Barack Supports Merit Pay For Teachers
Rockadelic
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"I reject a system that rewards failure and protects a person from its consequences."Two Thumbs Up
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so, while i commend him on his commitment to keep success driven results a priority over the status quo, I would prefer this talk to resonate from more of a local level.
in addition, is he painting himself in a corner with the labor laws they are trying to pass through congress this week. Won't anti-union law makers salivate at the idea that if performance = job #1, shouldn't a union that is not performing well be given less ability to mandate their job duties, work load & compensation benefits.
again, i am not claiming a side, just the silly ideas running through my head.
I don't think it's a bad idea in theory but I can see why union members would be wary as hell.
NCLB has proven to be the worse way to judge.
As jlee said, local control is key.
Until NCLB, schools were the one area of government with the most local control.
NCLB resulted in the federalization of schools.
no doubt. I've got the same concerns.
i'm kind of watching this one from the stands, I really don't know how this could be administered succesfully.
Pretty much the opposite of how he feels about economics. Interesting.
You're right. We should let the economy collapse in order to keep the threat of moral hazard alive, systemic risk be damned. You know, alive in a post-governmental Mad Max world of roving private armies, but alive[/b]. It's all about tough love and principles, you know?
BOOTSTRAPS!
Ron Paul has called for the abolishing of public schools (not in '08) and more recently, the Dept of Education. He's voted against increasing various kinds of funding, and has supported home schooling, school prayer, and vouchers. Are these positions closer to your own, or is there something else you think would help?
That and more talent shows.
FROM THE CRADLE TO THE CAREER[/b]
Obama stresses investments in early childhood initiatives.
President says "challenges of a new century" demand more time in classroom
He calls for end to the practice of lowering state reading, math standards
Obama pledges to push for major expansion of performance-based pay programs
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/obama.education/index.html
Actually, no, it's not. These crappy ass teachers will skew the "numbers" to make themselves look good.
D*n, you're a great guy and your heart is in the right place AND I know you care, but you haven't seen what I've seen. Kids cheating. Teacher's aides cheating or "interpreting" for the kids. All the same class writing the same shit. Skills tests for mentally handicapped kids videotaped (holy facemelt related). Shit is really bad out there, and letting the local teachers judge their kids won't allow any objectivity. The Feds need to get involved. Tons of these schools are garbage, tons of these teachers are untalented space fillers, don't care, or are just garbage, and many of these kids can't communicate or demonstrate that they know anything.
this is not education, folks.
I apologize up front but this was too good to pass up....
I'm not a certified teacher. I'm a community volunteer who teaches an afterschool program once a week.
I don't really think of the education problem as something that can be solved from Capitol Hill.
But yeah, a big problem that I've seen is failing teachers who without the proper support from administrators blame their own failures on parents.
To all teachers out there: It is your job to keep the kids interested and engaged in whatever the subject matter may be. And if you can't do that in regard to even the most "troubled" of kids, then it is you who have failed.
Sure, your administrators probably aren't directing you towards the tactics and tools that would better help you in succeeding. But dammit, you are a teacher with access to plenty of resources of your own devices and you should be able to figure it out on your own.
And to all of you skilled professionals out there: Find a way to get into the schools at least every once in awhile and break the kids/teachers off a bit of your vocational expertise. We've been able to do that here in Austin through the nationwide CitizenSchools program. But there are many other ways to skin that cat.
Schools are far too institutionalized nowadays, and far too many are nothing short of glorified prisons. So quit trying to wait on the Obama's of the world to do something (yeah, right) and do it yourself by getting involved.
I've often thought about teaching because it's something I enjoy, but the pay is awful considering the amount of work to do it right, and it's a dead end career these days. Maybe you end up in public school administration, which sounds like a horrible job. No employer from any other sector is going to be impressed though. And because of the bad reputation, it's viewed as less and less of a noble profession every year. Ask a K-12 teacher - you don't impress anyone at the bar by saying you teach little kids.
I think this is a good idea but even with additional funding it's not going to change much. You need better leaders at the principal/school board level. So many of the mistakes in US school systems have been made there because these people are put in a position to act as political figures instead of just doing their jobs.
I agree 100%
For many years I made the rounds at our local Public Schools annuallly putting on a "Mr. Wizard-like" science show for grades 1-5. To this day I meet young adults that remember me from these 'shows".
A few years back I was told I could no longer do them. The reason they gave was that having "unauthorized" adults on school grounds was a liability. Apparently the REAL reason was one of the parents saw my long hair and facial hair and complained to the school that I was Satanic!!
I convinced my employer to offer tours and a similar show to local schools but only on a "field trip" basis where they come to us and have parents sign approval slips to attend.
While I agree with you for the most part I think there is a percentage of bright college students who do go into teaching for the right reasons of wanting to help shape the minds of our kids. Most of them last 2-3 years before they are totally disillusioned.
how would this work for special ed teachers with many of the students being non diploma bound?
One of the dirty secrets of education is that children do educate themselves.
Just one example, texting.
It will obviously have to be flexible for exceptions like Special Ed. My experience is that Special Ed teachers are more dedicated and inspired than the average Public School teachers.
I would hate to see an attempt at solving a problem be derailed because of an exception rather than the rule.