how frame the merit pay for teachers issue................

[msongs]

here in california our austrian bully governor is trying to get a merit pay for teachers initiative on the ballot, another union busting move.

Even if you are not in California, try the following technique in discussions with people who favor the merit pay for teachers issue. I have used this twice and it was very effective.

When somebody says merit pay for teachers is a good idea, try this:

Ask them, "who was ultimately responsible for what happened on the sets of Arnold Schwarzenegger's movies?"

When they say, "Arnold", ask them what they thought Arnold did to movie workers who screwed up every day, failed to do their job correctly, missed a lot of work, caused delays, and had bad attitudes all the time.

When they say Arnold would fire them, THEN you say school teachers have students like that every day and teachers cannot fire the students, so why do they think teachers should be accountable for children like that?

Wish I could have someone ask the governator on the record what he would do an employee like the one described above, and when he says "I would fire that person," use that quote in ads.


Msongs

read our paper ballot proposal for CA
www.msongs.com/vvpb.htm

[mediaman007]

1. Another response...

I am a teacher negotiator in Minnesota. There is a push for merit pay here too. Usually, its just a cover for cutting back on teachers salaries.

My first question is always: "Do you have enough money to pay everyone that qualifies?"

My experience tells me that if the standards for earning $100,000 are open to everyone, probably 75% of the teachers will qualify for the top pay.

[msongs]

2. good one, I know I would qualify..... eom

Msongs

read our paper ballot proposal for CA
www.msongs.com/vvpb.htm

[GreenPoet64]

3. Merit pay = no pay for higher education

Arnold plans to nix teacher increases for higher education. Think about that. Right now teachers get a significant pay increase when they obtain their masters degree (and rightly so as the loan repayment for a masters degree is a big monthly chunk).

If Arnold gets his way, teachers will have no incentive to continue beyond a bachelors degree as no one will be able to afford the loans.

Great Idea! Let's improve education by limiting the amount of education teachers can afford. <sarcasm off>

I've been sharing this with fellow teachers and I've been getting a lot of response.

[mediaman007]

4. Teaching in America may become a high income job...

if the outsourcing and downsizing continue. I'm sure that they are trying to find a way to outsource education too, but so far they haven't been able to get vouchers passed.