Teacher bonuses announced - St. Petersburg Times
I post this because there is someone named "John" who challenged Goader to "actually find out what happened" (see john, 10:50pm in the link below).
Goader did not have the priveledge of knowing about the significant increase in the merit pay award to the HCPS teachers this year when he posted his thoughts about how hard the negotiations were:
Contract Negotiations: CTA Squeezing Till It Hurt - EsKay
As a member of the public, I would love to know what "actually happens" within our local public education system. How come we don't?
Some commentary about merit pay here:PRO on HCPS: The Science Of Education
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2 comments:
Merit pay is a joke.
In order to qualify for "merit" pay one must be absolutely certain to be on the good side of the principal. The principal is the gatekeeper of "merit" pay qualification. She the principal doesn't like you, he/she can manipulate your evaluation so that you do not qualify for the chump change even if your students show huge gains.
You may think this is sour grapes coming from a teacher that didn't get the money. I didn't get the money because after 15 years of way above average evaluations, I got an overall "needs improvement" last year, not because I was suddenly a bad teacher, rather I refused to kow tow to an insecure bully. Anyway, she is gone and I remain.
Merit pay is an insult to all teachers. Merit pay is based on the premise that I will do a better job in order to get 2300 bucks. That is a little like telling a doctor, he will get more money if he doesn't kill anymore than X number of patients next year. Like my physician, I am a professional and will do my best because I feel it is my professional responsibility to do so.
Give bonus pay for hitting sales goals.
Hmmmmm...Hey Goader, is the yet another example of creeping business ethic sneaking into education?
Thanks Richard, I appreciate having your fine blog to post on.
Thomas Vaughan
I got the money, but I still think it isn't fair. I have pissed off a few people about SpringBoard and the broken air since last year's evaluation time, so I bet my MAP $ that I won't qualify for this year. Somehow, they will probably find reasons why I don't qualify, even though the only change is SpringBoard. But, with SpringBoard, I am sure my gains will probably decline anyway, but it will be my fault. However, if by some act of God I can still show strong gains by making SpringBoard good enough on my own terms, SpringBoard will get all the glory. Educators are now in a position to always lose, which in turn trickles down to the children!
IT IS PATHETIC THAT ELIA PLACES MORE TRUST IN AN UNTESTED WORKBOOK THAN THE PEOPLE SHE HAS HIRED TO DO THE JOB OF EDUCATING!
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