Does cash motivate students?

 The school year started off with a bang. Your child seemed eager to stay on top of his homework, but soon his energy and enthusiasm began to dwindle and now you worry he may be falling behind. Nagging, cajoling, threatening, punishing seem to get you nowhere. And the idea of offering a reward — say, a few dollars for good grades — crosses your mind.

While you’re hardly the first parent to consider paying for A’s, the approach seems to be spreading from families to schools to entire districts. "Learn and earn" programs run the gamut from providing non-cash incentives for good grades (pizza parties, ice cream socials) to paying students cold, hard cash for high test scores. But is it a good idea — at home or in school? I took a look at a controversial program in Brooklyn, NY, inspired in part by Harvard economist Roland Fryer, whom I interviewed for the story. I also spoke to Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards, who argues that paying kids for good grades sends the absolute wrong message — and even backfires.

What would you like to know from these guys about paying for grades? Send me a great question — and I’ll ask Kohn and/or Fryer in a follow-up interview later this month.