Science and Technology: Missouri Behind?

According to a report from the Educational Resources Information Center, America is headed for trouble if we don't figure out how to recruit and RETAIN good teachers for our children:

Demographically, the need for new teachers is rising to an epic level. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the nation will need more than a million new teachers by 2010, nearly half the current work force of 2.6 million in elementary and secondary schools. An estimated 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years, many of them citing money and professional dissatisfaction as key reasons.

This report reviews numerous ways of incorporating merit pay or 'incentive based pay' into the public education system to replace the established method of single-scale pay to all and looks at the many states that have attempted to change the way we pay our teachers.

In a book entitled "Top Ten Myths in Education", authors Frase and Streshly dispel the #9 myth: "merit pay for teachers is unethical and unworkable". We see examples all over the country of revised salary structures for teachers that provide incentive to teachers who yield academic results for their students and programs that help encourage teachers worth their salt to stick around.

In Missouri in particular, we face grave concerns in producing young minds capable of steering development in technology and sciences. If we don't get on board and learn from other states like Colorado, Ohio, Maryland, etc., we will stand in their shadows as we scratch our heads wondering why we as a state were left behind and lose out on economic development opportunities. We cannot lure businesses to locate here if we cannot provide the staffing they seek. From an economic standpoint, Missouri has much to offer to lure new business. But they won't be able to come if they cannot find the employees qualified to take them into the next generation of technology advancement.

Only by getting the right teachers in place now to develop and encourage young scientific minds can we hope to compete in the future. The status quo method of payment obviously isn't working, is it?

It's Elementary: Commitment + Incentinve = Increased Student Performance

It's encouraging to hear that some educators are looking at successful alternatives across the country to the status quo education that is clearly not working in many areas of Missouri. It is unfortunate, at the same time, that so many students must suffer at the hands of our educracy and reach college (if they make it that far..) unprepared for the education that awaits them there that will lead them to successful careers. When we fail our students, we continue to pay for them throughout their lifetime

A recent article in the South East Missourian states that Educators in South East Missouri spent $2 million last year to educate high school grads that weren't ready for college! "We want to examine the best practices used across the country and who has the best programs," said Randy Humphrey, vice president of academic affairs at the community college.

In New York, Wisconsin, Florida and scores of other regions, the concept of 'Merit Pay' is being tested with promising results. A consensus is building across the political spectrum that rewarding teachers with bonuses or raises for improving student achievement, working in lower income schools or teaching subjects that are hard to staff can energize veteran teachers and attract bright rookies to the profession.

Here's an enlightened idea presented by a concerned Missourian:

"Merit based pay would allure the best teachers, reward them, and create an incentive for them to stick around. Many incredibly talented and intelligent people chose not to enter the teaching profession because of the low pay. Many others will grow frustrated with the hard work they put in without the chance of reward. I recognize most people do not enter the profession for the pay, but this does not mean those people do not deserve more."

We need to lure bright new talented teachers and give them incentive to perform. We also need to provide incentive to seasoned high-performing teachers to take on the more challenging classes/students so we don't lose our new recruits who typically get placed in the most difficult classrooms. It's simple math, folks.

Paying for What You Get

When I go shopping, I usually chose quality over cost. Not that I like to spend money, but if I am going to buy my clothes, shoes, furniture, cars, etc, I would like it to be a product that will last and work well. Back in college, I thought I would save money and go the cheaper route. It ended up costing me more in the end when I had to replace everything more often. My point is, you pay for what you get. If people are willing to pay for more expensive cars and designer purses to get the quality they expect, that means the company is getting rewarded for a quality product. In turn, they continue to produce quality items. Now, if I can turn this towards education. We all know that our children are not products being produced, but for this argument, they are. If the manufacturer (the teacher) produces a great end product (the student), that teacher should be rewarded. If they continue to do a great job, they will continue to be rewarded. If the manufacturer is not producing up to par, they will not be rewarded. In fact, they may even decide to leave the company because they can get better pay somewhere else.

Our society places so much emphasis on designer items and nice cars. We accept and reward these companies for giving us the products we desire. If we take this and put some energy into our schools, we can make our teachers work harder and make our children more successful.

Central Middle School in Cape Girardeau is receiving a reward for lack of achievement.

Okay, that’s not exactly how it works: the federal government is forking over $40,000 to Central after they failed to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years. They must then plan uses for how that money can turn their ship around; some of their thoughts are increased transportation for afterschool tutoring and “smartboards” that project computer screens.

What if that doesn’t work?

What if money isn’t the answer?

I know that sounds ludicrous—money solves everyone’s problems! Your carpenter is doing a poor job on your house—you just double what you’re paying him and poof! His work ethic improves and he can buy himself some new, fancy power tools. Poof! He’s become a better carpenter, and he’s installed an exceptional hardwood floor. Now maybe that would work, but I bet most people say “Hey, Mr. Carpenter, if your want to get paid at all please stick to our contract and do some better work.”

Not so for public education. In no other industry is poor performance rewarded.

With each continuing year a school fails to make AYP, the consequences get more severe, leading ultimately to a complete restructuring. These consequences apply only to Title 1 schools.

As an inadequate Title 1 school, students are eligible to transfer to a better-performing school district. That seems like a better incentive, but I’ve always wondered why only Title 1 school children are eligible to be removed from a failing district.

"When you are forced to be in school improvement, it makes you turn over every rock and see where your barriers are so you can begin addressing them," Kiehne said.

Now, Kiehne (Principal) seems like an honest guy, but that quote particularly upset me. The threat of consequences was finally their ‘come to Jesus’ moment: not their desire to give students a great education, not even students failing—and certainly not a big check from the state. We need to have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, and we need to hold our schools accountable before they ‘have to shape up’.

Merit Pay Gets on the Ballot

Oregon will be voting on merit pay for the teachers soon. Bill Sizemore, a political activist in Oregon, is working to get this passed. He feels

"The goal is simply to move teacher pay and job security to some kind of performance related basis rather than seniority," "All I want is to ensure is that they keep the best teachers, not necessarily the teachers who have been there the longest."

Shouldn’t the best teachers be rewarded for their hard work? Shouldn’t we strive to get the best teachers in the field and keep them there? Why should a teacher be paid more just because they have been teaching for longer? They should be paid for the results not years worked. Perhaps, it would encourage the average teachers to step up to the plate and become amazing. The teachers not only deserve it, but so do the children. The children suffer when the bad teachers are still teaching only because they have been doing it for years. The children suffer when they are not being taught by the best teachers. Lets do what is right for the kids!

No shortcuts to anywhere worth going…

I feel for the teachers out there who are doing a great job and not being rewarded for it. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to try and not be able to counteract all the problems that kids face even before they get into the classroom in the morning. The national standards are very strict and many have expressed a desire for professional freedom.

I know my feathers were ruffled to learn that my school’s test scores were more important than our student newspaper winning national competitions—and while I think extracurricular opportunities deserve more weight, I understand now why testing counts.

It’s because the tests aren’t hard. They are basic information that is relatively necessary to perform well after high school, either in a job or in college. I don’t plot graphs, and I don’t use logarithms, but I use geometry and algebra at least once a week. After 12 years any student should have had time to learn fractions, basic sentence structure and spelling, and some relevant history. Chances are it’s more useful than students realize.

Teachers who are frustrated by the limits of teaching to a test should jump at the chance to show that they can handle a classroom, not be limited by teaching to the middle, and be rewarded for going above and beyond—by more than an apple on teacher appreciation day. Teachers’ unions, on the other hand, often come out against merit pay (though many teachers opt in to voluntary merit-pay programs) and against offering more choice to parents (who should also be privy to the results and statistics about their district). That leads me to believe that they aren’t representing the best interests of teachers.

Testing is, granted, imperfect. But all professionals are accountable for the job they do, and teaching is perhaps even more important. Teachers are paid by the public and should therefore be accountable to the public. I want more of my taxes to go to the teachers who taught me well, and less to the teachers who did not.

Angering the Unions?

Christopher Hayes' "Heartland Forum Tackles Real Issues" in The Nation, addresses the Democratic forum in Iowa. One quote from his article caught my eye:

"...questioners attempt to pin candidates by forcing them to choose between constituency A and constituency B. Do you support merit pay for teachers? Answer yes and you piss off the teachers' unions; answer no and you might anger parents."

To me this means, the main negative effect merit pay for teachers would cause is upsetting the unions. Last time I checked, we should be more concerned with the level of education our students were receiving. Additionally, many unions have recently come out saying they would like some merit pay, although with their own stipulations. I think unions are starting to realize it should not be solely focused on their 'rights', and their energy should be more focused on how to bring quality education to the kids, get the best teachers possible, reward them, and weed out the teachers who are not making a difference.

Either way, it should not be a matter of upsetting the unions. It should be a matter of what would be best for our failing education system. We try and try, but nothing seems to be happening. Time for a change here. Merit pay for all teachers is a step in the right direction to helping our schools and our children.

Missouri Schools are not Making the Ranks

Education is the foundation for every person's success in life. The lessons and education a child receives are the stepping stones for life. Without a decent education in the early years, one is not given a fair chance at success. According to U.S. News, Missouri did not have any public schools that rank in the top 100. We strive to excel in many ways, but education is not one that we are succeeding in. The schools were ranked based on how well each school's students did on state tests, how well the disadvantaged students scored, and if the school was successful in providing college level work. Newsweek developed a list of the top 1,300 high schools. The Metro Academic and Classical School in St. Louis was the first Missouri school to reach the ranks, and it was ranked number 147. There were 9 other schools in Missouri listed, but they were ranked number 265 up to 1,300.

With this in mind, all Missourians need to step up to the plate and challenge ourselves to make our schools compete with the best. For starters, we need excellent teachers. They are the people that can make the children learn the most and live up to their potential. We have great teachers and we have mediocre teachers. We need to change the way we pay our teachers, thereby recruiting the best of the best. Teachers should be rewarded on how well they teach, not how many years they have been teaching. Merit pay would bring the best teachers to the field and keep the best ones around. This would also encourage the second-rate teachers to find jobs more suited for them. Once we increase the number of excellent teachers in Missouri, the students will undoubtedly increase their performance.