Reply #5: Merit pay is not a mechanism for removal of poor teachers.

[LWolf]

You are correct in saying that there should be mechanisms, but merit pay doesn't remove teachers. It's a political tool to control the teachers that are not removed.

I pointed out one possible mechanism for removing poor teachers in my post, if you read it. That's the mechanism I would support: make it easy for them to transition to a more appropriate career. I believe they would.

Somehow I've missed seeing "plenty" of shitty, abusive teachers. I've seen some, of course. They exist in the profession, just like shitty, abusive people exist in any population. I've found them to be few and far between. I agree that they should be removed. I just don't see you, or any political candidate, for that matter, offering an appropriate method of removal.

I've found more teachers who needed help to improve their practice. They weren't "shitty," and they weren't "abusive," but they were weak in some areas. There are lots of those; where will you find a population of people that have no professional or personal weaknesses? You won't.

Since we will all have weaknesses, I would prefer to address the weaknesses and grow the professional skills in those cases. That need was also addressed in my admittedly long post. Did you read it?