A contentious issue in the United States has incited discussion across the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) after its education director, Chris Spence, tweeted the idea of paying children to attend school and pass exams.
"Should we pay kids in our more disadvantaged communities to do well in school? Perhaps, as part of a poverty reduction scheme?" he wrote.How could this help our kids - even those in disadvantaged communities? How can a monetary reward teach them the true value of an education? It won't.Paying for educational success is a simplistic answer to a very complicated question - that of funding and opportunity. But bringing forward the idea, and others like it, should not be quashed but encouraged. If the three-year pilot project in New York City is any indication, this specific idea would not work. The improvements were so small the city is cancelling the program.However, what the idea does do is raise the very real issue around how schools are funded in Ontario and the opportunities afforded students across the public system.It is no surprise the school system, in particular the TDSB, has reached a tipping point: Schools are being closed/sold due to lack of enrolment; the Good Places to Learn funding program, which injected money into improving schools among other things, was recently cancelled by the province; and the growing gap between well-heeled public schools and those in poorer neighbourhoods is becoming more drastic.In a recent report by the parent advocacy group People for Education, Ontario public schools rely on nearly $600 million from private funding, fees, donations and other revenues including vending machines. We applaud business and community efforts to fund education. Sadly, it has become a necessity. We hope this hasn't translated into those public schools in more affluent neighbourhoods being able to raise more money to improve their students' lives.We know there is going to be a provincial election next October. Voters will demand political parties come up with innovative platforms on education development and funding. What parties say or do will speak volumes about the priority they place on education.We think a strong, transforming education system is critical to the future of the province and we will hold politicians accountable for the decisions they make. We hope they're up to the task.Voters should demand that any and all ideas when it comes to educating our children be brought up and rationally discussed - even ones as ridiculous as paying our kids to stay in school.