What type of message does this send?

[takebackourtemple]

Every single teacher(not just the bad ones) gets fired because of poor student performance. Guess what. The next batch of teachers they hire will also be fired because the students are never going to succeed. What type of message would this send to you if you were a teacher?

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/02/24/kaye.teachers.fired.cnn

[JTFenthusiast2]

First to try harder, and if that didn't work, not to bother

[cjd]

It would send a message that the gravy train is reaching the end of the line and for the way above average pay teachers get they should extend themselves a bit more. When someone is making 80 grand a year and the people paying them are making 20 it leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth if they ask teachers to do a little more and get turned down. I hope this is a trend because this situation is rampant in many parts of the country.

[Rubystars]

If the student body is primarily black then even the best teachers would struggle to bring the average grade up.

[cjd]

Nothing better to bring some new life into the tree of learning then to trim away some of the dead wood. I wish my school district here would be so bold and do the same. Teachers here make between 80 and well over a 100 grand a year for a little over 200 days of class time. Anything more and they get all sorts of special pay. Forget what the administrators make. Corporate supervisors should only be so lucky. The school systems are sucking the life blood out of most municipalities and the bulk of the dollars go towards teachers salary. 

[JTFenthusiast2]

CJD,

You make a good point.  I always wanted to be a science teacher, but when I realized how little I would make, and how badly I would be treated in the NYC public school system, I went to medical school. 

BUT NYC teachers made about 35,000 at that time, no where near 80,000. 

[cjd]

CJD,

You make a good point.  I always wanted to be a science teacher, but when I realized how little I would make, and how badly I would be treated in the NYC public school system, I went to medical school. 

BUT NYC teachers made about 35,000 at that time, no where near 80,000. 

The city starts their teachers off low and its true that they never attain pay rates like out here on Long Island however the pay rate does go up fast once they get a few years in. Better still they become almost untouchable once the get tenure. Most teachers have two free months a year where many start very profitable part time business that they have well established for their early retirement years lets say 50 to 65. Most teachers retire after 20 to 25 years and walk away with a fat pension and full medical benefits for life.

[Moshe92]

It's interesting how the teachers there made 80,000 dollars in such a poor community. I live in a suburb with a median family income around 100,000 dollars, and teachers make about 65,000-70,000 dollars here.

[cjd]

It's interesting how the teachers there made 80,000 dollars in such a poor community. I live in a suburb with a median family income around 100,000 dollars, and teachers make about 65,000-70,000 dollars here.

Whoever is running the school board there is doing a good job with the taxpayers money!

[JTFenthusiast2]

To some extent, one gets what they pay for.  I agree 100, 000 dollars for a teacher seems prohibitive, especially if the teacher is horrible, then it almost seems criminal.  But on the other hand, we want smart creative people teaching and encouraging our youngsters to be scientists, doctors, physicists, pharmaceutical chemists, leaders, etc.  I know that I got where I am by having teachers who believed in my abilities.  Are we going to have our children prompted to excellence if we don't have success in the front of the classroom?  

[cjd]

To some extent, one gets what they pay for.  I agree 100, 000 dollars for a teacher seems a lot, especially if they teacher is horrible, then it almost seems criminal.  But on the other hand, we want smart creative people teaching and encouraging our youngsters to be scientists, doctors, physicists, pharmaceutical chemists, etc.  Are we going to have our children prompted to this kind of excellence if we don't have success in the front of the classroom? 

Well if I am paying for excellence I want to see what I am getting for my money.  Most of the teacher unions are dead set against any kind of teacher testing. Moreover if a teacher is found to be bad they need to be removed tenure or no tenure. Rubber rooms where bad teachers are kept on the payroll but away from the classroom need to be a thing of the past. The system as it is now in most school systems is fat and needs to be reworked.

[JTFenthusiast2]

[/quote]
Well if I am paying for excellence I want to see what I am getting for my money.  Most of the teacher unions are dead set against any kind of teacher testing. Moreover if a teacher is found to be bad they need to be removed tenure or no tenure. Rubber rooms where bad teachers are kept on the payroll but away from the classroom need to be a thing of the past. The system as it is now in most school systems is fat and needs to be reworked.
[/quote]

No, I think that's fair CJD.  An excellent salary should be commensurate on experience, training AND ability. Do you see teaching as being no different from the say the kind of acumen you expect in a lawyer, doctor, engineer?

[Moshe92]

It's interesting how the teachers there made 80,000 dollars in such a poor community. I live in a suburb with a median family income around 100,000 dollars, and teachers make about 65,000-70,000 dollars here.

Whoever is running the school board there is doing a good job with the taxpayers money!

Not exactly. My school is being torn down after this school year, and the new school which is being built right now is extremely overbudget. Now the rest of Massachusetts is laughing at us.

[cjd]

Well if I am paying for excellence I want to see what I am getting for my money.  Most of the teacher unions are dead set against any kind of teacher testing. Moreover if a teacher is found to be bad they need to be removed tenure or no tenure. Rubber rooms where bad teachers are kept on the payroll but away from the classroom need to be a thing of the past. The system as it is now in most school systems is fat and needs to be reworked.
[/quote]

No, I think that's fair CJD.  An excellent salary should be commensurate on experience, training AND ability. Do you see teaching as being no different from the say the kind of acumen you expect in a lawyer, doctor, engineer?


[/quote]
Yes, teachers should be as sharp as any other professional. They should be well paid. Their salaries however should not put the school system in distress and not go beyond the taxpayers ability to fund the schools.

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

If the student body is primarily black then even the best teachers would struggle to bring the average grade up.

Amen.