Baby bribes: NYC pays its kids for getting good grades. What about you?

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While I wouldn't exactly describe myself as a problem child, I have to admit that elementary school wasn't an easy thing for me. It wasn't that it was particularly hard, but rather that I had a difficult time understanding why I had to take math, science, art, and all the other classes that weren't directly related to history and literature.

My parents more or less let my questionable grades slide until the day that I brought home an F in Religion. After briefly contemplating hiring an exorcist, they ended up deciding that bribery was a preferable route. Since my personal Achilles heel was things that went fast and seemed dangerous, my father and I agreed that, if I improved my grades sufficiently, I would get a cool two-booster air-propelled model rocket.

For the next couple of years, I worked hard in school and stocked up on rockets with every report card.

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