Merit Pay Would Help Schools, Not Hurt Them

Some teacher’s unions are against merit pay, performance pay, or whatever people like to call it. Norm’s Notes says “it sacrifices a fundamental union principle—equal pay for equal work.” In education, should we be more concerned about the union principles or the students? Yes, the teachers are obviously important; there is no doubt about that. But first and foremost, we need to be looking out for the students.

Merit pay would give intelligent people the motivation to enter the teaching field. Some may love the idea of teaching but are not willing to sacrifice it for lower pay. Teaching offers many rewards beyond money. Many great teachers enter the field because they want to make a difference in a child’s life, or they just love to teach. Unfortunately, some of these teachers become a by-product of the bureaucratic system they work for. The teachers unions swallow them up. In the end, some may forget why they wanted to teach to begin with and they lose the passion and drive they once had. Other teachers may enter the field with good intentions, but they are just not cut out to be ones that inspire young ones to learn. In either scenario, merit pay would force these problems to be addressed. Either the teacher remains or becomes a great teacher, or their pay will not grow. They will notice other teachers making more money, and recognize why. They will then either leave the field or decide it is time for them to make a change. It should not be about collective bargaining, it should be about the children’s education.