Teacher Performance Pay...

[Seahawcla]

With Obama calling out the Mighty Teacher Union, and proposing Performance Pay its time to rant.

I am all for finding a way to cut dead weight in my field. I know some people I work with that need to leave.

(I do have a guy in my building working for his wife, to afford the health care she needs. He is 70 and has no business still teaching, but we are scared to change our health care system "side rant")

But performance pay is flat out a bad idea. I teach in a rural middle/lower middle class school. I am just starting my first AP class next year but teach the "Regular" track kids the past few years. Our scores reflect are demographics, which is typical of schools.

Using performance pay will send a teacher like me who tries to stay active on current research and has a strong bond with kids... to a school that needs me the least. Ill go to a school that has strong parent support, and a good track record of student success.

So the end result is the best schools will get the best teachers and the kids that need the most help will get the leftover teachers. Seems like a flawed system.

We are one of the few industrialized nations that attempt to get all kids to college

Its time to be more active in calling on the parents to be active in their child's life and education. It is rare to see a strong home life from a failing student.

I want these Performance Pay advocates to enter into the classroom and see what walks in our door. They are not our employees I dont get to fire them for showing up late, or not at all, being non-productive etc... I smile, pat them on the back and work on building a relationship so they will invest in my course.

Rant Done

[Chelo]

With Obama calling out the Mighty Teacher Union, and proposing Performance Pay its time to rant.

I am all for finding a way to cut dead weight in my field. I know some people I work with that need to leave.

(I do have a guy in my building working for his wife, to afford the health care she needs. He is 70 and has no business still teaching, but we are scared to change our health care system "side rant")

But performance pay is flat out a bad idea. I teach in a rural middle/lower middle class school. I am just starting my first AP class next year but teach the "Regular" track kids the past few years. Our scores reflect are demographics, which is typical of schools.

Using performance pay will send a teacher like me who tries to stay active on current research and has a strong bond with kids... to a school that needs me the least. Ill go to a school that has strong parent support, and a good track record of student success.

So the end result is the best schools will get the best teachers and the kids that need the most help will get the leftover teachers. Seems like a flawed system.

We are one of the few industrialized nations that attempt to get all kids to college

Its time to be more active in calling on the parents to be active in their child's life and education. It is rare to see a strong home life from a failing student.

I want these Performance Pay advocates to enter into the classroom and see what walks in our door. They are not our employees I dont get to fire them for showing up late, or not at all, being non-productive etc... I smile, pat them on the back and work on building a relationship so they will invest in my course.

Rant Done

I agree but I do think that something needs to be done with the teachers to!!! But Mostly I think that it is on the parents. My son and niece are in the same class. While my son does very well and his at the top of his class, my niece has to have a tutor that the school is now proving because her parents don't take much of an interest in her or my other nieces. Now my sister blames the teacher but that's not the case. I go and see the teacher about every two weeks to check on my son and he works with every student as best as he can but if parents aren't helping what can he do!

[Will]

Its easier for the parents to pawn the blame off on the teachers.

Yet when the teachers take too active of a role and try teaching these kids to have independent thoughts and opinions, then the parents have a problem.

[Chelo]

Its easier for the parents to pawn the blame off on the teachers.

Yet when the teachers take too active of a role and try teaching these kids to have independent thoughts and opinions, then the parents have a problem.

My husband and I were talking about that yesterday!!! How weird. I think that if your a teacher your Damned if you do and damned if you don't! I feel for the teachers that really try to help our kids because the ones that don't do anything or don't care anymore are the ones that stand out!

[AUTaxMan]

I am a huge supporter of incentive pay. Anything to get the education system fixed. By and large, the teaching is like most unionized jobs. Teachers think the are entitled to a job for life, regardless of job performance, as long as they reach tenure level (which only takes 3-5 years in most states). It's disgraceful.

On a somewhat-related note, here's a nice article on a successful charter school with a very low-end demographic.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20090310.DC81658&show_article=1&catnum=3

[Chelo]

I am a huge supporter of incentive pay. Anything to get the education system fixed. By and large, the teaching is like most unionized jobs. Teachers think the are entitled to a job for life, regardless of job performance, as long as they reach tenure level (which only takes 3-5 years in most states). It's disgraceful.

On a somewhat-related note, here's a nice article on a successful charter school with a very low-end demographic.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20090310.DC81658&show_article=1&catnum=3

I can see what your saying..... I live in a town where we don't get new teachers hardly at all. We have 2 teachers that haven't been at the school for 15 or better years. Most of the teachers I had my kid will have and the sad part about it is that they get paid very nicely for very very poor test scores. They just don't care. I have seen kids on the honor roll list and can't read pass a second grade level. We also have a lot of kids that can pass the exist exam. It's really sad. I work with my kid but not every parent is like me and vet!

[Seahawcla]

Performance pay wont reward good teaching. It will reward strong student bases.

I am glad that the Charter school is doing well, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. This school is full of kids whose parents actually care enough to send the kids there.

If you want to send active teachers like myself to the schools that need me the least performance pay will accomplish this goal.

[AUTaxMan]

Well instead of performance pay, how about we just can the teachers who are terrible?

[bamasa37sb34]

Well instead of performance pay, how about we just can the teachers who are terrible?

Or instead of having a system with lousy/under qualified teachers, maybe teachers should get a higher salary so it is a desired profession for the smart folks :think:

[Seahawcla]

I agree a system to remove poor teachers is needed, its a problem with unions in general.

There are teachers at every school that need to get booted, ive seen districts better at dealing with the issue then others.

While I am not hurting, but the expectations my state has with continued education I am underpaid for my degree. Education may not be underfunded, but the money is poorly spent across the US.