GameStop Manager Suspended After "Games for Grades"

mikesd81 writes "A manager at a GameStop has been suspended for instituting a 'games for grades' policy. 'Brandon Scott says he started a unique new policy in his store to promote good grades in school but now his employer has sent him to detention for speaking out of turn. Scott says he's been suspended by GameStop in the wake of his unconventional "games for grades" policy at an Oak Cliff store.' Apparently, on his own, Scott decided to stop selling video games to any school-age customer unless an adult would vouch for the student's good grades."

Local news on the fiasco

[RobertB-DC]

For some reason, Google News (and the original poster) are linking to an Austin TV station's copy of the story, which originated in Dallas -- site of the store and, oh yeah, GameStop's headquarters [wikipedia.org]. Here are some links to the "breaking news story", as I'm sure Channel 8 is touting it:

Before (Sep 13): Store only sells video games to kids with good grades [wfaa.com]. Wow, great guy, good publicity!

After (Sep 14): GameStop manager suspended after 'games for grades' policy [wfaa.com]. Hey, bad boy, hurt sales!

Fortunately, I don't feel the need to stop in at GameStop anyway. Not when the Dallas area has independent stores like Game Trade [thegametrade.com], with a bigger selection, better prices, more knowledgable staff, and a LAN room in the back.

Weird Angle

[CubeNudger]

Asshole store manager is denying citizens the right to buy things in his store (the original article I read about him had crazy racist overtones, by the way - didn't like "gang members with baggy pants" hanging out in his store, i.e. black people) and his corporate overlords thankfully stepped in and put a stop to the chicanery. I know they're a corporation and all, but props to Gamestop for doing the common sense thing.

Re:Weird Angle

[Anonymous Coward]

Asshole store manager was black. Baggy pants not in evidence. Brains not in evidence in slashdot or in manager.

Re:Weird Angle

[Mark_in_Brazil]

Um, I know this is Slashdot, but if you had bothered to RTFA or even just open the page, you might have noticed a photograph of Brandon Scott that appears there. I'm not an expert on racial definitions, but from the picture, it looks to me like Mr. Scott is black.

Re:GREAT Business, GREAT sense

[schnikies79]

My ass. My entire high school time was based on the point system. Everyone in the class could get an A and everyone could get an F.

No one used the curve. Nor did anyone in college.

Re:No.

[Katmando911]

I don't know if it would have been bad to offer incentives for good grades. I remember when I was a kid, the local arcade would give you free tokens for good grades. That seemed to work out great for everyone.

Re:No.

[bigstrat2003]

Having the opposite policy (as some seem to be suggesting) would have been equally as bad. A discount for good grades is just as discriminatory; "Sorry, Mr. Gates, we can't sell you this Toyota - you'll have to go to the Porche dealer down the street."

Huh? That's a terrible analogy, since giving someone a discount for good grades is a reward, not a restriction. It's more nearly analagous (though not completely) to credit scores: you get a better rate for having a better score. The reason why is different, but the effect is exactly the same.

Re:Bad idea

[Kortalh]

So, in other words, it was more efficient?

Re:GREAT Business, GREAT sense

[Hao Wu]

Everyone in the class could get an A and everyone could get an F.

For any one year, of course. But if everyone got an A, then the school would make next year's classes more difficult. They would keep doing that until the perfect balance of {"smart", "acceptable", "failures"} was achieved.

In the long run, grading must be a relative system.

Re:GREAT Business, GREAT sense

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not fair to say that in "Europe" courses are harder and students graduate knowing more. Students sent to German "Gymnasium" get harder courses and a leg up for university, but the other half of German high school students are in Realschule or Hauptschule for vocational education. Students are sorted into one or the other by age 13. I have long suspected that Hauptschule students are frequently not included in studies that compare US and German students.

It's not so much that Europe is "dumbing down" their schools, it's that they're starting to change policies that effectively hid their poorly-performing students in vocational programs.