Paying students to go to school...

For those who think increasing corporate financing of university research and the dictates of enrollments über alles and student/customer satisfaction in running higher education are not enough to bring us to the complete commodification of knowledge, here's this notice from Saturday's New York Times:

PAY FOR STUDENTS Public middle-school students in the District of Columbia have some of the lowest test scores in the nation. So in a pilot program this fall, about 3,000 of them will be paid for showing up at school, behaving well and getting good grades.

The idea of giving students financial incentives is starting to gain traction throughout the nation, with schools in New York City and five states experimenting with cash-for-grades. The district’s schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, says the rationale is simple: “This is exactly what life is about. You get a paycheck every two weeks. We’re preparing children for life.”

Remember: Nothing is of any intrinsic worth. Everything is measurable in dollars and cents or can't really be worth anything at all.