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The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Bernard
On October 23, U.S. secretary of education Margaret Spellings announced the first handout of the Teacher Incentive Fund, a federal grant program that offers cash bonuses to teachers and principals in disadvantaged schools who succeed in improving their students' academic achievement. This $5.5 million grant to the Ohio Department of Education will, Spellings says, bring high-quality teachers to schools in low-income districts and encourage teachers to work together to narrow the achievement gap.
Others, however, argue that incentives based on student performance are unfair. They punish educators for what is outside of their control, increase divisiveness between faculty members, and may in fact do little to bring the best teachers to schools where poor working conditions and a low base salary are the norm. Do you think these kinds of incentives are good for schools? We're interested in your opinion.
Comments & Responses
I feel it is unfair to the
I feel it is unfair to the students that some teachers must receive rewards or bonuses to do their job.........what exactly is the current salary for? Perhaps coming to work.
It is the teachers as well as the school boards job to ensure they are educating students properly to excel in standarized test as well as in the next grade.
Now some teachers, those exposing their students to other types of literature and cultures, teachers who take their students on field trips to historic museums, those who bring in speakers who have understand the situation students face in and out of schools.........those type of educators should be rewarded & it doesn't necessarily have to be a financial contribution.
These pay incentives would be of better use if but into starting after school programs on middle and high school levels or bringing new activities to schools other than the normal cheer, basketball and football options. I'd like to see cultural groups, financial management groups, student governments in every school and an overall system focuse on the STUDENT!
Business Ed / Train Teachers Tech & Data
I work hard to ensure that all of my students learn. And yes, that is what I am paid to do. But I make 4/10th of what my brother makes and 1/10th of my sister's salary. I love my job, love my students but I believe when I do my job well working through the summer to implement new programs I should receive a bonus for a job well done.
Granted there are teachers who should not be teaching and that problem needs to be addressed swiftly. Prior to becoming a teacher I was rewarded (with money) for a job well done. That was when I produced profit for the company and treated my customers well I was rewared with cold-hard-cash. My brother sells chemicals - gets a bonus. My sister is an engineer - gets a bonus.
We will never get the best and brightest to teach (and get rid of the ones who don't) if you do not provide incentives and better pay.
If you are not a teacher and are envious of the "great pay and holidays" Please come join us for a while. We'd love to have you!
Teachers Salary
I think that it is right as other teachers say and woyld like ta addto that that we arent paid enough sincee we have to do alot of explaining and other jobs rather than teaching so we should be paid more
Right Thing
I think whatever she is writing is absolute correct. i would give her an a for whatever she has wrote but something gone wrong why did teacher have to be paid for their voice?
Incentives
I do not have (much) experience teaching, but I do have experience being a student. Most of my teachers in high school stopped caring long before I got there. My freshman year, I played cards in 4 out of 6 classes everyday simply because the teachers did not care enough to create assignments or teach lessons. It seems next to impossible to remove these teachers. Since the general consensus of this site is that incentives will not work - what will?
I am now a graduate student considering doing research on performance based incentives. If anyone would like to share their experience working in a district with incentives, I'd love to hear about it.
Incentives
I think that a school which has met its AYP should get an incentive which can be used only to benifit the students. If teachers get incentives it should be stipulated to be used only for educational purposes. If some teachers get and others do get it can create some animosity among the teachers. Incentives can help both teachers and students to work harder.
Merit Pay
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING...MERIT PAY???
This is an OLD idea that CLEARLY has NEVER
worked in EDUCATION. The perceived benefits
are few. Folks, we have over 100 years of valid
educational research. Let's start using it
effectively. Get the money to the schools. Get the best minds in them. Make teaching a life-long career. Build a community that serves students first. Begin with the end in mind. And the beat goes on...
What the @#)* are you
What the @#)* are you talking about? Merit pay/incentive pay these are things that get used in EVERY profession except for teaching. If teachers would ever like the respect they deserve, if they would ever like to be precieved as the professionals they should be, merit pay is something they'll have to accept.
I believe that all teachers
I believe that all teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. All teachers work extremely hard and should be rewarded for improving student performance. When we signed up to be teachers we did it for the love of the children and the ability to have an impact on students lives. A dedicated teacher should not perform well simply because they will receive more money. It is our job to be a quality teacher and help students excel at learning. I believe that ALL teachers should receive a higher salary. After all, we deserve it!
I agree with your
I agree with your enthusiasm, but not your premise. Not "all" teachers either work as hard as I believe you do, nor care or love children as you describe. I would suggest that teachers with your spirit be given the pay and praise you deserve. Many teachers are bringing mayhem and causing public cynicism while riding on the success of those educators as yourself. I know you probably already know this, but I applaud your positive outpouring!
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