Daley said the concept of rewarding good grades goes on every day in the suburbs. The only difference is, the prizes are a whole lot bigger. "If affluent suburban parents can lavish their kids with new cars and trips to warm places in exchange for good grades, why can't inner-city kids get cash bounties," Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said Friday.
"There are a lot of poor kids. -- Some of them have nothing. Some don't even have parents. ... They're lucky to get Christmas gifts. They're lucky they get a hug once in a while. They get it at school. -- They're lucky they have even a dollar -- or any coins in their pocket," he said.
"Wealthy parents in the suburban area, they give their kids a car. They give them a trip to Hawaii. They send them around the world. They take them to Florida. They take them to California. These (inner-city) kids don't even get out of their homes for many, many years," the mayor said.
Daley weighed in for the first time on the "Green for Grades" controversy - one day after the first $265,986 in cash rewards were distributed to 1,650 Chicago Public Schools students. The "Green for Grades" program unveiled last month in 20 Chicago public high schools is the brainchild of a Dr Roland Fryer a Harvard University economics professor
Every five-week reporting period, freshmen and sophomores can earn $50 for each A, $35 for each B and $20 for each C in five subjects: English, math, science, social science and physical education. And an F during the freshman or sophomore year disqualifies students from cash rewards for that grading period. Systemwide, 49 percent of participants lost out on their first shot at cash by flunking at least one class.
source South Town Star
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