Paying Kids to Read

The mayor of Noblejas, Spain thinks he's found a way to keep high schools students studying and not dropping out of school: bribery. Agustin Jimenez, the socialist official, suggests that the town pay students a euro - about $1.50 - for each hour they spend reading in the library, according to an Associated Press story:

The sweetener is part of a series of measures to be voted on by the Noblejas council in March. Others include funds for apartments in university towns for students from Noblejas, teachers to give private lessons to struggling students, and expert advice to parents on the virtues of keeping their children at school.

Supposedly, 31 percent of Spanish students leave school early, and they have some of the worst reading levels in the EU. The dropout rate in Noblejas is reportedly about 80 percent when you factor in kids who leave school at 15 or 16 after their obligatory time in classrooms is over.

Now, really, do Spanish McDonalds pay so little that a euro an hour seems generous?