Extra Credit

In modern times it is very common for students to trade in outside materials for extra credit. Most of the time, the materials asked for are common items that can be used in the classroom, but sometimes “money, food, and clothing” are also asked for. The exchange of donations for grades is ultimately not okay. It makes the act of donating a rather selfish act, not every family is well-off enough salary wise to buy their children’s grades, and it creates an expectation that won’t be met outside of school.
Donating to charity is a magnanimous act. Giving something of one’s own to another person in need is very kind. Once you give, a warm, fuzzy feeling is usually felt. But now since “various club and organizations [that] sponsor charity drives” are asking directly from students to donate, a new factor comes into play. It begins the “exchange of donations for grades,” which is not okay. This teaches children that when they donate to charity, they will be receiving something back in return. Some children might even begin to believe that they should only donate when something is in it for them, which is not the idea of donating to begin with. This selfless act of donating just for the good of the community becomes a selfish act of donating so that they will get “bonus points on tests and final averages.” The trade of “donations for grades” is sending a wrong “message” to the students.
Another reason that this is “morally wrong” is the fact that these students are really just buying their grades. With the current state that our economy is in, not every student has the same advantage and opportunity when it comes to trading “donations for grades.” While a child that has the luxury of living in a well-off family donates a lot of items to gain extra credit, another child might be barely surviving in a low-income family and donating is just out of question in general. Those in a luxurious family have an unfair advantage over the others. This also teaches children that