Earning money by learning led to good grades, but did it send the wrong message to students?

For 15 weeks, a group of low-income students in Fulton County, Georgia were paid $8 an hour, four hours a week, to go to after-school tutoring sessions, according to CNN.

The goal of the "Earn and Learn" project, funded by an Atlanta businessman, was to entice students into class with the hope that the experience would give them a greater love of learning. The program was launched by Jackie Cushman (daughter of Newt Gingrich), founder of the Atlanta-based nonprofit Learning Makes a Difference.

Although some of the students who participated in the program say that it did indeed help them raise their grades and become better, more engaged students, critics condemn the idea.

In an interview with NPR, Richard Lakes, associate professor of educational policy at Georgia State University, called the program "morally bankrupt," and said, "It reinforces that these children in particular are going to be servants of the middle and upper classes."

What do you think? Does paying kids to study send a bad message, even if results in better grades?