[etni] Fw: re: Solving the teacher pay issue could help students

  • From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 06:38:07 +0200

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leah Urso" <morahleah@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Solving the teacher pay issue could help students


I disagree with this whole premise. All teachers work hard, whether teaching
calculus or PE. A less capable teacher may put in more hours at home than a
more experienced teacher. In any given school, there is the same percentage
of excellent teachers to adequate teachers to mediocre teachers. What makes
the difference in one school as opposed to  another? The answer is simple:
the principal! A school that has a principal who can be supportive of the
teachers and also command the respect of parents and students is a good
school. Without the support of the principal, even an excellent teacher can
fail. For this reason, an anonymous teacher assessment of the principal
should be implemented by the school system at the end of each year, and this
evaluation should count for something! That way, principals will place a
priority on supporting their teachers instead of spending all their time
worrying about pleasing the beaurocracy.

I've never heard this idea discussed - always the onus for poor schools is
put on the teachers. What do you think?

Leah Urso


ask wrote:
> Solving the teacher pay issue could help students
> KALAMAZOO NEWS - October 3, 2009
> For decades, the debate about teacher pay was framed in simplistic terms:
> Are teachers paid too much or too little?
> The teacher-pay debate is heating up nowadays, with even President Barack
> Obama weighing in, but the nature of the discussion has changed
> considerably. Rather than the too-much-or-too-little argument, there’s
> growing consensus that the real problem is a system that rewards seniority
> over performance, ignores the difference between, say, teaching gym and
> calculus, and fails miserably at putting the best teachers with the kids
> who need them most.
> At the core of the debate is this recognition: Teacher quality is the
> single-most important factor in school quality.
> An at-risk kid who has stellar teachers has a good chance of success,
> research shows. The at-risk kid with poor teachers for several years
> running is academically sunk.
> “It’s time to start rewarding good teachers, (and) stop making excuses for
> bad ones,” Obama said in a March speech.
> (To read the whole article, go to -
> http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/10/solving_the_teacher_pay_issue.html



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