[Offtopic] AEU Releases Teacher Pay Plan

[victor rajewski]

On 6/28/07, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com> wrote:
>  Relating teacher pay to changes in learning makes as much sense as paying
> doctors an incentive bonus that is linked to the health of their patients.
> Heaven forbid that anybody skews the average by refusing the very sick,
> rejecting those prone to self harm or heal the body whilst harming the mind.

To be fair, doctors can undertake specialist training, where their
increased knowledge in certain fields can get them a bigger pay
packet. Having said that, I do not support performance pay, and find
all the mudslinging in the media completely demoralising and turning
me off this profession.

> As professionals should help all students aspire to do their best, not
> target help to just those that can make the biggest difference by moving a
> numerical average. We should be willing to teach to all that wish to be
> taught,

What about the ones who do not wish to be taught?

The whole issue of performance pay serves two goals (well, three if
you include politics): getting good teachers into the system (and
getting them to stay), and getting bad teachers out of the system. I
don't think it will do that much for the latter unless we go back to
the days of contracts, or include a significant pay cut as part of the
package. As for the former, I really don't think the great teachers
who would be at the top of the pay scale are doing it for the money.
Better conditions and time/head-space would work better for me.

that's my 2c.

vik