New School Fridays: The Million Cellphone Program?
This initiative just might be able to get more kids through high school… but what about college? When the material incentives and premiums are gone, how many of these young people will have the desire pursue education for its less immediate rewards. Successful college completion depends on a combination of ambition, aspirations, and intellectual curiosity. I’m not sure the million cellphone approach will do much to foster any of these qualities.
This program might well increase the number of NYC public school students who earn high school diplomas. Chances are, though, that most of the seniors in the program who decide to go on to college will be the same students who would have completed high school and gone on to college even without the million cellphone program.
Posted Ajuan Mance
Posted in African American Students, Black Students, Current Events, Million Cellphone Program, New York City, Roland Fryer