Teacher to Obama: I'm coming back, next year, when you're President.

[NYC_SKP]

Just now on the live stream, (thanks Hope and Change).

As a former public school teacher who lived with the introduction of NCLB, I sympathize with the teacher who just spoke.

Like her, I left the classroom, (though still support educational programs through a non-profit agency.)

Barack Obama's plans are music to teachers' ears.

:applause:

Edited for spelling....jeez...teachers are notorious for typos!

[grantcart]

1. one of his better speeches and question and answers

his points on energy are all right on.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Compared side by side with McCain?

No contest, not even close on these town hall meetings.

:thumbsup:

[Blue_Roses]

3. NCLB is a joke...

I'm working on my certification this summer to teach SpeEd and I can't believe the standards for testing put on these kids. 100% proficiency standard by 2014:wtf: That's ridiculous.

Parts of NCLB could be great, but it needs a total overhaul.

[blondeatlast]

5. I think it needs done away with and a new program implemented.

I taught under NCLB restrictions and see what my son is facing in elementary school under it. My son is being cheated by NCLB. It's horrible.

[Danger Mouse]

9. I'm a SpeEd Teacher's assistant, and thanks to NCLB, we have to force all of our kids...

to take the standardized tests. It's a complete waste of taxpayer money, not to mention a huge source of anxiety for the kids.

[blondeatlast]

11. NCLB is a huge source of anxiety over non SpecEd kids because the teachers

worry so much about it. It's an unmitigated disaster, IMHO as an elementary age parent and ex-secondary teacher.

The whole thing needs scrapped for good.

[NYC_SKP]

23. I was shocked by the testing BEFORE NCLB! It's Class Warfare!

No pun intended.

My first year was 2000 and when April came around and I learned that we'd lose 2-1/2 weeks to STAR and other required standardized tests, I was dumbfounded.

That was California state crap, then Bush decides to chime in with NCLB and it stuck fear into the schools most need of help, without offering any help.

Of course, affluent schools with rich mostly white kids had nothing to worry about.

Schools with English Language Learners, poor funding, and/or poorly trained teachers and rotten facilities and resources, were the ones who would most be affected and this additional pressure and time spent teaching to tests has done little to improve these schools or help kids excel.

In fact, I'd argue that it's had the exact opposite effect.

Almost as if by design, NCLB has become a further way of weakening the lower class and widening the divide. hmmm

Bush isn't clever enough to have had that in mind but those around him sure as hell did.

[Alter Ego]

12. Obama acknowledged that the principle behind NCLB was sound.

We do need to increase the quality of education our kids are getting, because we're fast becoming one of the dumbest nations in the world.

However, NCLB was woefully executed, badly underfunded, butchered, and hackneyed to the point where public education is unrecognizable. He's right--you can't hold teachers responsible to the arbitrary results of a single standardized test, because it compromises the quality of education students get. Things like science are getting subjugated in favor of math and writing, which, while certainly not unimportant, they should not get extra attention at the expense of science and history.

Public education needs to be an attractive profession again, and we need to make sure teachers are equipped to handle rapidly-changing times.

[blondeatlast]

4. This certified secondary English Ed might just do the same; I'm that hopeful.

I'm seriously considering it even now.

[NYC_SKP]

6. Hey there teacher!

Good for you for having experience in an often misunderstood, but vital, field.

Bush having anything to do with education--unbelievable.

NCLB came in just after I began teaching and I saw how every year it's effects grew deeper.
Coupled with other factors in California, all we did was test and train, with little time or energy left to engage kids.

Tragic!

:hi:

[LWolf]

7. Wow. What a disconnect.

While my association, the NEA, endorsed him, his plans were not exactly "music to our ears," if you were paying attention.

Especially the parts about merit pay and charter schools. As a matter of fact, when Chris Wallace asked him: <snip>

As a president, can you name a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buck the Democratic Party line and say, "You know what? Republicans have a better idea here?"

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352785,00.html

He responded with public education. And acknowledged that his positions "sometimes get him in trouble with teachers."

He's right. He's not "music" to THIS educator's ears, or to the ears of many of my colleagues. More like a guarded agreement to support in the election, if anything.

[Egnever]

8. whats your specific problem with his education stance?

[blondeatlast]

13. I'd like to know as well. As an ex-teacher and lifetime union activist, I'm not always 100%

in agreement with the NEA.

[LWolf]

45. Neither am I.

I'm in opposition to the NEA, for example, on the endorsement of Obama.

You didn't actually ask me for clarification, so I'm a little late in finding your question, but better late than never.

You can scroll through my replies in this thread, or you can read this, that I posted a year ago, which outlines my take on his republican ideas for education.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3377303

[MadHound]

14. I have huge problems with his education stance

He wants to "reform" NCLB, not do away with it, though the vast majority of teachers and educational experts say that is exactly what needs to be done.

He wants to introduce merit pay for teachers, yet neither he, nor anybody else can come up with a rubric for judging merit that takes into account all the variables that go into educational success or failure. Thus in the end, merit pay comes down to how well children are doing on some standardized test.

He wants to continue the push towards charter schools, thus depriving public schools of even more money in their time of greatest need.

The NEA endorsed him, sure, but only because the other alternative was so much more horrendous. That doesn't mean that the NEA, and teachers in general, are terribly thrilled with his educational stances.

[NYC_SKP]

16. Merit Pay does NOT mean more tests. Prove it.

Show me where Obama has said that he'd use standardized tests with Merit Pay.

Right, he hasn't.

One part of education that's broken is that an awful, worthless teacher is paid as much as the hardest working one in the same district, and can't be fired.

Merit pay, if it can be tied to fair criteria, is something every GOOD teacher would welcome.

Now I know states differ, but the Charter Schools in my neck of California serve underserved kids and do a hell of a lot better than the large districts.

What I hear Obama saying is let's look at ways to reward better teachers and lets try some different approaches to the classroom besides the one-size-fits-all teacher centered direct-instruction bullshit that's come from NCLB.

[Blue_Roses]

24. thank-you and well said.

I live in Texas and I am studying now for my state exam in my subject area (SpecEd). It is very thorough and I also have to take another one in a few months that covers the whole enchilada.

I've worked in the public school for years as a social worker and a sub and what I've found is that for the most part, teachers are doing a great job because they care about their students. That's the driving force.

:hi:

[NYC_SKP]

27. They really do, teachers care so much!

And there is nothing like the look on a kid's face who just discovered something or just did a job well.

Best of luck with your exam and with your future students.

I worked with long-term incarcerated minors for four years (most are unidentified special ed), great kids but needing special strategies, naturally.

If you're ever looking for teaching ideas, especially with respect to science or environmental studies, send me a message.

:hi:

[Blue_Roses]

30. hey thanks and will do...

I've applied to two school districts here in the last week and hopefully something will come through, especially once I get that test behind me.:)

[Egnever]

18. hmm he seems to refute what you are positing in the article you linked.

"merit pay, the way it's been designed, I think, is based on just a single standardized test — I think is a big mistake, because the way we measure performance may be skewed by whether or not the kids are coming into school already three years or four years behind.

But I think that having assessment tools and then saying, "You know what? Teachers who are on career paths to become better teachers, developing themselves professionally — that we should pay excellence more." I think that's a good idea, so..."

Experimenting with charter schools and other education alternatives does not mean pushing for them.

I think you are way off base here.

[NYC_SKP]

19. yep, thanks...nt

[LWolf]

42. He "seems" to say a lot,

without saying anything that can be nailed down.

As I've said, repeatedly, he doesn't say what he thinks constitutes "improved assessment." He also, pointedly, doesn't call for an end to high-stakes tests; just an "improvement."

The stuff about career paths and professional development? We already have that. It's in our pay scale. We call it "columns."

He offers nothing specific about how to determine "merit" for "merit pay."

The devil's in the details. I've yet to see a plan for merit pay that cannot, and would not, be manipulated for political purposes that end up damaging public education and the quality of student opportunities.

"Experimenting" with republican tools to privatize public education is not friendly to public education. All the spin in the world doesn't change that bottom line.

[LWolf]

41. You used the magic word: specific.

I think it's obvious that, when asked to talk about republican ideas that he thinks are better than democratic ideas, his offering up public education is problematic. To say the least.

He doesn't, though, offer any specifics.

I don't support charter schools; he does. Charter schools are a republican tool to move the public ed system further towards privatization. Unsupportable.

He plays with the idea of "merit pay," without letting us know exactly WHAT, in his scheme, determines merit. I talked a little more about this in reply # 40.

Meanwhile, here is a post I made over a year ago about merit pay that is quite specific about my position:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3377303

[NYC_SKP]

10. thanks for the link....and, no, Obama doesn't tow the NEA line.

I'm going to paste the pertinent parts from your link below my comments.

I'll agree that "merit pay" programs may be a next to impossible thing to implement, but I have seen that some teachers are 10X better than others in the same system and the unqualified teachers are paid the same (when really they should be fired).

Schools are broken, the bureaucracy of them is unmanageable and really works against effective, innovative, approaches to teaching. NCLB made matters worse.

Charter schools are an opportunity for innovation and I've worked with a few here that are amazingly successful and happen to serve the low socioeconomic status demographic in a very depressed city, so I'm not sure why you are concerned by them.

I still work with teachers daily and in large groups throughout California and I've never heard from anyone opposed to finding a way to reward exceptional teachers (merit pay) or charter schools, but then these teachers are exceptional.

I've never thought that the NEA speaks for these teachers.

snip:
think that on issues of education, I've been very clear about the fact — and sometimes I've gotten in trouble with the teachers' union on this — that we should be experimenting with charter schools. We should be experimenting with different ways of compensating teachers that...

WALLACE: You mean merit pay?

OBAMA: Well, merit pay, the way it's been designed, I think, is based on just a single standardized test — I think is a big mistake, because the way we measure performance may be skewed by whether or not the kids are coming into school already three years or four years behind.

But I think that having assessment tools and then saying, "You know what? Teachers who are on career paths to become better teachers, developing themselves professionally — that we should pay excellence more." I think that's a good idea, so...

[Gabi Hayes]

15. ask a Florida teacher how "merit pay" works there

jesus

[NYC_SKP]

17. I'm in California. Shitty teachers get paid the same as the very best.

What's it like in Florida?

[Egnever]

20. I can tell you what its like everywhere

they aren't paid nearly enough. Until the pay scale is raised to be competitive we will only further degrade our schools.

[Gabi Hayes]

22. start here, with the knowledge that florida teachers do NOT have the right to strike, rendering

their union worthless



http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/community_sanford_blog/2007/02/teacher_merit_p.html

[Egnever]

25. Nevada is the same

But I am not sure of the connection you are trying to make there.

[Gabi Hayes]

28. no right to strike, no power, NO voice in setting up the 'merit pay' program

here's what happened in Florida:

FLORIDA
When former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed into a law a merit-pay plan called STAR (Special Teachers Are Rewarded), who knew that the spotlight would be shined on thousands of teachers who simply said no to the test-driven bonuses? Last year, it was repealed by the Florida Legislature and replaced with a new model.

The old STAR system was funded with $147.5 million by the state Legislature to provide 25 percent of the state’s teachers with 5 percent bonuses. Each district was supposed to negotiate its own plan with local Associations, but the state required them to be based on test scores. In many districts, teachers just walked away.

In 2007, STAR was replaced by MAP (Merit Award Program) . Teachers hoped it would be better because it does allow districts to look at improvement rates, but bonuses must be based on very complicated actuarial tables developed by a state contractor. And it still doesn’t appear as if the state will consider other activities.

In Escambia County, for example, a proposed plan added incentives for community involvement, professional development, and leadership. The state rejected it—and now it appears as if fewer than 10 Florida districts will sign on.

http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0803/salarytrends.html

you may not like the above source, but it's what happened there. I know teachers in Florida, and it's exactly what they say happened. any florida teachers out there who care to comment?


then this:

Merit pay comes in many forms and flavors -- including extra bonuses for student achievement gains, satisfactory evaluations by principals or committees, acquiring additional duties, gaining new skills and knowledge, and serving in hard-to-staff schools. We've looked at dozens of plans in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Guess what? None of them, past and present, has ever had a successful track record. None has ever produced its intended results. Any gains have been minimal, short-lived, and expensive to achieve.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/09/28/how_merit_pay_squelches_teaching/

[NYC_SKP]

29. And, from the same article:

We see evidence that there are "right ways" and "wrong ways" to reward teachers. I think Obama will catch on.

Unions, striking, etc. are a related but separate matter. I support the right to strike, but dislike that poor teachers cannot easily be fired.

And, teacher pay needs to keep pace with the private sector...

snip:
Yet a good case can be made for merit pay, if that means higher salaries for higher professional achievement. But that can only be accomplished by instituting education reforms that include a career ladder in which teachers can, by acquiring the skills, knowledge, responsibilities, and certification, climb from one career level to the next -- for example, by advancing from associate teacher to teacher, then professional teacher, and finally chief instructor. And by further professionalizing the practice of teaching so that teachers work in teams instead of in isolation, increasing collaboration and accountability. And by including professional development in the career path of all teachers, just as in other fields such as medicine and law. These steps must all be taken together in order for any of them to succeed.

Public education cries out for this kind of fundamental reform. But it will never happen as long as policymakers continue to be less interested in improving teaching and learning than they are in drawing attention to themselves to press a political agenda.

:hi:

[Gabi Hayes]

31. and the last paragraph says it all, and shows why educational reform is

such a difficult issue, especially when large numbers of teachers have NO power, because that's what it all boils down to.

these "merit pay" schemes are almost all imposed from the top down, as in Florida, where teachers have no power.

the only way to have any sort of FAIR system of merit pay set up is to give teachers an equal voice in determining the conditions of such pay, and that is mostly not on the table.

why should their collective bargaining position be any different than in any other employment situation?

and I stand by the paragraph I cited above: merit pay, as its been proposed/instituted just doesn't work on any significant measurable scale, and has been turned into a political wedge to divide teachers and parents, who, like most people that don't know all the facts, see a shiny object that looks good on the surface, and see only the reductionist 'quick fix' that merit pay offers as a panacea to the myriad, complex problems facing the educational system

it's the offshore oil drilling fix applied to education: looks good, but, is not the easy answer it's portrayed to be

[NYC_SKP]

32. We agree on these things.

Top down doesn't work, even within a school district much less from Washington DC.

These issues, like merit pay, are used as wedge issues, by both parties, for political gain, (but this doesn't mean that mentioning them makes the person disingenuous).

Teachers have practically no power.

In my experience I had less power because of the union; I was forced to pay the same for health benefits as someone supporting an entire family though I'm a single person. My dues were used to support candidates whom I did not support. My efforts were less effective because I had to work with teachers who had no business in the classroom--because of the system that protects their jobs.

I don't have many solutions, but I won't hold it against Obama if he's willing to look at Merit Pay schemes and Charter Schools.

He sounds like he'd be willing to overhaul the system more than anyone else who's run for president lately.

[Gabi Hayes]

34. unions aren't perfect, and I pay the same as those with families for my union health plan...NOTHING!

would you have rather not have had a union at all? they're not perfect, by any stretch, and I don't have the answer to sucky teachers, BUT maybe if there was decent pay, there'd be less 'bad' teachers. it's a really difficult dilemma

and charter schools? can you say destroy by privatizing? if you look closely, the real goal of NCLB is to destroy public education and privatize it? think I'm nuts? start here:



http://nochildleft.com/2003/nov03wrecking.html

The NCLB Wrecking Ball

© 2003, Jamie McKenzie, all rights reserved

Looming behind the veneer and rhetoric of the Bush education plan is a set of destructive actions that are designed to destroy public education by enabling a huge exodus into risky experimental alternatives.

Misrepresented as a reform effort, NCLB is actually a cynical effort to shift public school funding to a host of private schools, religious schools and free-market diploma mills or corporate experiments in education.

The plan is simple.

Place unrealistic demands on public schools.
Provide too little capacity building support and too little time to meet new demands.
Label schools as failures.
Permit wholesale transfers to a broad range of alternatives.
Mandate transfer of public funding to charters and alternatives.
Fund education of many previously private school children with public monies.
Privatize.
Privatize.
Privatize.



now, if you really are bored:

NO NCLB.org: Republican Congressman to Introduce No Child Left ...Mar 8, 2007 ... This blog is dedicated to discussion of changing NCLB. ... consequences out of No Child Left Behind that destroy our public education system ...
nonclb.blogspot.com/2007/03/republican-congressman-to-introduce-no.html - 80k - Cached - Similar pages

NO NCLB.org: House Panel Cuts Health Research Budget (and NCLB ...Jun 8, 2006 ... This blog is dedicated to discussion of changing NCLB. ... Business Round Table in particular is out to destroy public education in America. ...
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More results from nonclb.blogspot.com »

Pacific Views: NCLB UnpopularAug 23, 2005 ... Update: For those interested, Connecticut's legal challenge to NCLB. Also, an explanation of how NCLB could destroy public education: ...
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The NCLB Wrecking BallLooming behind the veneer and rhetoric of the Bush education plan is a set of destructive actions that are designed to destroy public education by enabling ...
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Matthew Yglesias (November 01, 2007) - The NCLB Exception ...Nov 1, 2007 ... Option 2) NCLB represents an attempt to destroy the public service of education, the way Republicans usually do business ...
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Bush Profiteers collect billions from NCLB, Part 21 | DiatribuneI also believe that the conservative business community and the Business Round Table in particular is out to destroy public education in America.") ...
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Saving Accountability and Transparency in Public EducationBut a closer look suggests that NCLB is threatening to destroy real accountability and transparency in public education. Moreover, the conservative opt-out ...
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Big Cynic: War on public educationAfter all, homeschooling is an important front in the G.O.P.'s War on Public Education, whose goals are twofold: (1) break up the teachers' unions and ...
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American Street » NCLBIn 2000, they came in gunning for the privatization of public education. NCLB was an immediate and gigantic win for them. Since it exists to create ...
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Pro-voucher brain trusts vital to NCLB sanction falloutProposing the Republican-orchestrated No Child Left Behind education act ... doing what it proposed to do - "destroy or even greatly weaken" public schools. ...
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[NYC_SKP]

37. You've got a good health plan.

I did not, I was having to take $350/month out of my take home to pay for myself due to subsidizing entire families, and didn't have the option to opt out.

Right up the highway, it was a different matter.

[Gabi Hayes]

33. if you're for merit pay, what is your plan? how would you implement it?

that's the PROBLEM...in several HUNDRED years, nobody has come up with a workable system, because it really devolves into who's going to decide....who has the POWER to institute their version of the plan

what are your criteria for 'measuring' the success of a teacher's performance?

what objective criteria would you use? test scores? grades? improvement? (wait....the top-downers, especially NCLBers REFUSE to consider improvement...for NCLB, it's all or none, as happened in my school over the last several years. we're on the verge of being taken over by the state, because we exist in a poverty pocket in our district, along with the jr. high our school feeds....all the other schools "perform" just fine).

what subjective criteria? that's the real problem, because it boils down to WHO's making the decision, which was a huge bone of contention in Florida, and caused many districts to refuse to participate. It's all fine and good in theory, but it just doesn't work in practice, WITHOUT teacher participation in setting up the standards, and that just isn't happening

[NYC_SKP]

35. OK, I'll take a stab.

First, I agree that teachers should be involved in the design of the system, and there might not be a single model that works for all schools, districts, or states.

Here are a few totally off the top of my head:

Education and professional development hours/classes completed should accrue to bumps in pay, not just masters stipends, but credit for workshop hours.

Credit could be applied for years experience from related fields. An engineer who changes careers shouldn't have to start at the bottom if she becomes a math teacher.

Additional pay for special certifications in content area or special skills. This incentive exists in some schools.

Salary bumps for National Board Certification.

Programs to pay teachers who go "above and beyond" the minimum expectations by sponsoring after school programs or weekend/vacation time activities.

Create tax deductions for 100% of out-of-pocket expenses.

While these might not qualify as what "conventional wisdom" calls merit pay, they are ways to reward teachers based on their merits.

All I'm saying is that I won't dismiss the idea out of hand just because it's been a dismal failure when attempted in the past.

And, shitty teachers shouldn't have the same compensation as master teachers, as is too often the case. Great teachers are leaving the industry.

[Gabi Hayes]

36. I agree with those, too, but the problem is that none of them address

performance, which is the crux of the issue

how do you deal with that?

what standards apply? are they objective or subjective?

who gets to choose, and how on earth are teachers/admins going to agree on an equitable standard?

[NYC_SKP]

38. You can't tie it to student outcomes.

You're right, we can't base it on students' test scores, or teacher test scores for that matter.

Back to Obama, it might be unfortunate that he used the term "merit pay" when what I think he means is that we want to look for a way to give teachers better tools and resources an we want to reward those who excel in their profession and practice.

Those are fair goals to strive for, even if solutions are elusive.

If he says he wants to look at merit pay, that's all if means. This includes looking at it and concluding that he agrees with you and that it's just not a workable plan, right?

[LWolf]

44. I HOPE that's what it includes:

This includes looking at it and concluding that he agrees with you and that it's just not a workable plan, right?

That's why I say "guarded" support. The "hope" is not exactly the same kind of hope that his campaign runs on. It's hope that he doesn't mean more of what's bad for education.

[NYC_SKP]

46. Yes.

I wouldn't give him the keys to my classroom and go off to lunch, if you know what I mean.

And it's only hope until we see results.

Have you ever worked under an administrator that just talked down to you and didn't listen sincerely to your ideas? Sure you have.

And had another administrator work collaboratively with you, hear your ideas and give you choices? I hope so.

Bush is the former and we hope Obama is the latter.

:hi:

[LWolf]

47. I've worked with both kinds of administrators.

I can tell you that admins that are smart enough to listen, and to empower teachers, have vibrant, energetic schools, and fewer staff and student discipline problems, as well as parent complaints.

That's because most teachers who feel empowered to do excel will.

[NYC_SKP]

39. you hit the nail on the head.

The reality of the industry is that you can't fairly measure performance, so we're stuck with the system we have that rewards mediocrity by NOT rewarding excellence.

Teachers battle administrators, and the public chimes in against both, then government steps in and makes it even more unbearable.

Schools are a bloated hyper-regulated industry, and the joy of teaching and learning gets more lost the more we try to fix it.

But, within it all, there are learning environments filled with inspiration, even in poor schools.

We can't stop looking for solutions, we can't give up, and some of the solutions won't work, but still we have to try.

[LWolf]

40. I've heard this argued ad nauseum;

what, exactly, Obama's version of "merit pay" would be. There is no agreement. Those who've argued most strongly for it aren't really talking about merit pay, but for stipends for working in areas that it's hard to get, and keep, qualified teachers, and for more pay for more education. Which, of course, we already have in the form of columns on the pay scale.

Obama doesn't clarify what "better assessment tools" have to do with teachers who develop themselves professionally. He doesn't say what kind of connection his version of "better assessment tools" would have to "merit pay," or even what his version of "better assessment tools" would look like.

Like much of what Obama suggests, there's not enough concrete information to determine whether it would be positive, or not. People can assign what they want to hear to those general statements.

Most of us who have been teaching under the "standards and accountability" movement know better than to take general statements for granted.

I worked in public education for 20 years in CA, 10 of those in the classroom, before I moved out of state 3 years ago. For one of the largest elementary districts in the state. I can guarantee you that charter schools and merit pay were not popular in our district, or across the state with other districts that we worked with. And we did work with them. They sent people to our staff development offerings, we traveled to meet with them.

I also know that "unqualified" teachers aren't paid "exactly the same" as others. California teachers have to prove their qualifications in a variety of ways just to get the license, before they ever step into a classroom.

It's true that teacher training does not address some of the more important issues that teachers face in the classroom, that not all prospective teachers really understand what the job entails, and that new teachers often need mentoring and assistance to develop into effective teachers.

It's also true that some charter schools are great; I've seen some and worked with some. That's beside the point, though. As far as charter schools go, the point is that they are a republican tool to further the agenda of privatization. And they do that. They don't have to adhere to many of the same regulations that public schools do. They get to operate as pseudo-private schools with public money. If it's okay for charter schools to be free of those laws, it should be okay for every public school. That's the point of public education, isn't it? To provide each and every student with abundant, rich opportunity to learn? If the only way to provide better opportunity is through doing away with regulations, then it needs to be for all.

Merit pay is a political quagmire, and I've never met a teacher, in any state, in my now 25 years in public education, that didn't recognize that. I don't know what your work with teachers involves; are you a teacher? Are you a "consultant," or a "trainer" of some sort? What?

Is it possible that you do not know the politics between admins and teachers on school sites and within the district, that would make merit pay a power tool?

How, exactly, would you measure "merit?" That in itself can't be done fairly or objectively. In my opinion.

I have a lot more to say on this subject. If you want to discuss it, you can check it out here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3377303

[Cha]

21. Rec'd~ Greatest page material..

Education being one of our most important cornerstones.

[NYC_SKP]

26. Well that's sweet, thanks!

Education is my passion and I work with hundreds of teachers throughout California.

Students are so awesome, they all want to learn and teachers want to teach!

I think we're about to turn the page on an awful past with Obama.

:hi:

[BlooInBloo]

43. Heh. Anyone who types is notorious for typos...

EDIT: :)