W: Welcome to Books in Review. Our guest today is John Banks, the author of the best selling new book, Rewarding Success.

M: Glad to be here, Jane.

W: Your book has sold 2 million copies, but before we discuss why it’s getting so much attention, let’s talk about your background. You’re an economist and spent two decades teaching at universities?

M: I spent 25 years as a professor, actually. And then, for the last 10 years, I’ve worked as a political consultant, advising politicians at the national level about problems in our country.

W: You discuss three of those problems in the book, improving public education, reducing our nation’s healthcare burden, and increasing personal savings. But your ideas about education are the most controversial.

M: Absolutely. A lot of people think I’m trying to punish students who aren’t doing well, when actually my goal is to give all students more incentive to succeed.

W: I’m not sure I agree with you. Your proposal to pay cash rewards to students who get good grades is a particular problem. What about students who don’t get good grades? It seems like you’re blaming them for not succeeding, when poor performance in school isn’t a child’s fault.

M: But my proposal is not just to reward students with good grades, but also students who show improvements.

W: Okay, another criticism of the plan is the cash rewards themselves. Where will the money come from?

M: If students do better, we’ll spend less on schooling. So, in the end, the rewards will pay for themselves.

W: What about now? How will we fund the rewards in the meantime?

M: Well, by increasing taxes or moving money from other areas of the budget into education.

Q12: What do we learn about the man?
Q13: What does the woman say is the most controversial?
Q14: What does the man say is his real goal?
Q15: What will be one option for funding the proposed rewards according to the man?