NYT, Kristof: Pay Teachers More!

[RobinFinderson]

I think that the organization of labor can be useful, and is inevitable, but that isn't to say that it doesn't have its problems. Teachers' unions, specifically, have focused on job security rather than increasing teachers' wages. In this excellent Kristof op-ed he writes on this point:

Look, I’m not a fan of teachers’ unions. They used their clout to gain job security more than pay, thus making the field safe for low achievers. Teaching work rules are often inflexible, benefits are generous relative to salaries, and it is difficult or impossible to dismiss teachers who are ineffective.

But none of this means that teachers are overpaid. And if governments nibble away at pensions and reduce job security, then they must pay more in wages to stay even.

I essentially agree with Kristof, and would like to see Teachers' Unions fundamentally change their culture to advocate for higher pay with more teacher accountability (making it easier to fire bad teachers). I think the country stands to gain by making teaching an elite profession, so that it attracts excellent teachers, and I would like to see the unions direct their efforts to achieve this.

[UtahDan]

I agree with both of your points. That teachers should be paid more and become more elite; also that unions have made teachers virtually impossible to fire. The latter impedes the former.

[RobinFinderson]

I agree with both of your points. That teachers should be paid more and become more elite; also that unions have made teachers virtually impossible to fire. The latter impedes the former.

One of the things about the weak position in which unions currently find themselves is that they are ripe for reform. I think union culture needs to shift away from job security toward fighting for bigger pay.

I still maintain, however, that the biggest contribution to the high cost of American public education is the administration. No one is watching the watchers, and the work ethic of education administrators is abysmal. They are basically a bunch of teachers who felt that teaching was too much work, so they picked up the minimum education requirements so they could upgrade their pay and do less work. Bad teachers could easily be fired if there were records kept of their performance, but that require the admin to do their jobs, which isn't going to happen.

Everyone talks about teacher accountability, which I think is very important, but the easy measures of teacher performance, things like 'value added,' fail to adequately address the challenges faced by teachers in low performing schools where poverty and social promotion have created whole classes of students who perform at half their grade level. Real teacher evaluations would bring experts into the classroom to evaluate teaching practices. It would also require the submission of lesson plans (way too many teachers start each day totally unprepared). But all of this would only work if there were experts who had the training to perform such evaluations. The task would fall to administration, which I have already pointed out, is terrible.

All of the fire directed at teachers right now needs to be redirected at the administrators. Administration is where the real fat can be trimmed, and there is plenty of it.

[landpoke]

I think teachers should work for tips. That's really the only way to guarantee quality.

[RobinFinderson]

I think teachers should work for tips. That's really the only way to guarantee quality.

Good point. It seems to work at Applebee's.

[ERCougar]

Is anyone watching this special on The Equity Project on 60 Minutes? Essentially, it's a charter school that pays its teachers 125000/yr. How? No one gets tenure or a contract--they can be let go at any time.

Really interesting stuff.