Incentives
Aug. 21st, 2011 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rinueWhenever people talk about the need for merit-based pay for teachers and how that will fix schools (along with a free hand in firing) I think: I am a good teacher (odd considering my personality, but true*) with good understanding of STEM subjects, passion for learning, and a sincere devotion to a life of service - and there is no amount of money you could pay me to be on call 24/7 and constantly dogged by parents and administrators telling me I should do everything differently. Not for seven figures. Not for all the tea in China. Not for more than two years, anyway.
What I'd need is a strong union that had my back and kept my hours reasonable, and a performance review that looked at student outcomes, not a snapshot from a standardized test. Pay has never been the issue; I am similarly not a floor trader on the stock exchange. Money is just a means to a lifestyle; that falls apart if the job works at cross-purposes.
* I'm obviously pedantic, but this does not equate to ability to judge audience engagement and comprehension; to put together activities that reinforce understanding; to manage a classroom of people with different skill levels and behavioral tics; or to understand what a struggling student isn't understanding and how to help them. My short temper and brusqueness disappear or at least minimize in a classroom setting. Unless the lighting is deeply terrible - not just institution bad, but bad for an institution bad. Then all bets are off.
What I'd need is a strong union that had my back and kept my hours reasonable, and a performance review that looked at student outcomes, not a snapshot from a standardized test. Pay has never been the issue; I am similarly not a floor trader on the stock exchange. Money is just a means to a lifestyle; that falls apart if the job works at cross-purposes.
* I'm obviously pedantic, but this does not equate to ability to judge audience engagement and comprehension; to put together activities that reinforce understanding; to manage a classroom of people with different skill levels and behavioral tics; or to understand what a struggling student isn't understanding and how to help them. My short temper and brusqueness disappear or at least minimize in a classroom setting. Unless the lighting is deeply terrible - not just institution bad, but bad for an institution bad. Then all bets are off.
