I just thought of this. If you wanna fix public schools, or at least improve them dramatically AND increase the pay of teachers, just follow these simple three rules:
- Find some way to identify the bottom 10% of teachers.
- Fire them.
- Do this every year.
If you object to this, you are more interested in keeping shitty teachers in jobs than you are seriously worried about kids getting a good education.
Education should not be a “Make Work Pay” program.
Actually that same system would improve ALL professions, but there is a reason that the public singles out teachers.
Here is what I tell my coworkers when they ask me why the public “attacks” teachers.
Imagine all homeowners were required by law to purchase a Christmas tree from our government. Also imagine that those Christmas trees were $3000 each. Also imagine that homeowners who decided to grow their own Christmas trees were still required to pay the government $3000 each year. Also image that many of the government’s Christmas trees are of very poor quality; they are sickly and covered with brown needles. Lastly, imagine that the government workers who grow those sick ugly Christmas trees keep promising, year after year, to grow better Christmas trees. The only thing they first need is more money.
Growing Christmas trees is hard work. The tree farmer needs to contend with bad weather, bugs, and even vandals that steal trees right out of the field. This does not change the fact that the public wants high quality Christmas trees at an affordable price.
Read the above text again, but substitute the word “education” for the words “Christmas tree”.
Read the above text again, but substitute the word “education” for the words “Christmas tree”.
VERY well said, Henry!
No one disputes that teaching is hard thankless work. Further, the gifted teachers are Godsends.
The frustrating aspect of the whole condition is that the talented and gifted teachers, those who are fundamentally committed, are so adamant in defending the slackers in their profession.
Unbelievable.