from Kevin
Taxpayer and I have talked about the history behind our current union negotiations system in the past. Additionally, the authors you listed talk about why unions have a role in this environment in protecting teachers from the year to year whims of political change in terms of $$ and jobs. In the end, much as a hate to say it, local taxpayers are not always good employers.
Having said that, there is a point to be made with respect to differing compensation systems, sometimes labeled as merit pay, incentive pay or similar terms. In my personal experience the local teachers unions have not embraced them with open arms. I have heard reasons ranging from not being comfortable with the administration’s ratings to the possibly of pitting one teacher against another.
In many ways it gets down to a philosophical question, how much competition is good in an educational environment? That’s what these programs ultimately lead to, is some teachers winning and some loosing, either through a carrot or a stick. I’ll give my stock and pragmatic answer here, some is good, too much is bad. Right now we have very little.
These type of competitions and incentive programs aren’t just to remove teacher’s who are “bad” and too often I hear it characterized as such. In the work place a little competition in incentives can be good to make everyone constantly strive to be better. The trick is the right amount to enhance, but not degrade, performance and picking metrics that incentivize the desired outcomes.
In my personal opinion this is an area where CT’s teachers unions could really step up and help shape these programs. The trend is for these types of programs to be put into place and I will not be surprised to see the state moving more forcefully in that direction, so it’s coming. The best programs will likely be designed with the community, teachers and school administrators working together to craft them and adjust them as needed. It would be great if the WAT came to us and state, “Let’s start talking about this so that we can put it in place for our next contract, we want to make this happen and make sure it is done right.” I can’t speak for anyone else but I would love to work with them on such an effort.
Thanks,
Kevin
This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BoE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BoE in any way.
I am in agreement with you Kevin. In the video I posted, Michelle Rhee states that the D.C. teachers are evaluated not only on student performance, but on a graded system that looks at several different qualifiers.
One thing that should be made clear is that student performance is not a huge problem in Woodstock as it is, for instance, in Hartford. In fact, the Woodstock school system gives a relatively “good bang for the buck”. The issues, therefore, that I have brought forward (and on a national level, the media is bringing forward) are not as pertinent in Woodstock as they are in the large inner city schools that are enormously wasteful of tax dollars, perrenial failures to their students, and irresponsibly offer no incentive for tax payer investment.
Why should we care about how these failing schools in Hartford are managed? Because the brunt of state/federal funding (tax dollars) goes into these schools -meaning less money for successful schools like Woodstock- who continually get the squeeze ( isn’t socialism wonderful??). If these failing schools begin to succeed, regain some iota of financial responsiblity, and become worthy of taxpayer investment, then we all win.
Its important that we all get behind the kind of reforms that groups like ConnCan are advocating for.
Sadly, the Teacher’s Union is not about all of us winning. They are about them winning and the rest of us losing. The teacher’s union obstinately fails to support the kind of reform efforts that have been proven create success. They also have a lot of political pull in the state legislature (democratic party) and thereby prevent success from occurring legislatively as well.
Thanks Kevin for your excellent post.
Taxpayer, I think money to the bigger city schools is all about an attempt to help under privileged kids from lower income families succeed. Period. When the schools that get more of the funding fail, it’s tough on everyone, and it tells me there are problems with how the money is distributed and utilized. It doesn’t mean we stop helping the kids. Giving all kids a chance isn’t “socialism,” it means we are a better society.
Fagan,
No one is saying that we shouldn’t stop helping inner city kids. The point I am trying to make is that we aren’t helping them with the current status quo (carelessly “spreading the wealth around” = socialism at its best). I said above that it is imperative that we DO help them. A win for the city schools IS a win for us-but this is not what is happening and this is not the concern of teacher’s unions. Education reformers (from Obama to ConnCan) have addressed ways to reform schools so that inner city kids do not fail-but the teacher’s union opposes these reforms every step of the way. So rather than finger point at me, consider doing your homework and then begin your finger pointing the real perpetrators.
Taxpayer: We agree that money isnt being spent wisely. That still isnt “socialism.”
Taxpayer is my new hero! I am new to Woodstock and this website. Keep up the fight taxpayer. The fate of our schools depends on people like you who say it as it really is!
Tax,
the Woodstock Academy aka the town stands now to benefit greatly from 3.9 million in federal funding with 630 g. of that in free grant money if they play all the cards right. how do you feel about this? should the academy pass on this cheap and free money because the school should really pull itself up by its bootstraps a la horatio alger in order to install a much needed sewer line and erect a much desired football stadium. shouldn’t the school just refuse the federal money and go without until they can afford these improvements ON THEIR OWN. we don’t need any hand outs in woodstock do we? we’re NOT like hartford at all. we MERIT all the cheap and free money we can get, don’t we? Afterall, we know how to spend stimulus money wisely here.
Nary,
I believe that spending money on school systems like Woodstock’s is a good investment. The students at WPS/WA generally succeed and become self-sufficient tax-paying members of society. Unlike the Hartford Public Schools. In fact, the Hartford Public High School, which takes the lion’s share of education funding, is a lousy investment. Last I looked, taxpayers were spending $16,000 per pupil in the Hartford Public High School with a 34% drop out rate and a 25% retention rate. The average SAT scores were Math 382, Reading 380, Writing 384. Only 10.9% met the standard for physical education. Less than 20% hold jobs. Oh, and the teachers call in sick an avg. of 8.9 days a school year (half year–that would be like me calling in sick 17 days a year). Multiply this by every large city in the country and the waste this incurs is mind boggling. But this is old news.
Of course, liberals and their crony special interest groups don’t see it like this-and anyone who challenges these atrocities is name called, or labeled either racist or anti-education. The obvious idiocy of these inane tactics is why liberals cannot be taken seriously.
A Taxpayer- I do agree with you, to some extent. I think that teachers/unions do and are willing …(see Another Teacher’s new article. Admin).