Five Things DISD Should Do Rather Than Pay Kids for Showing Up

By Brentney Hamilton Wed., Aug. 15 2012 at 2:29 PM

And I just got my first period during homeroom.

There is no amount of money that could make me want to go back to high school. In some ways it was like being in a pimply, angst-ridden foxhole: endless hours of insufferable, hormone-riddled boredom punctuated by brief spells of piss-your-pants terror.

But DISD has just upped the ante with a scheme that has sent us starving artist and broke journalist types plotting a Never Been Kissed "research" type scenario. The Advocate reports that students who -- get this -- merely show up for the first day of school this year will have their names placed in a drawing for a chance at a $500 debit card.

Are you kidding me? We've already successfully built a society that rewards "just showing up," reality TV being its most prominent cultural contribution. Remember when getting through school and doing reasonably well was the only proven route out of your parents' basement? Then again, if your parents have high speed wireless and health insurance ...

Here's an idea: rather than just tossing cash at the problem, why doesn't DISD put those funds toward creating public high schools that feel more like hallowed institutions of learning, rather than the deranged setting of a Chuck Palahniuk novel?

Just off the top of our heads, some better things they could do with that money:

1. More arts supplies. Or funding for integrated arts programs like MasterPEACE. Partnerships with local museums, galleries and arts collectives to infuse a sense of Dallas' cultural identity and creative movement.

2. Updated technology for quicker, more proficient research. Or fun shit, like for teaching graphic design.

3. Travel to cultural sites and museums that will expose students to problems other than making it to school on time.

4. Paying teachers a salary that makes dragging themselves out of bed worthwhile. Additionally, hiring better teachers.

5. Burn it.

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What could DISD do for $1,500? Well, that was about half the expense for the envelopes, paper, and photos taken of the 4,000 middle school students at one inner-city Dallas middle school since 2005. These students have written letters to themselves about their plans for the future, 10 years into the future from the day when they wrote the letters. Just before they placed these self-addressed envelopes, with their letters, into the 500-pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby, they posed with their Language Arts Class for a photo. They held their letters in front of them for the photo. After the photo they, one by one, placed the envelope onto the shelf inside the vault where the letter will stay for the next 10 years.

The next day the students each received two copies of that photo, one for them and one for their parents. On the back of each photo are details for their 10-year class reunion at which they will receive their letters back. It also has a reminder that they will be invited at that time to speak with the decade younger students in their old middle school. They will be asked to speak about their recommendations for success. They are warned to be prepared to answer questions such as "What would you do differently if you were 13 again?"

Since this Archive Project started in at this middle school, the main high school that receives these student has doubled their graduation rate, going from 33% to well over 63%!! Many good things caused this improvement. The School Archive Project is only one of them.

Can you think of a more productive way to spend $1,500 in our schools so as to motivate students to show up and work? See http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2010/12/school-archive-project-report-for-2010.html for more details.