Paying the Educator

“I don’t do it for the money”, I have said this and have heard it said by others in education. We don’t become teachers for the money. The money allows us to have food, shelter, and clothing, all things necessary for us to survive. The money allows us to teach.

Now consider what would happen if our ability to teach were directly related to the money we received. That is what they are considering in South Carolina right now. A test would be given at the beginning and end of the year to evaluate if a teacher was effective. If teaching to the test were a problem before imagine how bad it would be if the student’s score on the test determined the teacher’s pay.

Consider what lawmakers are implying. That we create a product and that product can be tested for quality. Many businesses work in a similar way. If an employee does not produce a quality product then you do not pay them until they do. This acts as an incentive.

However teachers are not in complete control of the products they produce. Parents, culture, and teachers all play a role in how a student does. When compared to parents and culture, teachers are not a powerful influence.

The real problem lies in administrators who are unwilling to deal with poorly performing teachers. Teachers and administrators know which teachers are not effective. However the culture of teachers is not one that encourages us to speak poorly of our colleagues. Even if they deserve it.

I have seen teachers go through remediation, but it is rare. The process is long and it is difficult to fire a teacher. I have never seen a teacher fired for being a poor teacher.

We have come to the point in education where we have to dis-spell the myth that teaching is something for those who could do nothing else. We should not struggle for professionalism. We should be the standard.

What we need is for administrators to hold their faculty to a higher standard and be willing to deal with teachers who do not meet those criteria. We need to be knowledgeable in the science of our field, and know how to apply that knowledge.