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

tomslawsky · 05-08-2008, 02:39 AM

Juliet, I'm trying hard to be mature here,but COME ON! You have paper thin arguments versus merit pay. The fact is that the US keeps throwing money and money and more (tax) money at schools and the quality of the product (high school graduates) is sinking. The reason minority school districts don't do well on standardized tests is completely de-coupled from good teacher-bad teacher. It has to do with families not giving a crap about school. Period. You find me a family that values education in ANY neighborhood and I'll show you a kid who will do well in school. You don't need the best teachers to give a lecture, require homework and facilitate learning. In fact, I submit that teachers who teach at these types of schools are wasting their talent. You don't need the latest technology, brand new computers, i pods and brand new buildings to teach the fundamentals of liberal arts. Most of the parents in here (like me) I'm sure did well with text books, note books and overhead projectors. You can learn just as well from overheads as you can from powerpoint, if need be. Why in the world would you want the best teacher teaching in an area where most students just don't care? Why NOT shift them to the schools where they will have the most impact? Besides, it all depends on how you define "Best" teachers. If I were living in a state with budgetary issues and a booming population (which I am), my idea of the best teachers would be the ones that can effectively teach 25 students at once. Pay them, more, make them the model and train others in that paradigm. Trust me, most students don't need a 5:1 student to teacher ratio to learn, only the slower students do (politically incorrect, but 100% true). I'm sure most who read this are mad at me right now, but if you remove pure emotion from the situation ans look at the facts, I am right. Just because you were taught a view of social justice in school doesn't make it the most accurate view of reality.

Teachers should be evaluated on merit just like the rest of us working people...actually, they should be held to a higher standard, as they are using our tax money. Is the merit system in Washington perfect? I'm guessing not but tell me one person working in private industry who has a system that is perfect. The trick is to implement a good system and continually improve it. that concept, at it's very core is anti modern union.

05-08-2008, 02:39 AM	#34
tomslawsky Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Tampa Bay Threads: 64 Posts: 794	Juliet, I'm trying hard to be mature here,but COME ON! You have paper thin arguments versus merit pay. The fact is that the US keeps throwing money and money and more (tax) money at schools and the quality of the product (high school graduates) is sinking. The reason minority school districts don't do well on standardized tests is completely de-coupled from good teacher-bad teacher. It has to do with families not giving a crap about school. Period. You find me a family that values education in ANY neighborhood and I'll show you a kid who will do well in school. You don't need the best teachers to give a lecture, require homework and facilitate learning. In fact, I submit that teachers who teach at these types of schools are wasting their talent. You don't need the latest technology, brand new computers, i pods and brand new buildings to teach the fundamentals of liberal arts. Most of the parents in here (like me) I'm sure did well with text books, note books and overhead projectors. You can learn just as well from overheads as you can from powerpoint, if need be. Why in the world would you want the best teacher teaching in an area where most students just don't care? Why NOT shift them to the schools where they will have the most impact? Besides, it all depends on how you define "Best" teachers. If I were living in a state with budgetary issues and a booming population (which I am), my idea of the best teachers would be the ones that can effectively teach 25 students at once. Pay them, more, make them the model and train others in that paradigm. Trust me, most students don't need a 5:1 student to teacher ratio to learn, only the slower students do (politically incorrect, but 100% true). I'm sure most who read this are mad at me right now, but if you remove pure emotion from the situation ans look at the facts, I am right. Just because you were taught a view of social justice in school doesn't make it the most accurate view of reality. Teachers should be evaluated on merit just like the rest of us working people...actually, they should be held to a higher standard, as they are using our tax money. Is the merit system in Washington perfect? I'm guessing not but tell me one person working in private industry who has a system that is perfect. The trick is to implement a good system and continually improve it. that concept, at it's very core is anti modern union. Last edited by tomslawsky : 05-08-2008 at 02:54 AM.