Obama and Merit Pay
You’ll be hearing about this everywhere today, so here’s a little digest of the top stories on the speech, so you can let it marinate for a while:
Obama urges special rewards for best teachers – Associated Press
Education Push to Include Merit Pay – Wall Street Journal
Obama takes on teachers’ unions – Politico
President Obama to Call for Incentive Pay, Rigorous Standards – Politics K-12
Obama calls for overhaul of education system – New York Times
Full text of the President’s remarks – CBS News
And you’ll want to keep an eye on this page and this page for reactions, taking special notice of whether they significantly differ.
UPDATE: AFT out of the box first.
We embrace the goals and aspirations outlined today by President Obama when he called for providing all Americans with a comprehensive, competitive education that begins in early childhood and extends through their careers. The president’s vision of education-and the AFT’s-includes world-class standards for all students, new and better tools for teachers, greater effort to recruit and retain good teachers, and competitive teacher salaries with innovative ways to reward teaching excellence.
We also fully support the president’s call for shared responsibility for education-among public officials, school administrators, parents, students and teachers. Teachers want to make a difference in kids’ lives, and they appreciate a president who shares that goal and will spend his political capital to provide the resources to make it happen.
As with any public policy, the devil is in the details, and it is important that teachers’ voices are heard as we implement the president’s vision. The AFT stands ready to work with the president to make America the leader in public education.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:10
Merit pay does not work. It is mearly a tool for managers to give friends and suck ups additional money. Often the best are not rewarded. The merit system leaves too much to subjectivity
March 10th, 2009 at 19:02
That’s why the private sector always fails at everything it tries, and no one wants to work there, while public education is universaly hailed as the most effective and efficient societal institution, with all the best and brightest eagerly lining up get a teaching position.
March 13th, 2009 at 03:42
He also spoke about charter schools and personal responsibility. Merit pay was only one aspect of his plan.
DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL, IS QUITING ON YOURSELF AND YOUR COUNTY.