There has been great discussion about how teachers should get paid. Politicians have using the buzz words merit pay to misinform the public. People that support the notion of merit pay scream, that’s how other professions get paid, why should teachers be any different. Charlie Crist even said that’s how it is for most of us: You do well, you keep your job. I found it quite ironic that as he said that the state is facing massive unemployment and a three billion dollar deficit. Though at the same time it made me wonder how teachers would get paid if they were in other professions.
If teachers were bankers they would get paid millions no matter what type of job they do and then get bonuses on top of that. The really lucky teachers would get bailed out by the government.
If teachers worked in a sweat shop they would get paid by the pieces. Last year the state gave about 7,000 dollars per student, a class of 25 would bring in 205 thousand. Now if all this went to the teachers it would eliminate, support staff and administrative positions and teachers would have to for their overhead but since they would have a little extra be to be able to do so. As most teachers already pay for some of their supplies and many of their children’s supplies too this wouldn’t be that affected.
If teachers got paid like a politicians they would make over a hundred grand and it wouldn’t matter what type of job they do as long as they could convince at least forty percent of their parents that they were doing a good job. Forty percent is a generous estimate of how large the voting public usually is, though John Thrasher won a race once with about six percent of the possible votes.
If teachers were in the military they would get a wage based on rank, similar to how teachers now get a wage based on years of service. The military also gives additional bonuses for special or hazardous duty pay like say they were in a war zone; this is in addition to their salary which is what merit pay should be. Could you imagine how demoralizing it would be to military personnel if the Pentagon said; unless you are in a warzone we’re only going to give you half pay.
If teachers were fireman or police, perhaps the best comparison available they would get a base salary that would increase every year. They could further get bonuses based on their education. If that sounds familiar that’s because that’s exactly how teachers are paid too, at least for now anyways. What would happen if we told firemen they were going to be paid on how many fires they put out and then adjust that based on property loss? What would happen if we told the police they were going to be paid on how many arrests they made, would that make things a lot better or lot worse?
Teachers would be excited about merit pay if it was a bonus to their salary, that’s they received it in addition to their salary, after all isn’t that what a bonus is. The legislature is trying to make half of a teacher’s salary be based on merit as if most teachers don’t have plenty of merit by simply showing up. In their system there is no bonus for excellence or achievement the best of the best will simply get their full salary.
Then think about how ironic the notion of stripping away teacher’s salary enhancement for advanced degrees. Teachers tell children all the time get your education and the more you have the more you will be able to do. Well incongruously enough accept if you are a teacher because all teachers regardless of education will be paid the same, well potentially be paid the same.
No longer will years of service count for anything either. It won’t matter if you have worked for one year or thirty, and exactly what profession does that happen in again. Length of service more than anything has determined ones pay in most professions. Everyone got a raise after a year, the best performers a little more but nobody was left out.
Also where is this epidemic of bad teachers supposedly coming from, because teachers in Florida have been doing more with less for years and as a state has made appreciable gains. There are procedures in place to remove bad teachers is it the unions fault districts across the state have not used them to get rid of the few bad apples. The truth is teaching is like most professions and can be place on a bell curve. There are five percent great ones, five percent bad ones and the vast majority falls in the middle. Why does Florida think it’s okay to punish them all, especially since if they wanted to do the leg work they could get rid of the worse.
John Thrasher was quoted as saying, my daughter was a teacher and she’s not afraid of senate bill six, a clone of which will be on the horizon. The key phrase in that sentence is “was a teacher” as she has since moved on. Though she is one of the few because the vast majority of teachers whether they be religious or not, democrat or republican, new or experienced, old or young, black or white and every race in between are terrified about this bill. But as long as her daughter the former teacher is okay with it then Thrasher thinks it’s all right. How is that acceptable?
How is it how we treat teachers today is acceptable?
No comments:
Post a Comment