The (new) secret to equalizing public education--drive out the best teachers.

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At our school district I see zero correlation between what teachers get paid and how good they are as teachers. Teachers get hired primarily based on knowing someone in the school district and having subbed there, and their pay is based on how many years they’ve worked. </p>

<p>At the time the kids were in still in school, there was a snarky first grade teacher who made about 80 grand and did precious little in class, while there was a really motivated new HS math teacher making about half that much who took the initiative on getting kids (even outside of his class) prepped and taking AMCs, etc. There were some teachers who clocked in and clocked out, and there were those who took on other responsibilities like state level science contests or taking kids to things like robotics tournaments held on weekends. Sometimes when the latter teachers retired, the school just stopped participating in these tournaments since there was no incentive for a teacher to assume additional responsibilities.</p>

<p>The system, at least in our school district, does not have any filters for the “best and brightest”, and elevating the pay and/or status will result in exactly the same crowd being there with higher “status and pay”.</p>