tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post117042632236081445..comments2023-11-03T09:36:22.100-04:00Comments on In From the Cold: How Much Do Teachers Make?George Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049707648660651119noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-23722996705647195392008-08-26T10:03:00.000-04:002008-08-26T10:03:00.000-04:00Silicone Wolverine,It seems you need to reevaluate...Silicone Wolverine,<BR/>It seems you need to reevaluate your career choice... first off, based on all your spelling errors, secondly, you should never blame anyone else for your troubles... and innocent students for that matter. These children need you to stand up for them, take extra time for them instead of yourself! It is obvious you are not in the right field...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-48590253489250458072008-02-17T09:05:00.000-05:002008-02-17T09:05:00.000-05:00Paying teachers based on the test scores sounds br...Paying teachers based on the test scores sounds brilliant, but is a bad idea for a number of reasons. You can believe me because if I did get paid that way, I'd make a lot more money than I do now. This pay increase, however, would have little to do with what I am doing in the classroom, and a whole lot to do with the socio-economic base that my students come from. The majority of my students, of upper-middle class status; come to school rested, well-fed, and well-prepared to succeed in school. They are read to on a daily basis from birth, they are taken on weekend trips to places like museums, libraries, and nature preserves, and they live with highly educated people who explain how the world works to their children every teachable moment they get. These kids have the advantage that every child should be lucky enough to have. If one of my students has a learning issue of some sort, the parents take action to help the student; working with them harder at home, hiring a tutor, and talking to me, the teacher about the best way that their child can learn and succeed in school. Although I do consider myself a teacher who works hard every day to make the most of the time I have to educate my students, I should not be credited with their high test scores, and the teachers of low-scoring students should not be blamed. I would bet my salary increase that many of those students are coming from families that are struggling to meet basic needs, not prepping for the Ivy Leagues. <BR/>Paying those teachers less is going to mean that they are going to have less money to do the things that good teachers naturally do: buy books, go places to learn and then bring that learning back to our classrooms, attend conferences (that we pay for ourselves), and get more education about the latest brain research and how we can use it to provide better learning opportunities for our students. <BR/>Paying teachers based on test scores will just widen the achievement gap even more.Lizzy Elliothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05690227247035475721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1170649442066118822007-02-04T23:24:00.000-05:002007-02-04T23:24:00.000-05:00Silicon Wolverine, is that an example of the soft ...Silicon Wolverine, is that an example of the soft bigotry of low expectations? Part of the problem in my opinion is the intense desire of the indigenous folks to not emulate the opposition (read=Euros or whites). When that obstacle is overcome, the the level of ability will increase dramatically.Mike H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07098719665902045519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1170540509238827472007-02-03T17:08:00.000-05:002007-02-03T17:08:00.000-05:00Intersting take on the issue but when you live in ...Intersting take on the issue but when you live in North or South Dakota where the average teacher makes $15.00 an hour or less, taking a pay cut to make the national average look better isn't a reality based option. Connecting teacher pay increaes to student advancement is also a no-go in many rural areas in these states as well. Take in point the many native american schools where students simply arent capable of high achievment when compared to many predominantly white schools. Why is it fair to penalize teachers who work in the worst of schooling enviroments where 2 or 3 badly performing students drag the curve down so far as to penalize the teacher when in relality, the teacher is donig well for a majority of his/her students? The kind of wage-to-results math they use in the article may work great for schools with 1000 students or more but when you apply the same math to schools with 50-100 students the results are utter disaster. What teacher would want to work in a school with little chance of a raise because of a screwed up wage math?Silicon Wolverinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397975886159952923noreply@blogger.com