by Holle Abee

Created on: March 26, 2008

As a retired teacher, I have always supported merit pay. Teachers who perform well and go the extra mile to instruct their students effectively and find innovative methods that allow their classes to learn while having fun should get some sort of bonus.

Think about it. I taught at a large high school with over 100 other teachers. Most of the faculty were dedicated professionals who really cared about their students, but like almost every school, we had a few instructors who were just there for the paycheck. These teachers had little interaction with their students. Some would actually hand out a work sheet at the beginning of class and take it up at the end of class. She or he would play on the internet or work on her own post-graduate school work while her students were struggling without any guidance.

Then we had those teachers who were afraid to try anything new. Their lesson plans consisted of nothing but lectures, worksheets, and writing assignments. They never incorporated fun, hands-on activities to really get their students actively involved in the learning process.

The teachers described above didn't work nearly as hard as those of us who were constantly searching for methods to help our students become active learners and to actually enjoy the learning process. I know this is an unpopular stand to take, but it's how I feel.

The problem with merit pay is how it's decided. Therein lies the rub. It wouldn't be fair to base it on standardized test scores because there are too many variables. Teacher A might have much better or smarter students than teacher B. Teacher B might have students who have excessive absences and were not in school enough to benefit from her instruction.

Surely there is some method for selecting teachers fairly for merit pay. I'm sure some administrator of instructional guru could come up with a scale or other method which was fair to everyone.

Merit pay would not take away from average and below-average teachers; it would just reward the exceptional instructors. Merit pay would be a huge "pat on the back" to acknowledge a teacher's extra efforts and would also serve as an incentive to teachers who were not doing all they could to ensure that their students reach their full learning potential.

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