[etni] Re: Solving the teacher pay issue could help students
- From: Aharon Family <aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:31:59 +0200
I don't question the influence of the principal. An excellent principal can
really change things at a school, both by hiring and keeping better teachers
and by giving them the support they need to do their job properly. However,
I don't understand how you can say "In any given school, there is the same
percentage of excellent teachers to adequate teachers to mediocre teachers."
Have you actually seen statistics to back this up? And what criteria were
used to define excellence? I believe the issue of defining "excellence" is
the biggest problem with differential pay, although in theory I think it
makes sense. Many things affect the quality of a school - the principal, the
teachers, the attitudes and atmosphere among pupils and parents, budgets,
etc. I would define and excellent teacher as one who manages to teach
despite all the obstacles facing us.
Kara Aharon
Yerucham, Israel
08-6589425, 052-3903306
aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.englishfun.net
> ----- 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
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of etni Digest V7 #267
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