College Discussion - View Single Post - Merit pay for teachers- not

paying3tuitions · 05-06-2008, 10:10 PM

Okeydokey. You're probably a great teacher of AP students!

But suppose next year, some corporation comes along, offering to fund an IB program. The IB teacher next door to you gets extra compensation for high grades but at a rate twice as good as your AP students net for your paycheck. Would you two teachers start fighting over who teaches what next year?

Does the teacher who teaches regular-track students, but magnificently, get no tips--just salary?

Suppose the teacher's subject is Music, History or English, rather than Math or Science. Is anyone rushing in to enlarge the Music, History or English teacher's salary? If so, it's probably the National Endowment for the Humanities, and they can't pay as much as industries seeking future employees trained in math or science. Tough luck.

These are some of the issues that cause many teachers unions to reject merit pay on principle. I'm not saying these are brilliant arguments, but they're the arguments I've heard.

05-06-2008, 10:10 PM	#15
paying3tuitions Moderator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: suburb of buffalo Threads: 59 Posts: 2,826	Okeydokey. You're probably a great teacher of AP students! But suppose next year, some corporation comes along, offering to fund an IB program. The IB teacher next door to you gets extra compensation for high grades but at a rate twice as good as your AP students net for your paycheck. Would you two teachers start fighting over who teaches what next year? Does the teacher who teaches regular-track students, but magnificently, get no tips--just salary? Suppose the teacher's subject is Music, History or English, rather than Math or Science. Is anyone rushing in to enlarge the Music, History or English teacher's salary? If so, it's probably the National Endowment for the Humanities, and they can't pay as much as industries seeking future employees trained in math or science. Tough luck. These are some of the issues that cause many teachers unions to reject merit pay on principle. I'm not saying these are brilliant arguments, but they're the arguments I've heard. Last edited by paying3tuitions : 05-06-2008 at 10:18 PM.