The courageous, china-breaking Chancellor of the DC School System Michelle Rhee continues to bedevil the old guard in the DC teacher's union. Her proposal to set up a new compensation system has ruffled a few feathers among the old bulls (and cows) in a union dedicated to the status quo and to less than mediocre student performance.
By agreeing to pass up tenure and submit to increased standards of student performance, teachers will be able to command up to $100,000 per year (whoops, per 3/4 of a year) at the 5 year mark. Of course, the union is against this idea, as the popularity of the proposal seems to be tied to teacher age and experience. Younger teachers see the risk as worthwhile, older teachers see it less so.
I applaud Chancellor Rhee (once again) for bringing market forces to bear on teacher performance and compensation. I would love to see how Senator Obama feels about this proposal, given his allegiance to the teachers unions in whose pockets he is so deeply tucked.
This new scheme of Ms. Rhee could allow the cream (of the teachers) rise to the top, hence earning more money than they ever dreamed possible. Consequently, the lower performers will earn less and less and hopefully they will be culled from the herd. The DC teacher's union - as all unions - are inherently socialistic. Ergo, the union couldn't ever possibly back the new pay proposal because it isn't socialistic.
ReplyDeleteWell said!
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