Businesses must follow certain rules to monitor, evaluate, and reward the best employees. The ‘lazier’ employees will go elsewhere or decide to step up to the plate. This blog wrote a great comparison of a traditional business and a school.
To sum up my idea, if you are a good teacher, you would reap the benefits of a higher salary, and compensations would not be such a burden on your paycheck. You would be wealthier if you are an "above and beyond" teacher. On the flip side, you would hate merit pay if you are a "do nothing" teacher who feels you are entitled. If you teach economics, think about the "free market system" and how competition breeds greatness. If you know you can make more money by working smarter, you're going to put more effort into your job. On the flip side, you also know that if you do nothing, you are not going to get the compensation you desire and may lose your job. This is fair. In the work place you must perform you duties or lose your job. The better you perform, the higher your compensation at time of review.
Not only would the best teachers benefit from this, students will reap the more benefits. They will finally be getting access to the best teachers there are. Schools are failing all over the country, and that does not exclude Missouri. My town, with a population less than 10,000, has a dire need for excellent teachers. Our students need the option of a great education. Many of them would like to move onto college after high school, but they need good teachers to not only make them prepared, but to get them there. The rest of their lives will be affected by a poor education. Let’s give the students and the teachers a chance.
1 comment:
You hit my point perfectly. Another benefit that I raised on the air (WSMN 1590 am Nashua NH date = Dec 18 Jennifer Horn part 2 Time= 12m30s) was how this would also affect the quality of teachers employed at our public schools. For us to utilize the private model would cost the taxpayer $0.00 and could be implemented immediately. Further, such a system would attract the best teachers to the municipalities, in turn enticing new citizens and greater economic growth for the communities.
Effectively, better compensation for the teachers, better teachers, better education to offer to the future of our country, and better growth within the community (parents would come for the education their children would receive). Merit systems would greatly benefit your community as it would any.
Here in Nashua, NH, things are a bit … dicey … and hostile compared to what I have been reading on your site. Your community is facing a problem that is plaguing our school systems, and the only way to fix it is to find a better way. I think you are on to something there, and if you can get the community ear, you should push this full force. I have made many enemies in my battle, but the community of parents have become my greatest allies. Do not back down if you meet adversity, push harder. The future adults of our world are depending on you to help them become the best they can be.
Post a Comment