Sometimes organizations don’t realize how good they have it until public support for their positions erodes, the good
will vanishes and the bottom suddenly falls out.
The United Auto Workers found out the hard way after enough people learned about members’ lavish compensation, and
worse, getting paid while on furlough—all while cranking out cars consumers felt were inferior to foreign brands. This
was a union once backed by cacophonies of honking horns at strikes.
A development Thursday in the skirmish between Indiana school chief Tony Bennett and
the Indiana State Teachers Association raises questions whether ISTA is edging dangerously close to a similar tipping point
with Hoosiers.
Bennett had brusquely demanded that ISTA throw massive support behind paying teachers for performance before he would go
back to the Obama administration to ask for a big education grant. The administration rejected Indiana’s first proposal
because teacher support ran at only about two-thirds when Delaware and Tennessee, which won money, were overwhelmingly supportive.
How did ISTA respond to Bennett’s desire to base 51 percent of teacher pay on student performance? Start over.
Most people sympathize with teachers’ objections to performance pay: Children aren’t widgets. Too many come from
families that don’t value education. Social problems rip at the education experience.
People also get why ISTA exists. School boards would savage teacher pay. Administrators can be capricious. Board members
and administrators would hire friends and relatives over qualified professionals.
But is ISTA really helping itself by going to war with Bennett? Especially when tens of millions of dollars could have been
funneled into Hoosier schools?
Consider that the public is just as aware of stagnant test scores, summers away from class, and fending off pay cuts at a
time when everyone else takes it on the chin. People also hear more and more about incompetent, burned-out and lazy teachers.
Recall that Obama, not exactly a union-hating Republican, is the one dishing money to states that adopt pay-for-performance.
So public sentiment is swinging toward merit pay.
Which raises another prospect for ISTA this fall. Ironically, Republicans are leveraging anger at the Obama administration
to try to take back control of the Indiana House. If they succeed, they’ll likely have locked down both the executive
and legislative branches of state government.
With a General Assembly, the superintendent of public instruction and a popular governor agitating for merit pay, where would
ISTA turn for support?
If ISTA fell back on voters, would voters instead ask how ISTA is contributing to the solution?
What are your thoughts? Is ISTA backing itself off a cliff?
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Teachers' pay is anything but lavish and their pay should not be pegged to the economy. their function is vital to our economy in the future. They are the foundation of our success and their pay should be lowered nor should they take ANY concessions. Rumors of "lazy" teachers is simply a lie just like union busters lie about "lazy" autoworkers.
The "blame" lies with our economy. When parents aren't doing well, kids will suffer and their grades and education will suffer. Getting middle income folks jobs will solve this "problem" of low test scores as well as enough money to pay the teachers. Blaming the teachers is union busting propaganda which will destroy our economic infrastructure and the result will be a permanently high unemployment rate.
Do they expect to hire the best possible teachers with wages similar to working at McDonalds or Walmart?
Do they so lack personal skills that they think ultimatums and threats will lead to a positive outcome?
But, to the point. I am 100% behind the ISTA on this one. Our state superintendent wants to tie teacher pay to students performance. Exactly how do you do that when you have students, and for that matter partent, who simply don't care how they perform in school.
What about the students who don't do homework, don't even try to listen in class, skip class on test day, etc. I could go on and on. We are going to base teacher pay on something that has become out of their control.
Not at all fair. If our state school superintendent understood what is going on in the classrooms today, maybe he would change his mind. But until he does, the ISTA is the only voice protecting our teachers.
I don't know why anyone would want to be a teacher these days.
GO ISTA!!!!!!!
I don't object to some pay for performance, but it should be considered a bonus and not a portion of salary.
We currently have a lack of people even wanting to become teachers. Rules prevent classroom order. Teaching was more rewarding in past years.
The idea that one can encourage the best young people to go into teaching while killing the union is not logical. One normally does not select to a college degree where the revenue or personal reward is low. Teaching inner city schools is rewarding only in knowing you are doing better than anyone else can do....but still loosing. Better jobs without the frustration are available and we see many a teacher move to industry. Look at the current drop-out rate for special education teachers. Very few people can perform under the circumstances.
As a side note; in the 1970's IPS schools were winners in sports and education. What changed....our state implemented welfare programs that rewarded single-parent families. We used to have racial mix of the jail population that matched the city population. A race is not more likely to be jailed. A fatherless child is more likely to be jailed, dropout of school, etc.
A simple change....leave no parent behind!!! Equal time and equal support to help the schools?
We currently have a lack of people even wanting to become teachers. Rules prevent classroom order. Teaching was more rewarding in past years.
The idea that one can encourage the best young people to go into teaching while killing the union is not logical. One normally does not select to a college degree where the revenue or personal reward is low. Teaching inner city schools is rewarding only in knowing you are doing better than anyone else can do....but still loosing. Better jobs without the frustration are available and we see many a teacher move to industry. Look at the current drop-out rate for special education teachers. Very few people can perform under the circumstances.
As a side note; in the 1970's IPS schools were winners in sports and education. What changed....our state implemented welfare programs that rewarded single-parent families. We used to have racial mix of the jail population that matched the city population. A race is not more likely to be jailed. A fatherless child is more likely to be jailed, dropout of school, etc.
A simple change....leave no parent behind!!! Equal time and equal support to help the schools?
I agree with the comment about lazy teachers. I am all for getting rid of them, but letting teachers go should be based mostly on TEACHER performance, not student performance. I have met MANY lazy, terrible teachers of gifted students. Well, according to their students' performance, that teacher should get more pay? That is ridiculous.
I support the ISTA completely, but I do wish there was away to get rid of those terrible teachers. It should be based on TEACHER performance, no matter how many years of experience. And yes, obviously student performance plays some part in that. However, basing pay on that is not the solution. I want to keep the pay scales as they are - based on years of experience, but there should be some way to get rid of lazy, terrible teachers.
Comparing the ISTA to the UAW is ridiculous. I don�t leave when the whistle blows. I don�t set down my tools and not think about working until the next work day. My students, and how I can help them succeed, are on my mind every minute of every day. I work evenings, weekends, and summers (on MY own time) to be the best teacher I can be.
The GOOD teachers should be welcoming performance based compensation - and yes, doctors and lawyers ARE paid for performance! The good lawyers and doctors have plenty of clients/patients... and thus, more income. Teachers should be no different. Become part of the solution, not part of the problem. I'd just note that there are schools - in disadvantaged neighborhoods, no less - that ARE successfully turning out grads... WITHOUT taxpayer support, and WITHOUT union meddling.
Nuts!
Those of you saying any good teacher would want student performance based pay are ridiculous. Any GOOD teacher knows the challenge of working with children with special needs or learning disabilities and would know that they would get paid less because they are not as likely to make as much progress as others. So...do I take on working with those students, knowing I would make less than a horrible teacher working with higher ability students? I should take a pay cut because I am willing to work with those students? How does that make any sense?