I wish that there was no need for programs like these - that the students were all motivated by their mature self-interest and desire to succeed. While I'm at it, I wish their parents were both involved in their lives, and were modeling responsible behavior for them. That is not the case.

All of these kids come from low-income households. Many have no employed role model, and most of their parents are drop-outs, addicts, and/or current guests of the California Department of Corrections. Paying kids to do what they should have already done rubs me the wrong way, too - but it gives me a great tool to motivate these kids. I'm not just the teacher, I'm the Boss. These kids have all been suspended from school at some point - but getting suspended from work costs them MONEY!!! And the second time, they get fired!

Success is more powerful than home life, more addictive than crack, and a whole new experience for these kids. If we have to invest $1000 in a kid to turn them around - and I've seen it happen over and over - it's a whole lot cheaper than letting them fail. The prisons are full of people who never found out that they could do better for themselves. California spends nearly as much on prisons as on education. Many of these kids are on that path, and getting them to take on a complicated project and see it through to completion changes their view of themselves, their lives, and their dreams.

I'm a conservative in a liberal profession. I'm also a realist. This program is not new. Fourty years ago, it was CETA. Fifteen years ago, it was JTPA. Now, it's WIA. It will go on in some form, probably forever. The government will spend the money, whether or not I do this class - so either I do the class and help these kids succeed, or I don't and someone else gives it a shot. My project works, and so it gets approved time after time. There are 2-3x as many projects proposed as there are approved every year. If I don't step up, a program that wouldn't make the cut will. The kids will get paid the same - they just (probably) won't learn as much and won't be as ready to compete in the workforce.