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Paying Teachers is Not the Answer

Posted by JD on Sunday, March 7, 2010 , under | comments (1)



I ran across a story in Newsweek about why failing teachers SHOULD be fired. This article, written on the cusp of a controversy in Rhode Island where teachers who were making, on average 74K a year, balked at spending additional time with students. The superintendent threatened to fire them.


From what I can discern, he did the right thing.

Teachers don't have it easy. I think most of us know that. But overall, teaching is still a cushy enough job that people who can't decide what to do with their lives choose it as a fall back plan. I can't tell you how many of my friends who couldn't make it in their respective industries, or couldn't decide on a job path to pursue, "settled" into teaching citing benefits, job security, and summers off as perks.

People typically don't voluntarily 'settle' into truly shitty careers--even in a recession. Okay you have to stay late and spend time at home grading papers. I get it. But how many of the rest of America stays late at their jobs and takes work home on weekends? I'm not sure why we expect teachers to be different, especially in an increasingly competitive society.

I look back on the time spent in public schools and it amazes me how woefully underprepared I was for college. It didn't surprise me when a former classmate of mine informed me that 50% of students in my hometown end up dropping out of school.

I heard someone hypothesize that the reason teachers are so shitty today is because teaching was a job traditionally held by the smartest women in a community. But nowadays those same women who would have taught have gone on to climb the corporate and government ladder. I think there's some validity to this. Can't you just imagine Hillary Rodham Clinton teaching a class of 5th graders had our country not progressed enough to handle a female Secretary of State/Presidential candidate? This is, of course, a very harsh way of saying "those who can't do, teach."


It's also only part of the issue. The unfortunate fact is that the difficulties with education in America is not the fault of teachers. America as a whole does not place a priority on education. However, every time I see teacher's unions, political candidates, and education experts talking about pay and performance, I wonder why there isn't more of an emphasis on fixing curriculum and quality of life at work. Surely, those types of fixes would make teachers a lot more comfortable in the long-term. Liking your job and feeling appreciated and successful means more than money to most people especially if you've entered a field that you love.

All in all, I can't support throwing more money at teachers. Teaching doesn't happen in a vacuum...so while money may pacify individual teachers who are doing as good a job as they can within an extremely flawed and limiting system, it does nothing to prepare our nation's children for future success over the long haul.



5 Star N*GGAS and Mice

Posted by JD on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 , under | comments (0)



How are these two things related? Well...remember that mouse I mentioned about a month ago? He's become all types of bold. He's in my bedroom right now and I am afraid to put my feet on the floor. A little part of me wants to shoot at it, but I know that's dumb. Or is it? Anyway, @zeralyn recommended I watch this video to make myself feel better. I now have the whole rap memorized. Warning: Explicit lyrics.

I would love to hang out with these dudes!