[Offtopic] AEU Releases Teacher Pay Plan

[Roland Gesthuizen]

G'day Victor and offtopic listers :-)

On 28/06/07, victor rajewski <askvictor at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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.


A number of us on this list that took the trouble to secure a post graduate
qualification with no pay bonus. Whilst I enjoyed doing my M.Ed (ICT) at
Monash and I think that my students benefitted

> 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?


We aspire to help them learn.

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.


A bonus scheme wont really attract good teachers, Generally people that are
attracted to teaching have motives other than making a few dollars out of
education. Even small payments wont equate to small incentives. I am also
not sure if a bonus scheme will remove 'bad teachers' from schools. akin to
improving performance by imposing penalties. The VIT is probably a better
forum for doing this.

I agree that we would loose even more teachers if they are not provided with
sufficient resources, training or time to undertake interesting challenges.
We probably dont attract enough good teachers because of some rather
negative perceptions generally communicated by the mass media.

I am not interested in simplistic models for performance payments and some
deep reservations about what the current debate really says about us. The
AEU model seems to be on the right track with the (graduate / competent /
accomplished / leadership) bands.

Regards Roland
-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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