A weekly feature of The New York Times Magazine is a column by Randy Cohen called “The Ethicist," in which people raise ethical questions to which Cohen provides answers. The question below is from the column that appeared on April 4, 2003.
At my high school, various clubs and organizations sponsor charity drives, asking students to bring in money, food, and clothing. Some teachers offer bonus points on tests and final averages as incentives to participate. Some parents believe that this sends a morally wrong message, undermining the value of charity as a selfless act. Is the exchange of donations for grades O.K. ? The practice of offering incentives for charitable acts is widespread, from school projects to fund drives by organizations such as public television stations, to federal income tax deductions for contributions to charities. In a well-written paragraph, develop a position on the ethics of offering incentives for charitable acts. Support your position with evidence from your reading, observation, and/or experience. You MUST have: - A clear thesis statement - A clear and concise line of reasoning - Evidence with commentary - Use key vocabulary or synonyms multiple times - Closing setence that ties back to line of reasoning and thesis statement
144 Comments
1/27/2023 12:51:00 pm
Thesis: Although incentivizing charity does undermine the good motivation of being generous for others’ sakes, incentives are an ethical way to encourage charity as it guides people towards being more charitable in the future and regardless of the giver’s intentions, the act of generosity is still done, thus helping those who are struggling.
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1/27/2023 12:51:51 pm
Note: I only provided one piece of evidence because I thought my 1st one was really strong. I didn't forget to write a 2nd half to the paragraph.
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Jackson Konzelmann
1/29/2023 02:03:25 pm
I like the connecting you made and how you connected it to pych becasue i did that also. You need use classical condictioning when i thought it was more operent conditioning.
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Laksha
1/29/2023 06:37:32 pm
The connection to classical conditioning is a really strong point to convey how incentivizing charitable acts makes someone more generous in the future. I also like that you conceded that it is morally understandable to say that people should have good intentions when doing charitable acts.
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Will McKean
1/30/2023 05:23:50 am
Hi Chris!
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 11:25:23 am
Interesing thought.
Dyuman Das
1/30/2023 06:27:34 am
I like how you connected to psych as i did also, i used something similar to pavlovs dogs, Rescorlas Continegency theory which is somewhat the same. I think that your connection was very unique but i feel it would have been beneficial to connect Pavlovs dog experiment to a charity organization or event.
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Rithik Ramkumar
1/30/2023 06:51:37 pm
I like that instead of utilizing an actual charity example, you instead chose the more unique approach of a psychological experiment, which I think allows one to perceive the issue of incentives in charitable events from a different perspective, and thus increases the likelihood of persuasion towards your argument.
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Hanna Laabid
1/31/2023 05:08:10 am
The connection to Pavlov's dogs provides strong evidence for this argument.Well done!
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Bella Norton
2/1/2023 06:32:36 pm
I like how you used an example from psychology. It really helps further prove your point.
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Emerson Humphrey
1/29/2023 10:19:52 am
The offering of incentives for charitable acts is a widespread technique used by many organizations and programs to increase support. While this approach is successful in supporting the well being of the organization, the offering of incentives creates an uneven playing field between those who can and cannot contribute and leads to a disadvantage towards those who are unable to contribute. The gap between the rich and the poor is one of the most evident examples of this uneven dynamic that is created by the offering of incentives for charitable acts. Take teachers in school for example; a teacher at the beginning of the school year often has a separate supply list full of classroom items that are requested in order to benefit the students and classroom environment. If a student brings in a roll of paper towels, the teacher may offer five extra credit points on their next test. While this will increase the amount of paper towel rolls brought in by the students that can afford to, it provides a disadvantage for the students that have no excess income to spend on a roll of paper towels and therefore have no way to earn the five extra points as some of their other classmates were able to. Because of this gap, the students that have excess income will automatically be at a higher grade than the students that have no excess income to spend on a charitable act. Therefore, since the reward provided for the act cannot be achieved by all, incentives for charitable acts should not be offered as they are unethical and do not take into account the confounding variables such as income, that may affect those who can contribute.
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Jackson Konzelmann
1/29/2023 02:05:41 pm
I dont see the connection with the rich and the poor when using teacher's chairity. I do see some of the obstacles you mentioned though.
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Ella Case
1/30/2023 04:49:53 am
I didn't think of this view point, but it develops a good point on how offering incentives can be unethical. I think your body paragraph was developed strong and you has some good evidence.
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Addison Carnow
1/30/2023 03:10:13 pm
I also used that example, and your thesis is very well written and perfectly summarized your viewpoint. I would add more commentary if I were you, but also your transitions are very diverse.
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Jackson Konzelmann
1/29/2023 11:48:19 am
Teachers have been giving rewards for charitable acts, like giving tissues to the class, for years. This act is meant to give reinforcement that doing something nice will cause a reward to come upon the person. It has been argued however that the ethics of giving rewards for charitable acts undermine the charity in it. However, in the young years of life and learning it is essential to have the positive reinforcement of positive habits for the children to continue to do them. Meaning that as kids are learning it is okay to reward them for doing charitable acts because it will cause them to do more charitable acts later on in the future. Parents also use this positive reinforcement when it comes to grades. If a child does well on their report card they might get money or they'll be able to go out to a restaurant that they like. As children are developing they will then put in good grades with positive outcomes, causing later on in their school career them to continue to get good grades even though that positive reinforcement has gone away because it has been wired into their brain that good grades equal good opportunities. This is the same hope with charitable acts and extra credit points. If early on a child does charitable acts like giving tissues or other things and they get rewarded they will continue to do the charitable acts even later on when they aren't getting that reward. They will continue to do this because it has been wired into their brains that if they do something good or charitable then they will get something good in return. They do not stop doing charitable things because later on, they don't get any rewards, they continue because that is just their nature. This concept of using things to increase or decrease voluntary behavior is known as operant conditioning. You introduce positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement to either increase or decrease a behavior. In this case, voluntary behavior is the act of giving things and the thing to increase the act or the positive reinforcement is the extra credit. As the child matures and grows up the positive reinforcement will go away but it will be wired into their brain that if they do something good something good will happen in return. This causes kids to want to help out with Charity more than if they weren't given any stimulus to increase that behavior. Overall giving rewards for charitable acts like giving the school tissues is a necessary step to creating a more charitable person as they grow up.
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Laksha
1/29/2023 06:18:52 pm
I like your point about positive reinforcement, I didn't think about the prompt in that manner. It's valid that incentivizing charitable acts can teach people that charitable acts are a worthy cause and it can lead to a person doing more good deeds/charitable acts in the future, making them a charitable person.
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Kali Daniels
1/30/2023 04:48:28 am
I had a very similar argument, and i also used the psych term positive reinforcement to argue my position.
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Corrie McArthur
1/30/2023 04:49:06 am
I like how you presented your argument, I think it was well written and I liked the point you made about positive reinforcement, I agree. I think it does urge kids to do more charitable acts.
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Ava Williams
1/30/2023 04:49:18 am
Though I don't agree with your opinion that rewarding charitable acts is ethical, I like your use of positive and negative reinforcement in your writing.
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Sajni Patel
1/30/2023 04:49:36 am
I love how you mentioned positive reinforcement and how it relates to certain scenarios, encouraging kids to do what they are supposed to. I completely agree with your point of the reinforcement of the incentive. It can definitely increase the act of donating and good deeds in the future.
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Kailin Marciniak
1/30/2023 05:11:49 am
While I understand that you're arguing the idea of incentives being the positive reinforcement, I didn't completely agree with the final sentence where you said that rewards are necessary in order to build a more charitable person.
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Megan Love
3/23/2023 10:57:28 pm
I agree with your position on the argument and I like the way you used positive reinforcement as your evidence
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Corrie McArthur
1/29/2023 11:52:30 am
Although offering incentives for charitable acts can seem justifiable because it builds character within the community by encouraging charitable acts. One must concede that offering incentives for charitable acts could be unfair because not all students may be able to afford boxes of kleenexes and other items. Therefore, while this opportunity should be available to all students, other options that don't cost money such as doing things for community service should be available. Considering that a lot of students might be in need of financial assistance, specifically in title one schools, offering incentives for charitable acts would need to be those that are accessible to everyone. Picture this; a student is failing a class and extra credit could save their grade, the student wants to participate in contributing to the charitable acts collection the teacher runs as their extra credit process. However the student themselves relies on supplies from these charitable acts and simply cannot afford to contribute to the extra credit pool. Is it fair that they fail the class then? This is one of many examples in which a charitable acts pool such as this is unequal and unfair to all students. Inorder to make this fair the teacher should offer the same incentives for more accessible charitable acts. While offering incentives for charitable acts is certainly beneficial to some students, it needs to be more accessible for all.
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Jackson Konzelmann
1/29/2023 02:07:16 pm
You and Emerson had very similiar ideas and i understand after reading yours that it is unfair becasue of the unfair playing feild. I do however think you have to look at a bigger picture and not just with the school setting.
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ziry
1/30/2023 04:56:52 am
As much as I agree as well that it is unfair and creates a not equal opportunity for others and students. I do feel as if you stayed too much on the fact of extra credit and ¨is it fair they fail the class¨. As much as I understand that this does not offer an equal chance that is not really the ¨big picture¨" as Jackson said.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 11:38:07 am
My only comment would be to define Title one schools.
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Samuel Koul Biar
1/29/2023 12:40:14 pm
Thesis : Although the rate of charitable acts due to incentivization may increase because of the individual’s desire to receive the reward given by the completion of the charitable act, the ultimate goal of a charity which is to maximize the amount of supporters is nonetheless achieved therefore, meaning that the encouragement of charity through gifts or rewards is an ethically sound practice.
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Arnav Srivastava
1/30/2023 03:00:20 pm
I loved your example of organizations that provide incentives to prove your point. However, perhaps one more piece of evidence would further solidify your point as your reason for incentives being ethical is that the needy need the donation so badly it doesn't matter. That simply doesn't prove your point well enough, I'd love more elaboration!
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1/31/2023 05:08:40 am
I agree that, while the motivations behind generosity may not be all that great, the end goal of doing good is achieved in the end. What's it to a starving person if the food they're eating is from a charitable or selfish person?
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Ethan Noel
1/29/2023 12:44:01 pm
Thesis: Although some may say the usage of incentives may diminish the selfless act of charity, they fail to consider that incentives are used by many organizations to overall increase contributions for charities and even increase the behavior of donating in the future. Therefore, incentives are an ethical technique of enticing people to donate even if the selfless act is not included.
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Samuel Koul Biar
2/2/2023 05:23:37 am
I liked how you used psychology for evidence in your blog post and how that relates to incetivization.
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Will McKean
1/29/2023 12:51:24 pm
Thesis: While the ethics of rewarding people for charitable acts may appear grey conceptually, in practice, it’s much more morally justified. Charities are funded through donations, without donations, most charities will cease to exist. The best way to secure those funds are through the use of incentives.
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Finna Young
1/30/2023 04:50:54 am
You and I had similar points about successful charities and their utilization of incentives to get as far as they have, and to therefore help as many people as they have. I like the example you used about tax deductions for charity donations.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 12:19:31 pm
ethically questionable incentives,---Why are these ethically questionable? Explain.
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Ella Case
1/29/2023 01:31:23 pm
Many schools and organizations worldwide offer incentives for charitable acts. Through some eyes it shows the good moral of those in the world, but it’s important to look at the response and motivation towards these acts. For instance teachers always had those supply lists, and students got told if they bring in those supplies they can get a prize or extra credit based on what grade you were in. By setting a prize for a simple charitable donation, creates the reason for doing the charitable act unethical. In addition by doing this with young students it can cause a habitat of them believing everytime they do something charitable they automatically get a reward. This phenom is similar to the unethical experiment of “Little Albert ” performed by John B. Watson. This experiment shows how fear can be conditioned by an unconditioned stimulus. Little Albert was shown a white rat, and exhibited no fear. Then Little Albert was shown the rat again, but this time it was paired with a loud bang. Watson continued to show Little Albert the rat paired with the loud bang for many trials. It was later revealed that Albert became scared of rats and other furry objects. Similarly, this experiment connects to the conditioned response children will form, when receiving a prize after giving a donation. Charity is supposed to represent a selfless act towards helping another. By giving extra credit or prizes may help support these organizations it takes away the main focal point, and undermines the ethical reason on why its done.
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Emerson Humphrey
1/30/2023 04:45:40 am
Hi Ella! I really like your point about people being conditioned to expect a reward after performing charitable acts. I think that your evidence was really strong and I agree with your points. Great job!
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 12:28:44 pm
unethical.-- You never explain why it is unethical.
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Nicole Vastis
1/29/2023 01:36:29 pm
Some schools offer incentives for students to do charitable work, such as donating or volunteering. While this encourages good deeds, it also defeats their purpose of kindness and generosity. By offering rewards for charity, schools are hindering their students’ integrity and missing the point of good deeds.
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Silas Leonard
1/30/2023 04:57:51 am
Though I disagree with you overall, your argument has merit. Incentives may not always lead to positive reinforcement, as the human mind is not uniform in its development from childhood to adulthood.
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Eva Qasim
1/29/2023 01:45:42 pm
Thesis: Although some may contest that offering incentives for charitable acts sends a morally wrong message and fails to teach people how to practice self-less acts, one must also recognize that by rewarding behavior that practices giving instead of receiving can increase the chances of people doing the behavior (giving to charitable companies and so forth) on their own.
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Vanessa Muniz
1/29/2023 06:13:01 pm
Eva, I agree when spoke on the act of charitable use positive reinforcements and how both groups get positive benefits from it. Your example you had use with the kleenex and skittles is amazing way of describing what you stand as your opinion.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:02:45 pm
it becomes clear that even though it might defeat the purpose of it being a self-less act, but one must admit it could increase the likelihood of the behavior being carried out on their own in the future.---You provide no evidence of this!
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andreea
1/29/2023 02:10:23 pm
Thesis: Because humanity is by nature selfish, incentives for providing charity aren't morally reprehensible, as for many people this is the only way they will contribute to anything bigger than themselves.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:07:45 pm
Over the course of history on this planet, ---- never use cliches!
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Kailin Marciniak
1/29/2023 02:53:02 pm
Incentives are utilized as a tool to acquire gains for charitable means. While the ethical standing of this strategy is lowered because it appeals to those who manage to contribute to these charities as opposed to those that cannot, the results depend on what is gained not the people who can partake in the tasks included. The whole point of a charitable event is to collect goods or profit for those that are in need, all of which are obtained through people who contribute. An example of a charitable act is the mattress sale at Butler High School. Money raised by the students goes towards the Butler band for higher quality materials and instruments. Students try to sell as many mattresses as they can and are more inclined to do so because of the cash prize they receive for each buyer they’re responsible for. Offering incentives such as this urges people to carry out what is needed to make the profit. While not everyone can attain a prize for contributing, the upsides of charitable gains far outweigh the downsides involving unfairness to those that cannot participate. Whether this is ethical or not holds no bearing on the results that come from these acts.
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Eva Qasim
1/30/2023 04:48:24 am
Your thesis is well developed and I agree! I wish you went more in depth when giving your example and your commentary, but other than that its good!!!
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Bella
1/30/2023 04:49:34 am
I like the mattress sale example because even though I argued it is unethical to use incentives I will admit that the prizes for that fueled me to sell more mattresses for the band.
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NOah
1/30/2023 05:15:26 am
I disagree. The very point of charity is to give without expecting anything in return. You yourself state that the ethical standard is lowered by giving incentive and this reveals how it can not be charity if you are practically paying others to be charity, it undermines the entire point of it.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:11:03 pm
ncentives are utilized as a tool to acquire gains for charitable means. While the ethical standing of this strategy is lowered because it appeals to those who manage to contribute to these charities as opposed to those that cannot, the results depend on what is gained not the people who can partake in the tasks included. The whole point of a charitable event is to collect goods or profit for those that are in need, all of which are obtained through people who contribute.---Your claim is not clear.
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Finna Young
1/29/2023 05:50:16 pm
THESIS: Although some may argue that the act of offering incentives for charitable acts is ethically wrong because it may send a morally wrong message to the patron about the selflessness commonly associated with charity, one must recognize that the goal of a charity is to provide aid for those in need, and this goal is met when donors contribute- whether or not they do so with an incentive. Therefore, it is not ethically wrong to offer incentives for charitable acts because those who need help are possibly even more likely to receive such when there is an incentive persuading larger numbers of people to donate.
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Elshaday Tekeste
1/30/2023 04:49:27 am
I like the fact that you used the biggest charities in the world using incentives as evidence as I also used a similar evidence and find it to be a very solid evidence.
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Nivedha Prathap Chandran
1/30/2023 06:02:09 pm
Hey Finna! The thing that got me really hooked on your thesis was how you broke down the whole purpose of a charity. I think this decision you made really solidified your argument because for every rebuttal I could think of, I went back to your main point that incentives "make people more likely to contribute or donate to a good cause." Great Job!!!
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Lauren R.
1/29/2023 05:57:26 pm
While it may be true people will consider or participate in charitable acts more because of incentives, one must also recognize that through incentives such as rewarding for helping others, donations, or any kind act, hinders people’s mindset on what a charitable act is, it being a good deed for others, not simplified into a give and get rewarded situation. So through incentives, children would observe charitable acts as an exchange rather than being selfless.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:21:33 pm
Some commentary felt redundant.
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Vanessa Muniz
1/29/2023 06:05:33 pm
Thesis: Although some may suggest that it’s not ok to offer incentives for charitable acts, they fail to consider it helps the charity groups and the students at the same time. Therefore, offering incentives for charitable acts is useful in both groups, and both groups have positive outcomes.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:25:38 pm
but I saw how the children were enjoying it because they wrote notes back to us and from their words I saw how they have much more energy and braveness in them. ---So what did you learn about charitable acts without incentives.
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Laksha
1/29/2023 06:14:21 pm
Thesis: Associating incentives with doing charity work might seem wrong from a moral standpoint because one can argue that people should have good intentions when doing charity work and they should do it just for the good of the people in need, not for the reward. Despite this, incentivizing charity work is actually a beneficial thing to do because it results in a more fruitful outcome for the people in need. Despite the intention of the person doing the good deed, it still ends up benefiting the person in need and that’s the main priority when it comes to doing charity work. 2 clear examples of this are the tax cuts that come along with adopting kids and fundraisers where the people that raise the most money get an award.
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Emma Collard
1/30/2023 07:53:52 pm
Hey Laksha!
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 01:59:14 pm
Despite this, incentivizing charity work is actually a beneficial thing to do because it results in a more fruitful outcome for the people in need. Despite the intention of the person doing the good deed, it still ends up benefiting the person in need and that’s the main priority when it comes to doing charity work. 2 clear examples of this are the tax cuts that come along with adopting kids and fundraisers where the people that raise the most money get an award.--- Thesis is too wordy!
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Daniela Betancourt Santibanez
1/29/2023 06:28:48 pm
In school, many teachers give out rewards to their students for the charitable acts those students do, for example, some teachers offer bonus points on tests and finals if students bring in money, food, or even clothing. Those feeling differently could argue the disadvantages of having incentives, and their argument is understandable. After all, it can be seen as morally wrong because it will undermine the children's integrity to do selfless acts on their own. However, establishing these incentives creates an increase in contributions to charities and will establish an increase in the behavior to continue to donate to these charities in the future. Therefore, having incentives is an ethical way to boost the increase in charity. For instance, giving out rewards to kids at a young age will establish positive reinforcement, this is when a reward is given to someone for a pleasant behavior they may have done. Positive reinforcement is used constantly, it can be used when a parent gives a child allowance money for doing their chores, or it can be used when a parent praises their child for getting good grades. These positive reinforcements will make a child continue to do their chores or continue to earn good grades. Nevertheless, this positive reinforcement makes a person want to continue to do these acts in the future because, at a young age, the kids were able to learn and establish that the behaviors they would get awarded for are a good thing, and once they get older the kids will get fewer rewards or fewer positive reinforcement but they will continue to do the charitable acts because they have learned that it is a good thing and will feel good about doing the charitable acts like they did when they were younger. This being said, if charities and organizations continue to give incentives to people then charities will continue to have the fund and things they need ethically because of the positive reinforcement people learned at such a young age.
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Mallory Karrenstein
1/30/2023 07:41:58 pm
I really like how you brought up your counterargument and I think you debunked it pretty well.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 02:08:55 pm
Need to establish a line of reasoning before going into your example.
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Kali Daniels
1/29/2023 07:53:07 pm
When a fundraiser or classroom competition occurs, some teachers offer rewards or services to students who donate or do charitable acts, such as extra credit or a party of some sort. By doing so, teachers reinforce good behavior, also known as positive reinforcement. However, many have argued that ethically, by providing rewards for charitable acts it takes away the charity of the actions. Though this may be true in some cases, in the earlier stages of life, like infancy and childhood, positive reinforcement is very influential on the children's still-developing brains. Meaning that as children are still growing they learn it is okay to reward them for doing charitable things because it will teach them to do more charitable acts later on in life. This can be applied to other situations aside from school. Some children are rewarded with an allowance for doing chores. Others may get dessert if they eat all of their dinner. By positively reinforcing these good behaviors, it helps children realize that if they do the right thing, good things may come their way. Some may disagree and claim that this isn't realistic, but in actuality its very commonly seen even after childhood. If you work and have a job, you're rewarded with money. Nevertheless, the principle of the situation is still intact, even with there being a driving factor for people to do things.
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Bella
1/30/2023 04:48:16 am
Your counterargument sentence was really strong and brought up good examples. I also thought the examples like allowances was smart because they were real life examples that almost everyone has experienced
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Silas Leonard
1/30/2023 04:54:38 am
I agree with your argument, positive reinforcement is crucial to teaching children moral values.
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Nicole Vastis
1/30/2023 05:06:22 am
I disagree with your argument, but I think you wrote it very well.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 02:11:57 pm
First, establish your line of reasoning before going into your example.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 02:13:32 pm
This paragraph also suffers from a specific example. What you gave was a hypothetical and generalized exammple. You needed at least two pieces of evidence to prove your point.
Amy Zeledon
2/1/2023 07:26:15 pm
I agree with your point, positive reinforcement is very important in addition to acquiring a good thing children learn to do good things. in addition with agreeing I see it as this reinforcement as they grow will be associated even with small incentives, such as running a race for charity and having the feeling of accomplishment and being just being rewarded with knowing that you aided in a way while doing something you like is something that drives a person.
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Ava Williams
1/29/2023 08:19:23 pm
Intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation is something that has been studied for a long time. Intrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated to do something out of pure enjoyment or without incentive. Extrinsic motivation is when a person’s motivation comes from an outside factor or reward. When it comes to charity, when you provide an incentive for people to donate or volunteer their time, they are extrinsically motivated by the reward and not by pure philanthropy. This makes their intentions selfish and therefore unethical, though someone’s motivation can start out intrinsic. The effects of incentivizing things like charity can be compared to a study on school children done by psychologists. In this study there were two groups of kids, one group just had a reading time with no rewards or incentives, and the other group had a reading time and based on their participation they would get little rewards like candy and gold stars. It was found that though the group that wasn’t given incentives to read took a bit longer to really get into reading, they really started to enjoy the activity for themselves and would read in their free time as well. This group was intrinsically motivated to read. However, the other group wanted to read right away and read as much as possible during that time to get the rewards, but when they were no longer offered that incentive the kids started to complain about reading time and significantly less kids would read in their free time than the other group. This group was extrinsically This highlights how by giving people an incentive to do something, they may be excited to do it at first, but will not continue to have that excitement without the incentive. Therefore, it is unethical to incentivize charity because by making a person’s motivation to do charitable acts extrinsic by offering an incentive, you are simultaneously decreasing the chance that they might pursue charity in the future. Now, it is also important to acknowledge that people can start out with intrinsic motivation, but if they are offered incentives for acts they once did just because they enjoyed doing it, their motivation can become extrinsic. This can be further proven by a follow up on the previously mentioned study on children and reading. The psychologists questioned whether or not children could start out loving reading because they liked reading but then be turned away when they start receiving rewards. They made a new group of kids that would first have regular reading time with no offered incentives. Then, when they started to show signs of enjoyment, they were offered the rewards of candy and gold stars for reading. After some time passed with the kids getting rewards for reading, the rewards were taken away and all of a sudden the kids would complain about reading time and it seemed as if their enjoyment of reading had become dependent on the incentives. Thus, when someone pursues philanthropist acts out of pure kindness and selflessness and you then decide to offer them rewards for their previously ethical deeds, you are making their selflessness dependent on an incentive, which is unethical. Therefore, when an incentive is offered for charitable acts, it is unethical because it leads to someone’s motivation to pursue charity depending on if they get a reward for it, whether or not their intentions started out selfless or not.
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Vanetta July
1/31/2023 12:47:29 pm
From early on, you need to establish your position.
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Sajni Patel
1/29/2023 08:35:00 pm
Thesis: Although some individuals may argue that the offering of incentives for charitable acts is morally wrong because it undermines the quality of selflessness that is displayed when charitable acts are done, one must realize that by offering incentives, there is an increase in overall contributions, regardless of the intentions behind the donations. Therefore, offering incentives for charitable acts is not ethically wrong because it may increase the overall contributions, while simultaneously helping those in need.
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Bella
1/29/2023 08:58:03 pm
Thesis: While offering incentives for charitable acts is more likely to be successful, rewarding people for these charitable acts undermines the whole point of charity and becomes unethical.
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Lauren R.
1/30/2023 04:56:54 am
Hi Bella! I agree with your thesis that through the incentives, charity is becoming undermined. The evidence you provide of experience through AP Psychology is a great pov to consider of how students will have intrinsic motivation with rewards, making their motive for charity shallow, which you connected back to your thesis.
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KOome!
1/30/2023 04:58:28 am
The intrinsic motivation example was a very solid piece of evidence which really contextualizes the rest of the paragraph! Your transitions were smooth and seamless, they didn't seem forced or make the paragraph chunky.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:11:39 am
Start your body paragraph with a topic sentence BEFORE writing your evidence.
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Elshaday Ftsum Tekeste
1/30/2023 02:54:21 am
Although some may suggest that incentivizing charity sends a morally wrong message they fail to consider that whether incentivized or not, charitable donations such as money given to those in need is in the end still helping out those in need, and furthermore since these incentives mostly apply to school children, these children are being guided to perform acts of charity in the future as science would suggest.
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Elshaday Ftsum Tekeste
1/30/2023 02:55:50 am
The first body paragraph starts at
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Max Allen
1/30/2023 05:12:54 am
I like your example of the American Red Cross. This is an excellent example of incentives being used to accomplish something for the greater good.
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ziry
1/30/2023 04:53:05 am
Understanding that charities are mainly to donate for free and to give, without receiving anything is the main thing of a charity. Offering incentives to donate money to charities does not create a good ethic or moral for someone, rather it creates for that person to believe that if they do something good they will get a reward back or even have an uptight attitude. This is as well conditioning people that if they do something a reward is and will be given. For example the study of conditioning done with dogs. At the sound of the bell ringing the dogs knew they would be rewarded/ given treats. So when they rang the bell and no treat was given they would drool instead.The ethics of offering an incentive is a terrible thing to do. Even though this is already in today's society it will increase us to believe something will be rewarded to us for everything we do. It is not ethical. Although others believe that giving incentives actually really helps create us to donate to charities, it is like flipping a coin. There are pros and cons to this. Making students and kids believe they'll get something for doing something good will help them to do more good things, yes, but bribing them is not the way to go. Teachers ¨offer(ing) bonus points on tests and final averages as incentives to participate¨. Does not help this at all. Yes, it may start to make others participate but it will leave behind a trail for students and kids to think I'm such a nice person ¨I deserve to get something back for what I did¨. It does in fact leave a morally wrong. It undermines the true meaning of charities. Its main purpose is to help those who are in need and the poor. To help others from the good of your heart. As well as not giving people incentives helps to not create that superior uptight attitude, it also decreases others to start donating to causes. Which may not be the best for these charities but it doesn't make others think they deserve something in return. If people truly believe this then at one point they will stop donating because they know they'll get nothing back. For example the example I gave of the dogs who had classical conditioning, after a while when the bell would ring knowing that they wouldn't get a reward they stopped drooling. Because they eventually realized they are not getting an incentive anymore.
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Daniela Betancourt
1/30/2023 05:16:36 am
I like how you were able to connect your argument with classical conditioning and be able to explain it. I liked it because you were able to describe that after a dog doesn't get a reward they won't do a task anymore which you were able to bring back to your argument that overtime people won't want to give back to charities if they don't get a reward.
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Lilah Childers
1/30/2023 02:14:10 pm
I had a very similar argument, I like the pavlov example!
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jason nguyen
1/30/2023 07:13:26 pm
I liked the example with the dog experiment! I didn't think of that.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:28:16 am
This is as well conditioning people that if they do something a reward is and will be given. For example the study of conditioning done with dogs. At the sound of the bell ringing the dogs knew they would be rewarded/ given treats. So when they rang the bell and no treat was given they would drool instead---You never connected this back to your topic sentence or thesis. You simply moved on to the next thing.
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Silas Leonard
1/30/2023 04:53:18 am
Putting incentives in place for charitable behavior enforces that behavior and over time the value resulting from the original incentive will outgrow those original incentives.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:29:36 am
You gave no specific evidence just generalizations. Look at what some of your classmates wrote.
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Dyuman Das
1/30/2023 04:55:32 am
Thesis: Since some can argue that giving away prizes for donating can diminish the idea of being selfless and donating, however giving prizes as a reward to young kids will encourage them to donate in the future in a selfless manner as they are still giving which is the whole point of charaties, making prizes and other incentives an ethical way to encourage charity.
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Jeremy Liu
1/30/2023 05:40:12 pm
I like how you explain Rescorla's Contingency theory and boosterthon as some don't know what these are. I was one of the people who dont know what Rescorlas theory was, so it was helpful that you explained it.
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The very nature of what it means to be charitable is undermined by providing any measure of incentive
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:34:04 am
You have the quote but that is not enough evidence to support your point. You should have given a specific example of a charitable act that has incentives attached that undermines the whole point of giving.
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Max Allen
1/30/2023 05:12:07 am
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:38:11 am
this encourages and reinforces the value of donation to impressionable people. ---How/Why? Commentary needs to be more developed.
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Vanetta July
2/6/2023 01:37:27 pm
I think you misunderstood the assignment. You were to write a thesis as if you were writing this essay but only write one body paragraph. Because you tried to include all things from your thesis into this one paragraph, your commentary fell short.
Jack Vuong
1/30/2023 05:41:11 am
THESIS: Across the board, the use of incentives to garner support for charities has been overlooked in the moral sphere. Although recently, this practice has received pushback, for instance, from some parents who question the ethical pretenses that arise with the introduction of incentives in schools. However, the benefits reaped from increased philanthropy far outweigh the moral burden of a materialistic exchange.
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Kennedy Draper
1/30/2023 11:50:43 am
Though donations should be a genuine act of kindness, getting a reward such as extra credit or a gift from the treasure box after donating is an easy way to set children up for donating consistently even as they get older. Through the practice of giving at young ages, it will be easier for people to donate in a selfless way as the idea of a reward changes from candy for young kids, extra credit to teenagers, and the impact of the donation for adults. Donations, such as a box of tissues for a teachers room, is a simple way to gain a “win-win” solution for those involved because not only does a teacher gain tissues, but a child can feel good about how they helped their teacher and also get a reward. Canned food drives, coat drives, and more are highly useful for those in need but by setting classroom competitions for pizza parties, ice cream parties, etc, help those holding the donations increase the amount of donations coming in. A great example of giving selflessly without expectation of a reward is blood drives in high schools and for adult work places. At Butler High School, the PLTW academy hosts blood drives throughout the school year that are free for those to sign-up for. Through this blood drive, students can sign-up willingly to give blood or plasma and in return they will get a soda for their blood sugar, but also a t-shirt and/or a blanket for their willingness to donate. These rewards are optional and not always wanted in high demand and without the advertisement of such, people still sign up to donate out of the goodness of their heart as they know it is doing further good. As people get older, the ultimate reward for donation is understanding how you are helping people in need and the expectation of a physical reward is often left behind. It is simply not immoral or selfish for kids to be rewarded for their thoughtfulness by donating as it’s a healthy habit to start and continue throughout a lifetime. A piece of candy or extra credit is just a push in the direction as it doesn’t affect the kindness or the generosity of donating.
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Lilah Childers
1/30/2023 02:13:10 pm
Schools, especially public schools, regularly use incentives to encourage students to bring donations to supplement existing classroom resources. While this can be helpful to the classroom in the short term, offering students extra credit in exchange for donations is unethical because it undermines the value of charity and puts lower income students at a disadvantage. The point of charity is giving with the intent of helping others, a selfless action for the good of other people. When kids are taught the point of charity is to make personal gains, their moral compass is skewed. If society is to grow and remain as close to idealistic morals as possible, humanistic actions need to be appreciated for their benefit to others, not for the person making the gesture. The fact also remains that donations do not come free. In the current economic climate where a huge amount of Americans are struggling to eat and pay rent, it is unfair to offer some students opportunities others cannot afford. Public school is a class leveling of sorts for those in them, every student has equal access to instruction and technology, resources are open to all students, regardless of financial circumstances. Offering extra credit in exchange for charitable donations tips the scale a little further in the direction of students with money to spare, a tip our already wealth divided society really cannot afford. It can be argued that said bribes for donations are acceptable because they result in donations being made one way or another. But are a few paper towels and boxes of pens really worth the moral compromise? Charity should be intrinsically motivated, and bribes devalue the humanistic principles behind giving. However, that a system exists in which teachers must rely on bribes to get children to purchase educational materials should alarm society. Our kids and teachers are being failed to the point of reliance on moral compromise to acquire resources necessary for learning. This is where the attention should rest, not on what teachers are forced to do to keep a classroom functioning.
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Arnav Srivastava
1/30/2023 02:56:46 pm
When considering the argument behind the ethics of incentivizing charitable acts, it must be realized that although incentives can often undermine the intrinsic motivation in a human to donate, without incentives charitable acts would more than likely never occur. Therefore, incentives are beneficial to all parties involved and are ethically sound.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 12:30:16 pm
Interesting take with the evidence and commentary about sharecroppers.
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Addison Carnow
1/30/2023 03:06:45 pm
Thesis: While offering incentives for participating in charitable acts causes an increase in the volume donated, these rewards create an unfair advantage for those who can contribute, making the practice an unethical way to acquire donations.
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Jeremy Liu
1/30/2023 04:56:36 pm
Although some might believe that encouraging donations through incentives is morally wrong. One must concede that a charity organization cannot survive without any donations. Therefore, in order to continue giving back to the community, it should be justifiable that charities offer incentives to help garner up more donations. Incentives do not always mean receiving prizes or gifts, it can also mean motivation and encouragement. For example, Feed America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief charity, offers a program called team feed which asks for you to create, spread, and work together on a fundraiser. The program’s description not only informs readers that donating $1 can feed 10 people, but it also includes the word you in all caps to incentives that YOU are the main help, and that YOU can help change the world. Furthermore, with the help of these motives, Feed America has created over 200 food banks, 600,000 food pantries, and raised over $4.21B in donations, $1B of which was donated over the pandemic. And while it is small, the more people sign up, the more fundraiser will pop up, meaning more people will find out about the organization starting the cycle over. Thus if charities continue to use incentivizing tactics people will continue and donate more, resulting in the charities receiving what they need.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 02:06:09 pm
Good example. But it would be better if you explained how that YOU word moved people to donate.
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Gregory Park
1/30/2023 05:18:10 pm
Thesis: Charity can be found in a number of ways, whether it be picking up papers for a friend, or donating to a breast cancer fund. When arguing about the ethics behind charitable journeys, it is far more critical to donate when you are motivated or encouraged to do so, this is called Intrinsic motivation. Whatever it may be, the purpose of the charity is “to do for the good of doing.” Providing an incentive such as receiving extra credit for doing charitable works beings to undermine the significance of what one is really doing, furthermore, their intentions are unethical and subvert the essential idea of charity.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 02:52:10 pm
There have been numerous charitable acts schools have done, for example, gathering food cans is an effective way to provide support to low-income families and to the homeless. ---This is not setting up a topic sentence or line of reasoning.
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Nivedha Prathap Chandran
1/30/2023 05:58:48 pm
Thesis: Whether the human population acknowledges it or not, incentives to induce charity started as soon as “charitable organizations” were created. Our history has provided us with relevant evidence through clear lenses that display how incentives are almost a necessity for charity. Our modern society does not prove any differently due to the human population being highly exposed to the world of “selflessness.” It can be validly argued that “incentives” and “charity” simply do not belong in the same sentence due to the fact that charity has the implication of selflessness within it, however, the long-term perspective on these incentives portrays a completely different argument. Incentives do NOT violate ethics or moral standards for charitable acts, in fact, at the rate we are going, incentives might even be a necessity in order for these charitable acts to occur regularly.
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Nelly
1/30/2023 06:30:30 pm
Giving to charity is always a kind thing to do. The act of giving incentives to the youth for such a cause is a brilliant idea to bring awareness about charities, and increase the volumes in which they donate, even as they get older.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 02:11:32 pm
I love your evidence and commentary but stop writing in the first person unless absolutely necessary.
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Rithik Ramkumar
1/30/2023 06:49:40 pm
Thesis statement: While the incentivizing of charitable events may undermine the true generosity behind helping others, incentives themselves are an ethical way of motivating people to participate in charitable events regardless of their feelings towards a certain event while also motivating those helping at charitable events to work even harder than they otherwise would without an incentive. Thus, because the prospect of incentives help increase the likelihood of more people donating/participating in an event, providing incentives to encourage others to participate in charitable events is ethical.
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Jason Nguyen
1/30/2023 07:08:02 pm
While many claim that offering incentives for charitable acts defeats the generosity associated with such acts, incentives nonetheless still act as a motive for charitable acts regardless of someone’s intentions. As long as charitable acts are done, the receiver is still benefiting from the charity even if the person who did the charitable act didn’t do it with the intention of helping. Therefore, offering incentives for charitable acts is ethical as even if givers are driven mainly by the incentive, the incentive in the end still encourages givers to carry out charitable acts that benefit who the charity is being done for.
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Mallory Karrenstein
1/30/2023 07:40:21 pm
Thesis: It is ethical to offer incentives to people for charitable acts because even though you are getting a reward for it, you are still giving to the charity and you still get the same pleasure of giving.
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Vanetta July
2/1/2023 11:08:48 am
Start your body paragraph with a topic sentence BEFORE going into your evidence. This helps create the line of reasoning.
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Emma Collard
1/30/2023 07:48:36 pm
Thesis: Although some may argue that offering incentives for charitable acts is unethical, they fail to consider that many people will want to continue donating to charitable causes once they have been convinced to do it once, and it is leading to more people donating. Therefore, offering prizes for donating to charity is an ethical, reasonable strategy.
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Hanna Laabid
1/30/2023 09:27:46 pm
Thesis: Though some can argue that incentivizing charity may defeat the character of selflessness associated with it, one must consider the significant increase in philanthropic acts to help those in need whether an incentive was offered or not. If charities continue to offer incentives as a means to attract more donations, it is more likely that people who have donated before may do so again and other people will follow suit. Therefore, if the ultimate goal is to increase the number of donations to help those in need, then incentives can be considered ethically acceptable as both sides receive benefits over time.
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Grayson
1/31/2023 04:34:38 am
Thesis: Even though offering incentives and rewards for charitable acts may take away from their purpose and meaning, these rewards can lead to people doing charitable acts without expecting a reward.
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Dhruv Dudhat
1/31/2023 04:53:34 am
Where is the evidence. Where is the commentary. While you did a great job establishing your position, you didn't provide substantial evidence to explain your position and argue it.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 01:01:11 pm
Great thesis but like Arnav said, where is your specific evidence with commentary.
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Emma Heard
1/31/2023 04:40:52 am
Thesis: Offering incentives has become a normal process when promoting donations and a charity. While some argue giving incentives for charitable acts is morally wrong and ruins the meaning of a selfless act, they fail to consider the positives from encouraging people to donate including increased donations.
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Dhruv Dudhat
1/31/2023 04:51:17 am
Good transitions and good use of real-world examples such as Goodwill and how they serve as an example of selfless organizations that help others!
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 01:22:08 pm
Your commentary falls flat. Also, the Salvation Army and Goodwill give out tax incentives.
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Dhruv Dudhat
1/31/2023 04:41:29 am
Thesis: Although incentivizing charity makes the act of giving a profit-driven venture because people will only donate to those in need to chase a benefit, may it be for grades or tax deductions, one must also concede that this approach to inspire charity still leads to reliable results, where the needs of those looking for charity are fulfilled, despite the donator’s intentions. Therefore, it is ethical to offer incentives to inspire charitable acts.
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Reece Donahue
1/31/2023 04:46:00 am
Hello Dhruv, I like how you utilized good evidence and used proper counter argument language and strong language relating to the prompt
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Morgan Furr
1/31/2023 06:18:28 am
Your evidence is valid and your commentary connects with it really well, good job.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 01:00:01 pm
For instance, in order to earn a profit, firms are incentivized to produce high quality products that consumers will want to buy, and on the other hand when firms aren’t incentivized to produce high quality goods/services.---awkward.
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Reece Jeong-Hoon Donahue
1/31/2023 04:44:13 am
Although adding incentives for charitable acts can seem ethical because it could increase giving, one must also concede that these incentives can provide unfair advantages for those who are more able to give. Therefore, it is unethical to provide incentives for charitable acts. Because charity and charitable acts should be motivated by kindness and the desire to help others, by attaching incentives to these charitable acts, it clouds the true morals behind giving. In elementary school’s it is popular to do food drives with the incentive of candy or a pizza party for example. While this incentive can increase the giving overall for those in need, on top of the morals being clouded behind the giving, those who are less fortunate and are unable to give as much are left behind. The purpose of giving to charity is to give out of the goodness in your heart, not to get tax deductions. It is because of all of this that it is unethical to provide incentives that are attached to charitable giving.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 12:35:54 pm
Good idea, but commentary needs to be developed. Your line of reasoning was supposed to be about children who can't give feel left behind and that giving for an incentive defeats the reason behind giving. You vaguely mention both but never develop either.
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Daniel Rodriguez
1/31/2023 05:07:41 am
Although people can seem reluctant about this topic, one must also concede that the instructors should go for it and award an additional point for the charity that you bring in, simply because they would never have anything in their classroom if they didn't create a reason for someone to bring in a box of Kleenex or a bottle of hand sanitizer. Therefore, nobody would bring anything in if there was no incentive or reward for these activities because schools simply cannot afford to provide Kleenex, markers, germ-x, and all other classroom requirements. As a result, I believe individual instructors and schools must give students the option to earn incentives for assisting the school and their peers. On the other hand, from the perspective of the student, this may be both gratifying and unjust. While students who sincerely care about their scores are allowed to improve their marks, less fortunate pupils are not given any benefit at all. Rather, they feel ostracized and as if they aren't good enough to achieve, and they aren't given the same opportunities as everyone else. Consequently, like anything else, it offers pros and cons to reward students with points or other beneficial aspects because that is how people see it, always wanting something in return.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 12:33:12 pm
Although people can seem reluctant about this topic, one must also concede that the instructors should go for it and award an additional point for the charity that you bring in, simply because they would never have anything in their classroom if they didn't create a reason for someone to bring in a box of Kleenex or a bottle of hand sanitizer. --- What topic? Then you start going into something that can be developed into evidence. You need to start with a topic sentence that broadly talks about what you are going to try and prove. The rest of your paragraph is simply generalizations with nothing specific.
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kOomE!
1/31/2023 05:22:53 am
Despite incentives aiding in the success rate of charitable acts, one must consider the future repercussions of such an action. Not only is it ethically wrong to provide incentives for charitable acts, the long-term sustainability of an incentive-driven charity can lead to drastic consequences.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 12:16:01 pm
Students on the other hand being affected by being classically conditioned to expect a reward for doing a good deed. ---incomplete thought.
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Morgan Furr
1/31/2023 06:17:54 am
Although the offering of incentives for charitable acts is popular among schools and may increase support for a cause, it is not ethical. Offering incentives for charitable acts projects negative long-term effects on anyone who participates. Children that participate would begin to believe that the incentives offered outweigh charitable acts. The difference between wealthy and poor children in schools is the clearest example of this uneven dynamic that is divided even more by the offering of incentives for charitable acts in schools. For example, . Because of this gap, the students that have excess income will automatically be at a higher grade than the students that have no excess income to spend on a charitable act. My elementar yschool, Indian Trail Elementary, held an evernt called Boosterthon every year. Boosterthon is an example of a "charity" that offers incentives for students and their families to donate. Students request for parents and family members to donate money for the school, in which every lap that a studnet runs in the "Boosterthon", the amount of money that the parent/family member donates goes up. There is a certain prize that correlates for every amount of money donated, and the more money donated, the better the prize. Children that are wealthy receive the "better" toys, which divides the dynamic between them and children living in poverty even more, since those children may not have an extra money to donate. Since the prizes won by the donations cannot be given to all of the students, incentives for charitable acts should not be offered as they are unethical.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 12:12:41 pm
The difference between wealthy and poor children in schools is the clearest example of this uneven dynamic that is divided even more by the offering of incentives for charitable acts in schools. --- This does not fit with your line of reasoning which was getting an incentive outweighs the chartiable act.
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Taylor Martin
1/31/2023 06:58:44 am
Many schools and organizations offer some sort of award for those who donate. This could be in the form of extra credit, prizes, or tax deductions. While this may be a good way to get more people to donate, it is ethically wrong as this way of thinking: “I will only do it if I get something out of it,” defeats the entire purpose of charity. Donating out of kindness and a desire to help others is what charity is meant to be. Many organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation utilize this concept, where they accept donations from people who wish to help children live out their dreams with no promise of something in return. This applies the true concept of charity, which is a selfless act meant to help others, without gaining anything. Other institutions who use incentives are almost cheating the system by creating a transaction rather than accepting a charitable donation or act. For instance, at Butler High School there was a canned food drive in which the class who donated the most cans would get a pizza party. While this did boost the amount of cans the school received from the student body, the concept of giving selflessly was lost and instead competition was used to garner more donations. Incentives can be a great way to increase donations, but they are no longer ethical since they lose their charitable value and moral standing.
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Ethan Noel
2/2/2023 05:27:31 am
Although I did write against your position, I still like the strong evidence and the commentary you included.
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Bella Norton
2/1/2023 06:31:24 pm
Thesis : While offering an incentive to a charitable act may be seen as wrong, incentives bring more awareness and potential for people to accomplish it, some people fail to consider that the point of charitable donations is having it seen and acknowledged by the world. With this being said, incentives being paired with a charitable act is an ethical practice by many organizations.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 12:08:46 pm
Work on your transition between evidence. Make sure you understand your line of reasoning or why you put those two things together.
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Amy Zeledon
2/1/2023 07:19:04 pm
Thesis: while it may appear that charity should be done with good morals, and without the expectation of money and gifts, however, in a society that does not always give charity for what is right when, incentives allows for awareness to be made, allows for aid to be given, and increases moral participation in charitable activities.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 11:57:43 am
Your example of the dogs became very wordy and muddled.
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Gregory Park
2/2/2023 06:26:52 am
Thesis: Charity can be found in a number of ways, whether it be picking up papers for a friend, or donating to a breast cancer fund. When arguing about the ethics behind charitable journeys, it is far more critical to donate when you are motivated or encouraged to do so, this is called Intrinsic motivation. Whatever it may be, the purpose of the charity is “to do for the good of doing.” Providing an incentive such as receiving extra credit for doing charitable works beings to undermine the significance of what one is really doing, furthermore, their intentions are unethical and subvert the essential idea of charity.
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Reyna Lee
2/2/2023 07:42:27 am
Offering incentives for charitable acts is ethical and helpful to motivate people to support these causes because of the benefits that will arise from these incentives and the extrinsic motivation giving more people reason to donate.
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Vanetta July
2/2/2023 11:39:15 am
Your thesis is debatable but could be more concise.
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Swan Truong
2/3/2023 07:24:05 am
Thesis: Although people think that giving incentives for charities will help promote donations one must concede that people will start to rely on getting a reward in return for helping a cause. Therefore, offering incentives for donating to a charitable act may not be an ethical strategy.
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Ethan Blackmon
2/20/2023 02:42:49 pm
Thesis: Despite objections from many, the long-standing ramifications of building charitable habits in the general population alongside the immediate benefits of philanthropy in a community significantly outweigh demur from naysayers about the effects of incentivizing magnanimous action.
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Ahtziri Prestegui Loeza
3/2/2023 04:23:35 pm
Although, charitable acts have been around in high schools, various clubs, and more. Still, in order for some places to receive charitable donations they introduce incentives in order to provoke a feeling of generosity in people if an individual knows they will get something in return. Which defeats the purpose of donating to charitable events without expecting an incentive. One must concede that financial stability affects the purpose of donating to charitable events while expecting an incentive. For instance, children may just hear the word “ you will get something in return” and just ignoring the fact of the main idea of the event. Let’s take the psychological experiment from Isaac Pavlov called Clasical conditioning, where Pavlov conditioned dogs to hear the sound of the bell, once the dogs heard the sound of the bell they were programmed to salivate. Children are like the dogs in Pavlovs experiement and the sound of the bell is the incentive. The dogs had no idea why there were required to salivate to the sound of the bell just like the children once they hear they are given something in return they are programmed to try and give something to receive in return. Because, the children have no real desire or thought about donating but a main idea that they know they would just get something in return for themselves which also resonates for any individual who would hear the words “somethig in return for donating”. Therefore, using an incentive for individuals to donate is morally wrong since the only desire they would have in their mind is the incetitve rather than the main meaning behind the donation.
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alma benitez
3/21/2023 09:30:13 am
Thesis: Although some may argue that offering incentives for charitable acts increases the rate of students bringing in money, food, clothing, or etcetera, they fail to consider that incentives encourages the expectations of a prize reward for charitable acts when charity at it’s purest is the voluntary giving of help to those in need. Therefore the want of a prize for acting charitably also rises and defeats the purpose of the act itself, making the practice of offering incentives for charitable acts unethical.
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Megan Love
3/23/2023 10:52:14 pm
While offering incentives in exchange for charitable acts may not be the best to motivate others to participate in giving back, people fail to consider its on of the most effective ways to do so, therefore in the long run it ends up helping the ones who need it the most. Lets take a look at the way participation increases when incentives are offered; during the Holidays I volunteer at the Latin American Coalition to give back to Latin american families who just immigrated here who are struggling financially to provide a great holiday for their family. I´ve been doing this for the past 3 years, the first two people just donated and we gave back. This past year we offered compensation for the gifts. Participation went up roughly 50%. We wended helping 26 more Latin american families all over the Charlotte area. In the long run we ended up giving back to society way more then we ever could´ve without offering an incentive. Not to mention theres no ethical issue with participating in something for the sole purpose of something else in exchange. We work, but for money. We do good in school, but in exchange for good grades. The narrative an ¨eye for an eye¨ is instilled in us since a young age yet when we do something in exchange for a charitable act its an issue? So, considering that offering incentives for charitable deeds gives more back to the community and that its perfect standard to give back for personal gain, there should be no ethical issue with it.
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