I have always been good with a quick quote. This is the one I had for the end of the aldermanic meeting last night: "As a teacher, you will witness temper tantrums, hear people shouting out of turn, stamping their feet, and generally being disrespectful … then there are the children." The teachers of Nashua have yet again showed how indignant they can be. As a public display, the teachers decided to throw their temper tantrum to sway public opinion. Public opinion is everything for the teachers, and they are not doing anything to their credit. At this point, I am going to give the teachers some sound advice. First and foremost, we know you want a contract but slighting our children is not going to get you a contract any faster. Second, find a better way to get the money you want in the new contract. The teachers want retroactive pay for increases they have not received. I agree with the teachers. They should receive the past due income. But here's the question: In the next contract, when the teachers want to pay less health care and get higher raises, do we just give it to them? Should we give in to the extortion tactics of the teachers for new every contract? I say we make the teachers earn their pay the same way as the rest of us. Merit pay would make the good teachers better and the bad teachers quit. Our educational system would be the best one in the state because only the good teachers would continue to work here. The teachers who have approached me over the contract issue all have one thing in common; they agree with me. They all agree that the contracts need to be settled equitably for both sides (I don't know the solution, but I have some great ideas like merit pay). The other area we agree is that the students are being affected. We disagree about the severity of the affects on the students. I have stated that the teachers are hampering the students' ability to excel in their studies. Teachers think I am blowing this out of proportion. I will let you be the judge. Before the teachers adopted the "work to rule" ethics, I tutored some students from Nashua. Most of my tutoring was simple touch up work and brushing up on skills. Today I am teaching entire lesson plans to students because they do not understand their schoolwork. In my eyes, this is absolute proof of the effect on the students at the high school level. I might be 100% wrong, and the kids I am tutoring could be the problem, but I doubt it. I believe that if students require me to be a teacher, the "work to rule" ethic is having an adverse affect on our students. Alright Nashua and others, tell me your thoughts. Are our children dumber, or are the teachers robbing them of precious instruction that is vital to a child's educational success? Who is really being hurt, the teachers or the students? If you agree with me, stomp you feet in a childish tantrum!
Monday, December 3, 2007
No Merit for Teachers Part 2
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2 comments:
1. If you can show me a system where merit pay is based on the teacher and what the TEACHER does, I'm willing to consider it. So far, every merit pay system I'm familiar with bases the merit pay on student testing scores, which is inherently unfair, especially to new teachers. Here's an example of what the Merit pay systems I'm familiar with work like...two teachers in the system. Teacher A has taught for 15+ years, and is "rewarded" with classes of honors level students. Honors kids tend to do their work, make up missing work, and generally do well. There are very few absences, the kids are generally college bound, and they have parents at home who stay in touch with them and their education. They test well, and teacher A gets a nice merit pay bonus. Teacher B has been a teacher for three years or less, and has yet to earn the seniority to teach honors classes...most of teacher B's classes are full of children with special needs, high absentee rates, little to no missing work gets made up, many have parents who are simply glad to get them out of the house, and are a part of large classes (although the aforementioned absenteeism makes the daily attendance about 1/2 to 2/3 of the class most days)...teacher B's kids do not test well, and teacher B is lucky to maintain current salary, forget about a bonus. Teacher B has to work much, much harder to maintain class focus, to keep kids in the same place curriculum-wise, and to make sure that every kid is having his or her needs met...but because the scores aren't there, teacher B's work will not be recognised under the merit pay system. Find me a system where teacher B's work is recognized for the hard work it is, and we can talk, but more often than not, Teacher B is going to leave before five years anyway, disillusioned by the merit system that has let him down.
2. Kids are not getting dumber, but they are getting far less motivated to work in the classroom. More than half the kids tell me during practice activities "I'm doing it in my head," or "I know how to do this," and refuse to do the activity as they're supposed to, making it hard for the teacher to determine if they are learning the material. Also common is the "I'll do it at home" mentality; they prefer to text and IM and socialize in class and get quite disruptive if they're forced to do their work in school. Only then they get home and realize that maybe they should have paid attention, taken notes, and/or done the practice activity. The lucky ones have someone who can help them, like yourself. It isn't that the teachers aren't teaching, it's that the kids don't want to hold up their end of the learning process. This is made more difficult by kids whose parents are more grade focused than learning focused--they don't care how the kid gets the grades, as long as they get the grades.
I'm curious to see how the competency-based assessments now mandated by the state are going to play into this mentality, and how the school board is going to see them enforced.
It's all well and good to hold teachers accountable for teaching, but we have to also get to a point where we are holding kids accountable for learning.
First, let me say thank you, a perfect question. You’re thinking like I am, just from the other side of the coin. As I will have another post to address most of your concerns, I am going to touch a few points here. Consider this your crystal ball into my future post. I hope you are coming back to read my responses.
As to point one, keep in mind you already have a system in place for merit pay that does NOT include student evaluations. Think about the typical job for a moment. Workers have a supervisor, who has a manager, who has another boss and so on. In the school, a teacher has a department head, who has an academy head, who has a vice principal who has a principal (do I have to keep going?). So as we see the structure is very similar.
The supervisor watches and evaluates the work being done, and the input of the supervisor is assists the managers decision on a fair increase. The manager is the balance for a fair evaluation and decides the increase due to the worker.
Insert the word “teacher” for the word “worker” and “department head” for “supervisor” (and so on) you will see how this structure falls into place. Your ability to perform with the students that you have (whether they are top of the class or future drop-outs) would be evaluated by your department head. Administration reviews the evaluation and you receive the increases due to you for your performance. This style of management has been working for decades in the modern business world. Now the evaluation of students becomes a reflection of the school, not the individual teacher.
As far as the kids, remember this. A teacher once told me (when I was 16 years old) that as a student, my education is my job. You come in and work (learn) and earn a paycheck (education). So let’s put this in perspective. If you don’t show up for your job, you do not earn money. That is your choice. Your employer leaves you the opportunity to earn, even if you are not there. The student handbooks all list penalties for a student’s absentee, Problem one was solved years ago.
I consider students who do not pay attention the same as those who do not come to school. This is not the teachers’ problem. If a student is text messaging in class, they are breaking school rules, penalize them. Same goes for a student that is disruptive, eject them from the class. Even if you have to eject 90% of the class, at a minimum you will have a greater ability to help those who are there to learn. Two birds with one stone.
As far as kids “doing it in there head,” there is an easy fix. Make the assignments ones where you have to write out the work like I do to the kids I tutor. If I hear the statement “I know,” then I say “good, then tell (show) me.” Make it mandatory for the work to be shown either verbally (class participation grade) or on paper (classroom assignment grade). All home work should be sited (English and social studies) or written out (mathematics). If a child refuses, give them the grade they earned on the assignment, “F.”
If a child uses the “I’ll do it at home” mentality, then they earn a zero for class participation. This isn’t rocket science, it’s YOUR JOB. If the child is getting zeros for not participating, an “A” student could easily become a “D” student. Enforce the rules and expect the student to do their jobs. Why are you coddling them? I am irritated with your response because it shows that you are not doing your job.
You said, “It isn't that the teachers aren't teaching, it's that the kids don't want to hold up their end of the learning process.” Fine, then the student has earned an “F.” Your job is not appeasement, it is teaching. If you’re afraid to tell a student or parent that the child is failing because the student is not doing their work, you are in the wrong field.
Another moot point of your, “It's all well and good to hold teachers accountable for teaching, but we have to also get to a point where we are holding kids accountable for learning.” If you do your job, the kids will be held accountable for learning. How are the kids going to learn if you do not hold them to any standards? You are the one who should hold the child accountable for their education. The child earns a grade by the way they adhere to what is expected by the teacher. If you set the bar low, how can you expect a gold medal performance? You lay out the guidelines, then grade accordingly. Accountability will be judged by the grade earned. Make the students earn their grades and the child will be held accountable. Remember this; you do not give the child a grade, the child earns their grade by properly completing the task you have laid out.
I did not want to make you comments seem trivial, as they are not. But teachers have neglected the one key item necessary for a child’s educational development, accountability for their performance. You (like many other comments I have received from teachers) simply proved that teachers are not holding their students to an acceptable standard. You prove my point.
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