. It recently dropped to 1 percent on all purchases, which is good enough for me.

I admit that when I signed up for the card, I was probably more concerned with the free shirt than the terms of the credit card. That is what usually happens with 18-21 year old kids. I lucked out and got a decent card. That isn't always the case, however.

The Houston Independent School District's Board of Education took a big step last night, voting to replace all cafeteria trays with a biodegradable version. The new trays will break down in a matter of months, versus the hundreds of years for the older model.

The switch will be made in elementary schools by this coming August, and in all schools over the next couple of years. It will cost the district's food service budget $160,000 or so for the switch in elementary schools, and about $300,000 when the switch is made at all schools.

I see this as a tremendous step, especially considering the budget crisis most Texas school districts are facing. I'm glad to know that the Houston leaderships understand that something's cost is not only determined by its price tag.