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.
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