MAHONING COUNTY Learn to earn: High schoolers get paid to join summer classes

The cash is an incentive to coax kids to exchange some summer fun for education.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City school district students with a yen to learn more about the Civil War and the Underground Railroad have had more to motivate them than curiosity in recent weeks.
A dozen high school students who are participating in two summer courses that deal with those subjects will be paid $100 to successfully complete the classes.
Six youths are taking a course on blacks' contributions to the Civil War and six others are in a summer class that teaches about the Underground Railroad, named for the network of 19th-century volunteers who helped slaves flee the Southern states, explained Marty Murphy, a retired teacher who's one of the instructors.
A combination of district funds and grants make the five-week courses and the incentives possible, retired district Superintendent Benjamin McGee said Tuesday. McGee, who just ended his career this summer, helped put the program together.
A total budget for the effort wasn't immediately available.
Not an uncommon practice
Paying students to learn isn't uncommon, McGee said. He noted that about two years ago, some students at the Choffin Career Center earned $100 each to attend a series of after-school courses on technical education.
"In the right context, it has value," McGee said of paying young learners.
He noted that the cash incentive helped encourage this summer's students to take time to learn, something that will pay dividends as they continue their education.
McGee said he also is hopeful the program will spark more interest in black history.
Besides earning $100, the students in the Civil War and Underground Railroad programs get a half credit toward their social-studies requirement. They must earn at least a "C" to qualify for the rewards, though.
Students had to apply to get into the classes.
Acceptance was based on an interview, having maintained at least a "C" average in overall school work, and having a good attendance record, Murphy said.
Field trips
Though they have spent some time this summer in the classroom, much of it has been in the field, including engaging in library research and visiting area cemeteries to seek out graves of black Civil War veterans and to make charcoal rubbings of the faded markers.
Murphy noted that 90 blacks from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties fought in the Civil War.
The students will be getting a firsthand view today of one of the war's bloodiest battlefields with a trip to Gettysburg, Pa.
The Civil War class helps students understand blacks' role in the great conflict. "They gain a better knowledge of who they were and why they fought," Murphy said.
Plans are for some of the class participants to dress as Civil War soldiers and make presentations to other students during the coming school year.
McGee said he's hopeful that the two summer classes eventually will be absorbed into the school district's regular curriculum, where they'd be offered without the cash incentive.